Pedro Cantalice is a 36-year-old Cavaquinho player from Rio de Janeiro who is passionate about researching the history of the Brazilian Cavaquinho. He is an active musician, having toured throughout Brazil, South America and Europe performing in both popular and chamber music settings.
Pedro was a co-producer of the 2013 album entitled, “Siqueira Entre Nós” (Siqueira Between Us) and the 2017 album, “Siqueira 80 anos” (Siqueira at 80) He was producer and musical director of “Mestres do Choro do Subúrbio Carioca”, (Masters of Rio suburban Choro), a tribute to the masters Siqueira, Joel Nascimento, Josias Nunes and Pixinguinha, held at SESC Ramos in 2019. In January 2020, he received the Waldir Azevedo diploma for excellence in Choro by the Waldir Azevedo Institute at the Rio Conservatory.
At the moment, he is doing research for a project he calls, “The Memory of the Brazilian Cavaquinho”, which aims to both preserve and present the history of the instrument and its great performers. Pedro is also working to bring attention to new works for the cavaquinho. He has given lectures on this topic at the National Archives of Rio de Janeiro in 2019, at the FICAV Cavaquinho Festival in 2021 and at the Choro: Cultural Heritage of Brazil Online seminar in 2021, which was presented at the National Artistic Historical Heritage Institute, known in Brazil as IPHAN. Additionally, between 2012 and 2019 he toured Argentina, Portugal and France, giving lectures and concerts.
Pedro received his Bachelor’s Degree in Cavaquinho and his Masters in Music in 2021 from the Brazilian Academy of Music. He has done further studies in score publishing, composition and arranging.
