By Zach Collier
Renowned virtuoso pianist and Hive Riot member Dustin Gledhill is coming to Provo with his husband, Brazilian guitarist Lucas Pullin, this Saturday. The duo will be providing a night of music centered around the life of celebrated Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos. Gledhill is a gold medalist of the Gina Bachauer Young Artist and New Orleans International Piano Competitions and is director of The Gledhill Piano Studio in Manhattan. Both are graduates of the Juilliard performance conservatory in New York City.
Entitled “Taste of Brazil,” they’ll explore the the mixed rhythms and movement that make up the core of Brazilian musical classics. The program premiered in New Orleans to a sold out crowd. The piano and guitar duo will take the show to New York City in September, and Pullin’s hometown in Brazil after that. Provo residents will have a unique opportunity to see it performed first in their city at Mindy Gledhill’s studio, The Forge Collective.
When asked why they were bringing the show to Provo, Gledhill said, “The idea sprouted from our original sponsor, the Musical Arts Society of New Orleans (Cara McCool, specifically). We’ve morphed it a bit to adapt to each city we play to, reaching out to locals with Brazilian backgrounds, interest or specialties. The Mighty Baker in Provo, for example, is sponsoring a traditional Brazilian dessert called Brigadeiro.”
In addition to enjoying refreshments from The Mighty Baker, attendees will also be able to learn to dance the Maxixe. The Maxixe is occasionally referred to as the Brazilian Tango, since it originated in Rio de Janeiro in the 1860’s concurrently with the Tango, which was developing in Argentina and Uruguay. Instead of the Tango’s touch-and-turn-in of the foot, however, Maxixe employs a device of resting the heel on the floor, with the foot pointing upward. It’s said that the dance is childishly simple to learn, but extremely difficult to dance well. For those who don’t wish to dance, Gledhill says you can just relax and watch while you sip on caipirinhas.
“Each city offers something unique,” says Gledhill. “We try to extract a bit of Brazil from local communities to create an event featuring music, food, and dance that will bring awareness and hopefully a love for this beautiful culture that is Brazil.”
As a couple, Gledhill and Pullin enjoy performing together, drawing on their rich knowledge and individual musical experiences. “We both come from very different musical backgrounds, so it only helps when we create music together. Anyone that has worked ‘professionally’ with a family member will say that it can get a bit complicated at times, but in the end, it creates some unique memories that we can take with us for the duration.”
The show is Saturday, August 6th at The Forge Collective. The Forge Collective is located at 50 East 500 North in Provo. The concert will go from 7:30PM to 9PM. Tickets are $13 general admission, $9 for students and seniors. Gledhill and Pullin are also offering a ticket special for a private piano and/or guitar lesson on Friday, August 5th. The $89 ticket special includes both the private lesson and admission for two to Saturday night’s performance.
“It always feels amazing able to perform to a crowd, sold-out or not,” says Gledhill. “We worked hard together preparing for the concert, so when there’s a full house, it always propels that preparation into an energy that takes the music to the next level.”
Tickets are available online here. Make sure to like Dustin Gledhill on Facebook and check out his performance of Liszt’s Paganini Etude No. 3, “La Campanella” below.
Provo Music Magazine 