Meet Eduardo Del Signore | Musician, performer, composer, producer and president/founder of the A Call 2Peace Foundation

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eduardo Del Signore and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eduardo, how does your business help the community?
Having being into art most of my life, I’ve witnessed the way the beauty of human expression influences the life of one or many individuals bringing forth the best that people have to offer when their hearts get touched by that beauty. A few years ago I understood that my music work and art in general could also be utilized to create platforms to raise awareness and funds for like-minded organizations and people in need, as well as raising awareness about issues that affect everyone around the planet, like the causes and effects of Climate Change. Our organization, the “A Call 2Peace Foundation” is formed by Grammy nominated, Independent Music Awards and Oscar winning artists not only organizes benefit events, we have created and supported our own initiatives like the “Food Recovery Program” that has recovered and distributed over 3.6 million pounds of food since early 2020 to present days to people in need, i.e. homeless individuals, single mothers, shelters for women and children victims of domestic violence and trafficking and Ukrainian families of refugees that ended up in California as a result of the ongoing war in their home country. We have raised funds for students of the Malibu High School Orchestra who were invited to perform at the Carnegie Hall in New York but couldn’t afford the costs of traveling and lodging, and organized concerts to benefit other organizations such as “Armory of Harmony”, “Students4Students”, etc. Our collaboration with the San Francisco based ClimateMusic Project brought our compositions to the stages of the World Economic Forum and The New York Times events last September 20th and October 11th 2022 respectively, to present action against climate change as an asset for the values of the corporate world and government officials from many countries, followed up with interviews across the WEF networks live to 25 million people, and TRT the official media outlet of Turkey among many other organizations, including VoyageLA and several blogs.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Answers to this particular set of questions could take quite a while and could become books and music works during the answering process. There is a particular feeling that I can identify as something beautifully filled with joy in my art works, something I first felt in Uruguay when I was between 2 to 3 years old listening to the Afro-Uruguayan rhythms of Candombe as they were being performed in the streets of my Barrio Ansina. This is a feeling that I’m always looking for and finding inside of me and every moment and creative adventure I embark on. This feeling is a fundamental part of my art DNA, which makes it unique. Professionally I got to where I am today by paying attention to those things in life that are real, like my breath, nature, the work of other artists who have been here before this time, or admiring the beauty of being alive every single day. Practicing and having the will to keep learning are a huge factor. It wasn’t easy at times, this is a country of many extremes, without an infrastructure to support and appreciate the arts. During a visit to Uruguay after the end of the military dictatorship, I was walking by the ruins of “Barrio Ansina” and saw written in a wall: “a country that doesn’t invest in the arts is doomed to mediocrity”. People telling me to go back to where I came from, or attacking me physically and verbally for not being like them, have generated incredible challenges, but somehow I survived, perhaps because I have a clear reference of where to find Peace in my day to day and music itself, which carries powerful healing properties. Discrimination in many shapes and forms is rampant these days and the only thing that helps me to overcome its challenges is to remind myself of who I really am, knowing that what I’m really looking forward is already inside of me. Understanding that forgiveness is about forgiving myself first, for having allowed getting caught in those situations, simply because I wasn’t conscious, but distracted with borrowed noise and concepts. The lessons along the way are many and one. Somehow it always circles back to knowing myself and my responsibility of making the effort to know myself. I learned that the day I was born, a breath came into me and powered up all life engines, opening up the door to endless possibilities. I’ve learned that no matter what, I can only live consciously in the “Now”. I know that one day like today that breath that came into me when I was born, will go out and never come back. Knowing about my finite nature helps with keeping a clear perspective of what my priorities are. I’d like “the world” to know that if my work inspires someone through my music or professional achievements, that the inspiration they are feeling is in them, and it is filled with enormous potential to find a way for expressing their own humanity, so they can in turn inspire others. Maybe we should create the “Universal Music Instrument Association” and exchange guns for Cellos, Drums, Basses, Guitars, Pianos, Flutes any Music Instrument. This planet would be a very different and enjoyable place. I hope my brand inspires others to discover and realize that there are other options in life other than what we see in the news and streets these days. The process of Discovery and Realization is worth the while.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Interestingly enough I had an experience recently that is a good reference to answer this question. My son Alfonso and his wonderful girlfriend Paloma came to visit last August from Uruguay for the first time. I felt that the best offering for the occasion was to share with them moments with the people and places that are an integral part of my life here in California. After their their evening arrival we went to get something to eat. It was late so we ended up going to Marina del Rey at a place that is open until 3am on Washington Blvd. Next morning we went for breakfast at La Puglia in Santa Monica and right after breakfast to Westward Beach in Point Dume. After a beautiful dive in the Pacific Ocean, we went back to Howdy’s for lunch at the Malibu Civic Center Way area. That day coincided with a concert I was producing at the Santa Monica La Puglia restaurant featuring Michelle Coltrane and her band. My son loves Michelle’s music and it was a great opportunity to share an unforgettable evening with her. We drove through Malibu Canyon, Malibou Lake, Thousand Oaks and back to the ocean via Decker Canyon Road and took some time to stop in Santa Monica under the shade of a very old eucalyptus tree in the middle of Goose Egg Park. Dinner at Henry Carr’s home and the embrace of family and friends were rather amazing. There were many other stops and hang outs, but the main thing for me was that they had the opportunity to experience the people and places I experience in this unique and culturally vast city of Los Angeles.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I feel very fortunate for the simple reason that somehow I came across many wonderful people along my journey so far, who have been a great influence in shaping my art and my persona. The Candombe Drummers from Barrio Ansina were my first mentors and my father was the sponsor of such pure and unexpected relationship. Uruguayan singer songwriter Eduardo Mateo was a big influence during my late teens, as well as wonderful individuals and occasions, but there are many incredible artists like Federico Ramos, José Luis Perez, Sonia Kazarova, Tommy Eyre and Scarlet Rivera each with their unique way of expressing their humanity who have been and still are highly influential in my work. Nature has been and still is a true mirror to look for artistic inspiration, being around Uruguayan landscapes or living in a sailing boat for a few years. Meeting Milton Nascimento in Brazil and many other Brazilian artists during my stay in Brazil between 1977-1981. Getting to know Prem Rawat, an individual who has dedicated his life to show how to reconnect with Peace in our hearts, was a trigger for the formation of our “A Call 2Peace Foundation” when I heard him state that Peace is the responsibility of each individual. Prem is also a New York Times best seller author due to the success of his book “Hear Yourself” which I highly recommend. My music mentor in Los Angeles Moacir Santos is a very important pillar in the build up of my music career as well. It’s hard to name everyone because the journey is not over and so far there have been many influential people for which I’m very thankful. My son Alfonso is a precious point of reference for me about the beauty of existence. There have been many deep relationships with animals as well, which by the way are in general easier to relate to than people. I’d have to write for several days about this topic and keep revisiting memory lane to bring up the remembrance of so many beautiful individuals. I had the chance to spend a couple of days talking with Wayne Shorter during my stay in Portland, Oregon and got share unforgettable moments with him. The same applies to Dionne Warwick, Jon Hassell, and to a certain degree collaborations in life and music with Jon Anderson the British singer and composer known for his work with “Yes” and “Jon & Vangelis”. My adoptive/adopted Carr family, are a great support pillar in present times. I guess this is a process that will only end when I exhale my last breath, whenever that may be. Shoutout to them beautiful Hearts.

Website: signoremusic.com – acall2peace.org

Instagram: @edudelsignore

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/signoremusic

Twitter: @Ac2pFoundation

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eduardo.delsignore

Youtube: ac2p foundation

Other: https://eduardodelsignore.bandcamp.com/releases

Image Credits
World Economic Forum (New York Gala Performance 09/20/2023 Alain McLaughlin (Art & Tech in a Warming World)