Louis Cucunato is a classical guitarist, arranger, teacher, and composer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He began piano at the age of 6 and switched to the guitar around 13, having studied with Elina Chekan in the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Pre-College program and served as a teaching assistant at the UW-Milwaukee Suzuki Pre-College Workshop in 2009. He received his B.F.A. from UW-Milwaukee in Classical Guitar Performance cum laude under the guidance of Rene Izquierdo. At the age of 18, he won second place in The Society of American Musicians Guitar Senior Division Competition. He has performed numerous times in the St John’s Cathedral Concert Series during the summer, and has played in master classes for some of the most internationally-renowned guitarists and musicians which include Benjamin Verdery, Marcin Dylla, Lorenzo Micheli, William Kanengiser, Deniz Azabagic, Carlos Rafael Rivera (composer), and Jakob Lindberg (lute). He received his Master’s Degree and Performer Diploma from Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music, having studied under the maestro Ernesto Bitetti. During his time at IU, he taught elective guitar as an associate instructor for three years. In 2017, Louis composed a piece for 12 guitars that was debuted by the Indiana University Guitar Ensemble titled “Homage to Enrique Granados,” and in 2018, he composed a piece for two guitars which was played for a doctoral student’s recital at Indiana University. In March 2019, Louis’ piece for solo guitar: “Arabesque,” was chosen as a semi-finalist for the first annual Leo Brouwer International Solo Guitar Composition Competition in Buffalo, New York as part of the “Brouwer in Buffalo” Guitar Festival.
Now, he resides in Milwaukee, performing and teaching in South-Eastern Wisconsin. Louis currently works as an instructor of guitar at Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, Wisconsin. He also serves as the Vice President of the Board of Musica Oramus – Catholic Conservatory, in Elm Grove, Wisconsin. www.musicaoramus.org/secular-music/