Born in 1998, Kristian Del Cantero is a guitarist and composer from Hamilton, Ontario. His musical studies and performances have taken him across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Kristian recently received an M.Mus in guitar performance at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in Montreal, under the direction of Steve Cowan. Kristian is passionate about sharing his music and engaging in conversation with musicians and non-musicians alike.
He first started taking piano lessons at age 8, then shortly afterwards developed an interest for the guitar. At age 11, Kristian began studies with Patrick Feely in Hamilton. At age 17, he began to study in Toronto with Robert Hamilton at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Taylor Academy. Subsequently, Kristian was admitted to study overseas in the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Conservatory in 2016. Over his 4 years abroad, Kristian had the pleasure to travel across Europe and take part in many masterclasses and guitar festivals. His undergraduate studies brought forth much collaboration in ensemble playing with guitarists and string players, as well as a unique opportunity to attend many concerts within and also outside the culture of the classical guitar. Kristian graduated in 2020 from the Amsterdam Conservatory under the direction of Gabriel Bianco.
Over the years, Kristian has received top prizes in numerous international guitar competitions. He recently received first prize in the guitar division at the 2024 FCMF National Music Festival’s Emerging Artist Competition. Kristian received first prize at the 2015 Guitar Montreal International Youth Competition. In 2016, he received first prize at the Antwerp International Guitar Competition in Belgium, as well as a top prize at the Uppsala International Guitar Festival and Competition. During his undergraduate years, Kristian had the pleasure to study with Sharon Isbin for 4 summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School where he developed an interest in Bach’s violin works. Recently, Kristian was able to take part in Christopher Parkening’s masterclass in Malibu at Pepperdine University, where he performed Parkening’s transcription of J.S. Bach’s fugue from the first violin sonata.
A Montreal resident, Kristian performs and teaches in Montreal and surrounding area. In December, he was invited to play a solo recital at the 2023 Montreal Bach Festival’s ‘Off-Bach’ series. Apart from the classical guitar, Kristian plays the harpsichord and baroque guitar, which helps to complement and inform his solo playing. Kristian’s compositions aim to be illuminated by the musical tradition’s canon of repertoire, while simultaneously responding with new ways to create works that fit the guitar’s idiom and form. Kristian plays a 2016 cedar double top guitar by Québec luthier Patrick Mailloux.
