LUISLEITE

One of Brazil's leading guitarists today, Luis Leite has built a career that combines classical training at the highest level, an intense international concert schedule, and a rare fluency in both the classical and popular traditions of the guitar.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, he grew up in a home where the guitar brought the family together: his grandfather taught him his first chords, and at 14 he was already performing professionally with the Grupo Camerístico de Violões, moving between choro, jazz, and classical music from an early age.

He studied guitar at University of Rio de Janeiro (UniRio) and, at 19, after winning first prize in national guitar competitions, he specialized at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, with Oscar Ghiglia, successor of Andrés Segovia. He then moved to Vienna, where he lived for a decade and earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, both with distinction, under Alvaro Pierri. Back in Brazil, he completed a PhD in Music at UniRio with research on new languages of musical improvisation.

He won first prize at the John Duarte International Guitar Competition (Rust, Austria) and the Ivor Mairants Guitar Prize (London), and won the XI BDMG Instrumental Prize in Brazil, among other national and international awards.

Luis has performed in more than 30 countries, in halls such as the Wiener Musikverein (Vienna) and Wigmore Hall (London), and has collaborated with Brazilian artists such as Yamandu Costa, Hamilton de Holanda, and Mônica Salmaso, as well as international jazz names such as saxophonist Greg Osby and drummer Antonio Sanchez.

Since 2009 he has held the guitar chair at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, where he created a pioneering hybrid program in classical and popular guitar.

He has recorded three albums of original music (Mundo Urbano, Vento Sul, and Ostinato) and appears on dozens of records as a guest artist. He has recorded for television networks such as Radio Television Española (TVE) and ORF (Austria). His work has been featured by The New York Times, Classical Guitar Magazine (London), and Vienna's Concerto magazine, which called him “a true virtuoso of the guitar”.