​Kristian Del Cantero is a guitarist and composer from Hamilton, Canada. He discovered music at the age of 8, starting piano lessons with Heather Muller and found a passion for the guitar at the age of 10. His first classical guitar lessons were with Patrick Feely. Kristian studied with Patrick for 7 years, and afterwards was accepted into the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Taylor Academy to study with Robert Hamilton. This opportunity arose after meeting the Canadian guitarist Tim Beattie at the Sauble Beach Guitar Festival. In these formative years of study Kristian was introduced to many musicians who shared their creativity and love for classical music, which moved him to take up his vocation as a

performing musician.

 

Kristian was accepted into the Conservatory of Amsterdam to study classical guitar performance. He received the first prize at the 2016 Antwerp International Guitar Festival and Competition. It was in the Netherlands where Kristian developed an awareness of another creative desire in him apart from performing, which is composing. In 2017 Kristian released his first album of solo compositions, entitled Lumos. This opportunity allowed him to “learn by doing” and start to think about the relationship between writing music and performing it. He continued his study in the summer with Sharon Isbin at the Aspen Music Festival, and lived in New York on an exchange semester at the Manhattan School of Music with David Leisner. After moving back to Amsterdam, Kristian graduated in 2020 under the direction of Gabriel Bianco.

 

 Kristian started his graduate studies at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music with Steve Cowan. He worked with Steve to delve deeper into interpreting baroque music as well as 20th and 21st century guitar music. Kristian took seminars to broaden his understanding of the music of Bach and early music, and also studied the baroque guitar with Sylvain Bergeron. Kristian had the pleasure to perform a recital at the 2023 “Off-Bach” series at the Festival International Bach Montreal. Graduating in 2023 from McGill, he continues to perform, compose, and engage creatively to contribute to development in the tradition of the guitar, and to keep expressing himself as an artist through the gift of music. He recently received first prize at the 2025 Ottawa Guitar Society ‘Emerging Composers Competition’. Kristian currently serves as the choir director at the Newman Centre of McGill University.