Guests Artists Showcase Talents to MBU Musicians
Maranatha Baptist University recently hosted two guest recitals that inspired the audiences as they eagerly listened in Burckart Hall. Louis Cucunato and Dr. Philip Gingery performed recitals with artistic distinction, one with classical repertoire and the other with sacred.
Louis Cucunato—Guitar
Louis Cucunato, a musician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who teaches classical guitar to MBU students, performed a wonderful mixture of traditional and modern works composed for guitar. Cucunato opened with a setting of the Star-Spangled Banner and closed with one of his award-winning compositions, Arabesque.
After the performance MBU’s Music Department Chair, Dr. David Ledgerwood shared, “We believe it is important to showcase this beautiful instrument to our constituency. . .We are grateful that our students have the opportunity to study with such a fine teacher and performer.”
Similarly, Laura Blumer, one of Cucunato’s MBU students in attendance commented, “I really enjoyed the musicality Mr. Cucunato communicated throughout the recital. The different personalities present in each of the pieces were so engaging to hear!”
Cucunato began playing guitar at age thirteen. He graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a B.F.A. in Classical Guitar Performance and earned his MA from Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music.
Phil Gingery—Voice
Dr. Philip Gingery of West Chester, Pennsylvania, presents annual vocal recitals at Maranatha every Fall. Gingery’s programs are musically unique and have a distinctive, spiritual focus. This year’s recital consisted of sacred settings by Joan J. Pinkston.
Each song dealt with the Coming, the Passion, the Presence, or the Praise of the Savior. Repertoire included O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, I Will Praise Thee, and Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven. These selections were accompanied by Gingery’s sister, Christa Gingery Habegger, who is also an accomplished musician.
Dr. Ledgerwood expresses appreciation of Gingery’s testimony on and off the stage, “Phil is an accomplished singer and scholar, but most importantly, an earnest Christian whose testimony is clear in everything he does. We are enriched each time he comes.”
For the past thirty years, Gingery has held the role of assistant pastor and minister of music at Bible Baptist Church and West Chester Christian School. He has also taught hymnology, theory, music history, voice, and conducting at various colleges.
Maranatha musicians were blessed to hear these talented performers. Both Cucunato and Gingery encouraged students to appreciate music in a new way and develop their talents for the Lord.