Fall 2026 Guest Recitals: Gingery and Cucunato
Each semester, Burckart Hall hosts many recitals and concerts. Students perform to meet program requirements, community members join for Music on Mondays, and faculty members showcase their experience. Guest recitals, however, provide some of the best moments. This semester, Maranatha welcomed Dr. Phil Gingery and Louis Cucunato to the stage for guest performances in tenor voice and solo guitar. Each person in attendance benefited from the power of beautiful, high-quality music!
Dr. Phil Gingery
Maranatha welcomed Dr. Gingery to the campus on September 18 for his guest tenor voice recital, “Songs of Eternal Light,” accompanied by Christa Habegger. Gingery says, “Throughout scripture we find reference to light. Our Creator, of course, spoke light into existence in Genesis 1. The psalmist refers to God as light and salvation, and the prophets refer to the promised Messiah in terms of dawning light as they minister to a people lost in darkness. In the gospel John refers to the Word as the Light of Life, and Jesus refers to Himself as the Light of the World. Paul would call the saints the Children of Light and John identifies Jesus as the light of Eternal Jerusalem. Our Christian heritage in song reflects the scripture’s themes.”
Dr. Gingery’s repertoire borrowed from this theme of light. Highlighting a variety of time periods and composers, the program began with the genius of baroque composers. Bach’s Unser Mund und Ton der Saiten was a perfect opener, preparing the posture of the performer and the listener to offer praise to our great King. The next package brought the dramatic energy of the late baroque and romantic eras with works by Maurice Greene, Felix Mendelssohn, and Francis Allitsen. However, one of the main talking points of the evening were the premiere works by modern composers. Rebekah Bonam arranged The Light of the World is Jesus, Mac Lynch arranged a moving setting of Dark Was the Noonday, and David Rasbach offered a new setting, Jesus the Way. These premiere works were an appropriate end to a lovely concert.
Louis Cucunato, Guitar
Burckart Hall is known for its lovely acoustics, and a classical guitar only adds to the rich acoustic atmosphere. It is always a pleasure to welcome Louis Cucunato to the campus of Maranatha Baptist University. Cucunato has been playing the guitar from a young age, with years of training and experience. He has earned various awards for performance and composition. Performing in concert series and master classes for internationally acclaimed artists rounds out his professional experience.
Cucunato opened the recital with Bach’s Prelude BWV 999. Originally composed for the lute, this piece brings non-stop energy and a consistent drive until the perfect resolution at the final chord. More baroque guitar followed as Cucunato played Prelude and Fugue from Bach’s Lute Suite. The first half of the performance then concluded with three pieces highlighting the transition from baroque vigor to romantic emotion. The performer demonstrated meticulous attention to detail with Etude in E Minor by Mauro Giuliani, a foundational piece in guitar technique. From then, Cucunato moved on to the warm lyricism of Waltz by Alexander Ivanov-Kramskoi, before closing the section with Johann Kasper Mertz’ Tarantella, showcasing explosive finger work.
The final portion of the recital offered a sample of Cucunato’s personal expression on the guitar through his own compositions. After Mangóre’s Prelude in G Minor and Julia Florida, the audience took in Cucunato’s own Micropieces and ABC Suite. The evening was concluded with his original composition, Arabesque, which was chosen in 2019 as a semi-finalist for the first annual Leo Brouwer International Solo Guitar Composition Competition in Buffalo, New York.
Music students at Maranatha benefit from hearing high-quality music every week. Learn more about how you can get involved, study music, or attend a future recital at music.mbu.edu!
