Luis Leguía
Luis Grey Leguía was an American cellist and luthier, known for his 44-year tenure with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and for pioneering the use of carbon fiber for building string instrument.
Early life and education
Leguía was born in 1935 in Los Angeles, California. Raised by his mother, Margaret, a secretary, he spent much of his childhood moving between boarding houses. He began playing the cello at the age of 15. He studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and the Juilliard School in New York City, under teachers including Arthur van den Bogaerde, Kurt Reher, André Navarra, Leonard Rose, and Pablo Casals.Career
After leaving Juilliard, Leguía joined the U.S. Army Band. He later performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. In 1963, he joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he played until his retirement in 2007.Leguía performed concertos and solo recitals across the U.S., Canada, Europe, South Africa, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Syria, and South America, including 15 solo tours of the latter. He gave masterclasses worldwide and served as chair of the Boston Conservatory cello department for nearly a decade.
He premiered numerous works, including the Boston premiere of Schoenberg’s Cello Concerto, and world premieres of compositions by Robert Parris, Pamela J. Marshall, Vincent Frohne, Robert Evett, Edgar Valcárcel, and Josep Soler.