Born on August 2, 1994, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, award-winning artist Luis Sanz is a renowned cuatro player, composer, co-founder of the Hermanos Sanz band, and professor at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. His exceptional talent in improvisation and creative development has led him to compose works for symphony orchestra and collaborate with prominent artists like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Residente of “Calle 13,” Ednita Nazario, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Bernie Williams, Víctor Manuelle, Elvis Crespo, José Nogueras, Danny Rivera, Hermes Croatto, El Gran Combo de PR, Kany García, Lucecita Benítez, and many others.
Luis began playing the Puerto Rican cuatro at the age of four, and by nine, he had performed with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. His compositions have been performed in China, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, South America, and the United States. He headlined the Latin Grammy Awards show in 2017 with Residente and collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda on music for a new film about Puerto Rican culture. In 2018, he composed the film score and music performance for the documentary “Pa’ Lante.” He has produced six recording albums.
Recognized by the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance of Chicago for his outstanding contributions to the cuatro. Luis was also selected as the ambassador of the cuatro for the Puerto Rican Parade in New York. He received the Chancellor’s Artpreneur Grant from the Kenan Institute for the Arts at UNCSA in 2019. His album “Cuatro Sinfónico” was named one of the top 5 in the 2019 Best Puerto Rican Recordings category by the “Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular.”
Luis earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition from the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music under the mentorship of Alfonso Fuentes. Simultaneously, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Bass Performance with a minor in Music Education from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, studying with Professor Samuel Morales. He also holds a Master’s degree in Music Composition from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), where he studied with Professor Lawrence Dillon.
Recently, Luis released his innovative music project, Cuatro Beats, which blends Puerto Rican folk sounds with rap to expand the repertoire of the Puerto Rican cuatro. Listeners can enjoy chill instrumental trap music infused with an experimental and fresh cuatro sound. The official music video for Cuatro Beats, created using Artificial Intelligence (AI), is available on his YouTube channel Luis Sanz Music. Luis continues to pave new paths, connecting traditional Puerto Rican sounds with genres such as classical, urban, jazz, rock, and pop.