Photo by Sociedad Filarmónica de Lima
Dr. Daniel Cueto is a seasoned composer and flutist whose overarching artistic mission is to bring the diverse, deeply rooted sounds of Peru to the global concert stage. His music is colored by a profound connection to his homeland, evoking the ancient melodic gestures of the Andes, the lively rhythms of the Peruvian coast, and the expansive harmonic possibilities of 21st-century music. His works have been performed in concert over 300 times across more than 20 countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Malta, the UK, Australia, Brazil, Peru and the United States.
Classically trained in Germany and the US, his compositions blend his full command of European craftsmanship with a vibrant energy and deep-rooted nostalgia that is unmistakably Peruvian in flavor. He has written over 40 works of solo, chamber, vocal and orchestral music, commissioned by such institutions as Deutschlandradio, the Robert-Schumann-Hochschule, Azusa Pacific University, the International Double Reed Society and the Sociedad Filarmónica de Lima. He frequently takes the stage to perform his own works, appearing as a soloist with major symphony orchestras in Peru and presenting lecture-recitals at prestigious North American conferences such as the National Flute Association Convention, the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, the Chicago Flute Fest and the Great Lakes Flute Festival.
Daniel Cueto’s first musical mentors were Lilia Romero and Gabriel Bustamante, from whom he learned to perform the Peruvian cajón and to appreciate and discern the musical styles of the Peruvian coast. César Peredo, his first flute teacher, initiated him in the rigorous woodwind tradition of the German school while also encouraging him to try his hand at composition using local musical traditions. At age 19, he emigrated to Germany to study with flutists Michael Faust and André Sebald at the Robert-Schumann-Hochschule in Düsseldorf, where he refined his skills as a solo, chamber and orchestral musician. He later studied with composers Friedrich Jaecker and Johannes Schild at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, undergoing thorough applied training in Renaissance counterpoint, Baroque fugue, and the harmonic and formal techniques of eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century music. Finally, he relocated to the United States to complete his studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, earning a Doctorate in Music Composition under the guidance of Claude Baker, Don Freund and Aaron Travers.
Photo by Marcos Angeloni
A committed and passionate educator with nine years of university teaching experience, Daniel Cueto has held posts at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, and the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and currently serves as Adjunct Professor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He cultivates a hands-on teaching style that integrates practical music-making, cross-cultural repertoire, and collaborative projects — encouraging students to find their own artistic voice, to develop and perform their own compositions, and to engage with music from living composers and traditions from around the globe.