Bio
Learn more about Brooklyn-based guitar teacher Chris Kuklis!
BIO
Wherein Chris teaches guitar and is awesome.
Chris Kuklis is a guitarist, educator, performer and composer based in Brooklyn, NY.
He holds a BFA in Jazz & Contemporary Music Performance from The New School, and has been teaching guitar lessons in Brooklyn for more than a decade.
Prior to founding Brooklyn Guitar Lessons, Chris spent seven years as a top guitar instructor at Brooklyn Music Lessons. During his tenure there, he developed a unique and effective set of strategies for teaching students of all ages.
His approach is based on the philosophy that one size doesn't fit all. Each student is a unique creative individual, and receives a lesson path specifically tailored to their goals, personality, and learning style.
These individually-tailored lesson plans in combination with his kind, patient disposition, have made Chris' lessons a favorite among beginning guitarists and advanced students alike.
Chris performing with Corbu at Surf Lodge in Montauk, NY June '15
AS A PERFORMER
For more than a decade, Chris was a member of The MK Groove Orchestra, a 15-piece space funk big band, and has worked as a sideman for numerous indie rock projects (Corbu, Ace Reporter) which have toured nationally, taking the stage at major venues including: Bowery Ballroom, Brooklyn Bowl, The 9:30 Club (DC), Union Transfer (Philadelphia), and at the SXSW Music Festival (Austin, TX)
He has also performed regularly at The McKittrick Hotel, home to the immersive theater production Sleep No More.
In the experimental realm, he has performed contemporary works at Lincoln Center Out Of Doors (Rhys Chatham’s A Crimson Grail), with Balinese ensemble Gamelan Dharma Swara (via the Indonesian consulate) and at some of NYC's foremost experimental venues including John Zorn’s avant-garde stronghold The Stone (with William Parker).
AS A COMPOSER
Chris' compositions have appeared on nationally broadcast television programs (Desperate Housewives, Orange Is The New Black, CMA Awards) and commercials (Heineken, Vogue), and have been featured in festivals and art exhibitions, including a critically acclaimed multimedia installation for Hopes, Dreams and Hard Times at the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece.
In the fall of '13, Chris took part in an artist-in-residence program at Williams College (Williamstown, MA) where he taught composition workshops while creating the score for dancer Will Rawls' The Planet Eaters.
In 2016, an updated version of the piece Planet Eaters: Seconds was performed at NYC’s River To River festival (NYTimes) & the Impulstanz dance festival (Vienna, Austria) where it won the Prix Jardin d’Europe.