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Kevin Kastning (b. Wichita, Kansas, December 26, 1961) is an American guitarist, composer and musical instrument inventor. He plays the twelve string guitar, six string guitar, fretless guitar, extended baritone guitar, twelve string extended baritone guitar, alto guitar and the fourteen string contraguitar.

History
Born in 1961 in Wichita, Kansas, Kastning's first instrument was a trumpet and by age 11 had his first guitar. He attended Wichita East High School during which time he was in the school orchestra and jazz ensemble as well as in several bands. Kastning attended Wichita State University between 1980-1984, graduating with a Bachelor of Music. While there he studied composition under the tutelage of Pulitzer Prize winning composer, Walter Mays. In 1985, Kastning moved to Boston, Massachusetts where he pursued graduate studies at Berklee College of Music for 2 years. At Berklee, Kastning studied with Walter Beasley and John la Porta while being privately tutored by guitar legend Pat Metheny. Between the years of 1985 and 1990 he played in numerous jazz chamber groups, playing at clubs throughout the greater Boston and Hartford area are as well as in his own jazz ensemble, the Kevin Kastning Unit, which released a self-titled album in 1988. The Kevin Kastning Unit included Carl Clements on tenor and soprano saxophone with which Kastning has maintained a working relationship.

Since that time, Kastning has made numerous notable collaborative avant-garde classical guitar recordings, which are largely improvised. Kastning plays a number of guitar family instruments of his own imagining on his albums including a 6 string extended baritone guitar, an extended baritone guitar, a 12 string alto guitar and a 14 string contraguitar. His music consistently receives strong reviews in the experimental acoustic music community and other modern abstract traditions. Irish painter, Ken Browne's March 2010 exhibition at the Origin Art Gallery (Dublin) featured abstract paintings based on Kastning's music.

Kastning has invented a number of guitar family instruments which extend the traditional range of the guitar into new territory.

Kastning is an artist endorser for Santa Cruz Guitars, Daniel Roberts Stringworks, Anvil Cases, Enhanced Audio, Bricasti Design, Kelsone, Peluso, John Pearse Strings and G7th.

Kastning currently lives in Groton, Massachusetts with his wife.

Recording Artist
In 1990 Kastning formed the KastningSiegfried Duet Project with colleague and fellow guitarist, Siegfried, and over the next several years they wrote and recorded 5 albums of acoustic, experimental classical guitar compositions which were all released on the label, Grey Disc. The KastningSiefried Duet Project is ongoing although Kastning has moved away from performing and recording composed music and favors instead improvisation in the recording studio.

In 2006 Kastning began a long term collaboration with Hungarian guitarist, Sandor Szabo. Together they have recorded 4 albums, released the Grey Disc label, each of which is completely improvised, or composed in real time within the studio. Each album was recorded in a single day and each track represents a one time recording without overdubs or multiple takes.

In 2009, Kastning met British electric guitarist, Mark Wingfield and proceeded the following year to record an ambient, electro-acoustic album of improvised guitar duets with Wingfield which was released on Grey Disc Records.

Composer
In addition to performing, Kastning is a modern classical composer with over 200 compositions for various chamber and solo instrumentation, including ten piano sonatas, seven string quartets and numerous works for unusual instrument duets, trio, quartets and quintets. Kastning's works have been performed annually by the London Chamber Group since 2001.

Inventor
Kastning has invented a number of guitar family instruments in collaboration with Dan Roberts. The two met in 1999 when Kastning commissioned a guitar from the Santa Cruz Guitar Co, where Roberts was working. By 2002 Kastning was an artist endorser for the Santa Cruz Guitar Co. Kastning is interested in extending the pitch range of the guitar and from this, he has developed several unique instruments with Roberts. The first instrument was the DKK 6-string extended baritone guitar, a 13 fret D baritone, voiced for a low G tuning developed in 2005 with Roberts and the Santa Cruz Guitar Co. The second was the Santa Cruz DKK-12 string extended baritone guitar, a 13 fret, D baritone voiced for a low F# tuning developed in 2005/06. The third, the Santa Cruz KK-alto, 12 string alto guitar in A was developed in 2008. Kastning continued his collaboration with Roberts after Roberts left Santa Cruz Guitar CO to form his own company, Daniel Roberts Stringworks. In 2007 Kastning commissioned at 14 string contraguitar from Roberts which was completed in 2010.

KastningSiegfried
Binary Forms (1992) Greydisc Records

Book of Days (2002) Greydisc Records

Bichromial (2004) Greydisc Records

Scalar Fields (2005) Greydisc Records

Gravity of Shadows (2011) Greydisc Records

Sandor Szabo & Kevin Kastning
Resonance (2007) GreyDisc Records

Parallel Crossings (2008) GreyDisc Records

Parabola (2009) GreyDisc Records

Returning (2010) GreyDisc Records

Mark Wingfield & Kevin Kastning
I walked into the silver Darkness (2011) Greydisc Records

Other
The Kevin Kastning Unit (1988)

International Unfretted Artists (2008)