A native of southern Minnesota, guitarist Ben Gateno earned Master’s and Doctoral degrees in classical guitar performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Following graduate school Ben studied with renowned teacher and performer Antigoni Goni in Brussels, Belgium. After his return to the US, Ben performed extensively as a member of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet. With the MGQ Ben was featured on public radio and television stations throughout the United States, as well as on the nationally broadcast radio program Performance Today.

Ben also appears on the MGQ’s 2014 release Thrum, a well-received album of commissioned music released on the Innova label. An extremely versatile musician, Ben enjoys presenting solo guitar programs that feature a wide range of styles and genres, with a special emphasis on classical, country blues, and ragtime. In 2020 Ben released his first solo recording, A Time When Things Were New: Solo Guitar Music of the 1920s. Ben resides in Rochester, MN where he maintains a busy private teaching schedule.