Marisa Sardo

Founder/Talent Agent

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Marisa Sardo is a world-renowned musician with over 3 years of experience as a talent agent in the music industry. With a strong network across labels, brands, promoters, and media, she excels at creating opportunities that elevate unique talents and expand reach. Passionate about music and dedicated to empowering artists, Marisa continues to champion authentic voices and drive growth in an ever-evolving industry.

During her time in the spotlight, Marisa has actively toured and performed globally, bringing her classical guitar mastery to prestigious venues and festivals. She has toured across five continents and over 25 countries, and showcased repertoire that spans European romantic works, African and South American music, world premieres by living composers, and programs comprised of all-women composers. This global touring experience has given Marisa a deep understanding of international markets and audience engagement—skills she now brings to artist representation.

Julian Sardo

Talent Agent

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Julian Sardo is a versatile and accomplished vocalist, recently graduating from High Point University with a minor in music and a specialization in voice. During his time at the university, Julian was a prominent member of the Chamber Singers Choir, touring across Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. His performances have earned him public praise from acclaimed composers including Paul Mealor, Brad Nix, and Stephen Caracciolo. Notably, he gave the world premiere of Kevin Day’s celebrated choral work, American Pastorale.

In addition to his classical vocal achievements, Julian was a lead vocalist and arranger with the High Point University Toccatatones, performing nationally and recently taking the stage at Disney World. He contributed to their latest album, All on Yellow—available on all streaming platforms—not only as a vocalist but also as an arranger for tracks like Teeth and Something in the Orange. Currently, Julian is completing his debut choral composition, O Rest My Weary Heart, marking an exciting step in his evolving career as both a performer and composer.

Ines Morroni

Operations Manager

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Ines Morroni is the Operations Manager at Sardo Art Management where she oversees the internal logistics that power the company’s day-to-day operations. With a focus on systems, data, and process management, Ines supports the strategic goals of both the artists and the team while enhancing efficiency and communication. Her work bridges behind-the-scenes operations with hands-on service, helping artists feel confident and informed throughout the journey.

Duo Imbesi Zangarà

Carmelo Imbesi and Carmen Zangarà, partners in both art and life, are Italian musicians, composers, and educators, acclaimed for their brilliant technique, sound quality, passion, and the elegance of their interpretative choices. They founded their duo in 2010, honing their chamber music skills with M° Giampaolo Bandini and are regarded as one of the “most interesting chamber music groups with guitar on a national level” (M.Today – October 2019). They are regularly invited to perform at festivals, concert seasons, and musical events in Italy, Europe, and Asia, and also collaborate in theatrical productions as both performers and composers of incidental music, exploring genres such as jazz, neoclassical, and world music. They are exclusive artists for the many Billionaire Events held annually in Italy.

Their work as interpreters involves a commitment to first-time recordings of new guitar music and the rediscovery of lesser-known and unusual works. Since 2020, they have been recording artists for the Stradivarius/Naxos, Classical Music 3.0 Records, Tactus and INRI Classic/Universal Music Italia labels, with a discography that currently includes around 20 releases, including albums, EPs, singles, and live recordings. They are also authors of publications, compositions, transcriptions, critical editions, and urtext editions for Volontè e co., Da Vinci Edition, JK Mertz Edition, Salabert, Bergmann Edition, and Edizioni Suvini Zerboni (Sugar Music).

D'Addario Artists and official endorsers of Martinez Guitars, Wambooka and Guitarlift, they have been part of the Metatrongroup Management roster for the INRI Classic – Universal Music Italia label as composers since 2021. Their debut came in January 2022 with the single Rainy Sunset – Memories from a Picture, inspired by the sunsets of Sicily and Calabria. In June 2022, they released Tears of War, inspired by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which received praise from the Vatican, including a letter of recognition from Pope Francis. In 2023, they released Whispers, inspired by inner dialogues. The official music videos are released by the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts in San Francisco.

They have been teaching at various Italian conservatories since 2010 (Vibo Valentia, Trapani, Matera, Teramo, Catanzaro, Caltanissetta, Foggia, Avellino). In 2013, they founded the J.K. Mertz Guitar Academy in Barcellona P.G., where they regularly offer postgraduate master classes and host Erasmus+ courses. They are certified life coaches through the NLP Society of Richard Bandler (USA), specializing in coaching dedicated to musicians. Carmen is also a singer, writing about culture and entertainment for several web magazines, and is the frontwoman of the band Blue Mood, where she sings (inspired by the great voices of Mina, Giorgia, and Silvia Mezzanotte) and plays bass, guitar, and keyboards. Carmelo is a lawyer specializing in Entertainment Law and Copyright Law, autor for Quinte Parallele Magazine.

Duo Latino Americano

Founded in Peru in 2020, the Latin American Duo brings together Colombian violinist Lorena López and Peruvian guitarist Harry Mendoza, two performers devoted to the interpretation, dissemination, and international projection of contemporary Latin American repertoire. Their artistic work is grounded in a refined and solid chamber music approach, integrating the academic tradition with stylistic elements drawn from diverse musical expressions across Latin America, resulting in a distinctive and recognizable sonic identity for the violin–guitar format. 

The duo has performed in major venues and festivals across Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia, China, and several European countries, actively contributing to the international circulation of Latin American music and the promotion of new works written specifically for their ensemble. Their artistic trajectory reflects a strong commitment to cultural exchange, contemporary creation, and the visibility of Latin American composers on international stages.

Alongside their performance career, Lorena López and Harry Mendoza maintain a sustained and significant role as cultural managers and artistic directors of the International Ximénez Abril Festival, a project dedicated to the revival and dissemination of the music of Peruvian composer Pedro Ximénez Abril Tirado, as well as to fostering intercultural dialogue among musicians from different countries and strengthening the presence of classical guitar and academic music in Peru. For their artistic and cultural contributions, the duo received official recognition from the Ministry of Culture of Peru in 2024.

In addition to this distinction, the Latin American Duo were awarded the International Circulation Grant for Artists, a highly competitive national prize that enabled them to undertake an extensive international tour for the second time, with performances in China and Spain. During this tour, the duo performed in ten different cities across China, presenting concerts in major theaters and concert halls that regularly host leading international violin and guitar artists. This second tour followed an earlier Chinese tour in which they performed in four cities, including Shanghai, where they were invited to return—marking an important step in the duo’s consolidation within the Chinese cultural and artistic market. 

In Spain, their performances included emblematic venues such as Guitarras de Luthier in Madrid and the University of Alicante, where they were invited to perform within the prestigious International Guitar Master’s Program, one of the most relevant and internationally recognized guitar programs in Europe. These engagements further reinforced the duo’s artistic presence within key academic and professional guitar circuits.

Currently, the Latin American Duo is based in the United States as artists-in-residence at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), where they were awarded a full merit-based scholarship. Under the guidance of Dr. Isaac Bustos and Dr. Nicole Cherry, their work focuses on advanced chamber music development, deepening their exploration of repertoire, ensemble aesthetics, and the consolidation of a distinctive Latin American interpretative voice. As part of this residency, the duo maintains an active concert schedule in San Antonio, including performances for university events, community outreach programs, senior living residences, and healthcare-related cultural initiatives, as well as their role as resident artists with Music Bridges Around the World. 

The artistic vision of the Latin American Duo is centered on creating performances that function as sensitive bridges between audiences and the diverse musical expressions of Latin America, even within culturally distant contexts. Through their work, they seek to communicate, connect, and share the aesthetic richness of Latin American music, offering live musical experiences that emphasize presence, dialogue, and human connection on stages around the world.

Susana Frade

Susana Frade is a Cuban classical guitarist whose career bridges performance, education, and the advancement of new repertoire. Born in Havana, she began her musical studies at the Manuel Saumell Conservatory and later graduated from the Instituto Superior de Arte. She holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she studied with Dr. Matthew Dunne and Dr. Isaac Bustos, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Guitar Performance from Florida State University, where she also served as a teaching assistant under the guidance of Bruce Holzman. 

Frade’s performances span Cuba, Mexico, the United States, Europe, and South America. She has appeared at major festivals including the Havana International Guitar Festival, the International Guitar Festival of Zihuatanejo (Mexico), the All-Guitar SummerFest (San Antonio), the International Guitart Festival (FIU), Florida State University’s Prism Festival, Florida Guitar Festival at FSU, and the 2nd Festival Internacional de Guitarra in General Roca, Argentina. She has toured France with Duo Con-Trastes and Cuarteto Guitarras de La Habana, and in 2014 performed as a soloist at Paris’s American Cathedral. 

Central to her artistry is a commitment to expanding the guitar’s presence in today’s concert life. She has appeared as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory, and the Sonantas Habaneras Guitar Orchestra. She has also premiered numerous works for guitar and orchestra, including Concierto para guitarra y orquesta by Björn Raithel, Hologramas by Ariannys Mariño, and Mestizo by Edmundo Vásquez, a concert

piece written especially for her. 

Her achievements include the Love of Learning Award from Phi Kappa Phi, the Outstanding Guitar Performance Award at UTSA, the PEN & Inc Funds Award to develop a website based on her doctoral treatise The Legacy of Isaac Nicola: Método de Guitarra (ProQuest), first place in the Graduate Music Category at UTSA’s 20th Annual Spring Research Conference (2020), and top prizes in the National Guitar Competition “Isaac Nicola” in Cuba. She was also a finalist in the 2020 Ex-Aequo International Classical Guitar Competition. Frade has presented internationally, including a livestream lecture for the Tonebase platform on the Cuban School of Guitar. Her recordings with Sonantas Habaneras for the Colibrí label include works by Jesús Ortega, featuring her as a soloist. She has also recorded with Duo Con-Trastes (Contrastes, 2014; Retratos, 2018), with Cuban singer Liuba María Hevia under the Bis Music label, and on the double album Jesús Ortega and the Cuban Guitar / Paisaje Cubano con Sonantas. In addition, as part of her master’s degree at UTSA, she produced the recording project My Musical Journey. Today, Susana Frade continues to shape the guitar’s landscape as both performer and educator. She is a member of the International Suzuki Association, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and the FSU Classical Guitar Society, and teaches classical guitar and related courses at both college and entry levels. Through her performances, premieres, and teaching, she works to connect audiences with the rich traditions of the guitar.

Samael Robledo

Samael Robledo is a guitarist, arranger, and educator. He holds a Master’s degree in Latin American and Caribbean Music, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and a Bachelor’s degree in Guitar Performance with Meritorious Honors from the University of Antioquia, where he currently serves as a professor in all undergraduate programs of the Department of Music. His work integrates performance, research-creation, and pedagogy, with a special focus on Colombian and Latin American musical traditions. As a member of the Dúo Robledo-Tobón, he has premiered works by contemporary composers and performed at venues such as the Guitar Week of the Banco de la República (Bogotá), the Festival del Tiple, la Bandola y la Guitarra (Pereira), the Festival de la Guitarra (El Retiro), and the National Guitar Festivals of the University of Antioquia (Medellín), among many others across the country, offering concerts, workshops, and masterclasses.

He has been director, arranger, and guitarist of the Orquesta Tropical EPM, with which he performed throughout various regions of Antioquia, and has developed a significant cultural role as a juror and workshop leader in university institutions and artistic projects. He has been the recipient of multiple national and municipal arts grants, including the 2025 Music Creation Grant from the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Knowledge of Colombia for the production of the album Convergencias, as well as several grants from the Medellín Mayor’s Office. In 2014, he and the Dúo Robledo-Tobón were awarded the prestigious Young Performers Award from the Banco de la República of Colombia.

His recent artistic work includes three recordings with the Dúo Robledo-Tobón: the album Convergencias (2025), produced with support from the national Ministry of Culture; and the EPs Encuentros, Vol. 1 (2024) and Encuentros, Vol. 2 (2025), the latter featuring percussionist Juancho Tambores. His trajectory integrates creation, transcription, arrangement, and performance for solo guitar and chamber music, establishing him as a leading figure in the contemporary projection of Colombian and Latin American guitar music.

Aurora Orsini

Aurora Orsini is an Italian classical guitarist. As a soloist, she has performed in Latin America, Italy, Spain, Hungary, and England. She completed advanced studies in Spain at the University of Alicante, where she attended the Master en Interpretación de Guitarra Clásica, winning the Guitarras Alhambra scholarship and studying with Manuel Barrueco, David Russell, Sergio Assad, and Xavier Diaz-Latorre.

She began her studies with Maestro Fabio Fasano and in 2017 earned the Diploma Vecchio Ordinamento in Guitar with highest marks. She continued her advanced studies at the “L. Boccherini” Conservatory in Lucca with Maestro Giampaolo Bandini, receiving the Second-Level Academic Diploma with a score of 110 cum laude. She completed her studies in Italy by attending the Second-Level Master’s Degree in Musical Interpretation for Guitar at the “Arrigo Boito” Conservatory in Parma, under the guidance of Lorenzo Micheli and Stefano Grondona.

Admitted at a very young age to the courses of the Accademia Chigiana, she received from Maestro Oscar Ghiglia the diploma di merito reserved for the best students. In the summer of 2022, she was again admitted to the class of the American guitarist Eliot Fisk.

In 2020, placing second eligible, she won the audition for the guitar position at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Under the direction of Maestro Zubin Mehta, she was the guitarist for Verdi’s Otello, and under Maestro Daniele Gatti for Donizetti’s Don Pasquale.

As an orchestral musician and soloist, she also collaborates with major Italian orchestras and theaters, including the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the Teatro Goldoni of Livorno, the Istituzione Sinfonica Abruzzese, the Arché Orchestra, the Musa Orchestra, the Suoni del Sud Orchestra, the Boccherini Orchestra, and the Costantino Bertucci Mandolin Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, she has participated in national and international competitions, including the “G. Rospigliosi Competition” in 2022, where she won the 2nd Prize. Since 2020, she has performed with soprano Sofia Celenza, with whom she founded the Estra Duo, focusing on early music and twentieth-century repertoire for voice and guitar. Their recording project Songs of the Land was released in 2025 by Da Vinci Publishing.

Alongside her intense concert activity, she is engaged in musicological study and research. Thanks to a research grant, in 2022 she worked as a researcher at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel (Switzerland), one of the world’s most important archives for modern and contemporary music. She has written for the Italian journal GuitArt and collaborates with the Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti (IUC) in the preparation of program notes. She holds a degree in Musicology from the “La Sapienza” University of Rome, with a thesis on the previously unpublished correspondence between composer Goffredo Petrassi and critic Massimo Mila.

She is currently a guitar teacher at the “Santa Rosa da Viterbo” Music High School, where she teaches both individual lessons and chamber music, guiding students in their technical and artistic development.

Texas Guitar Quartet

Formed in 2009, GRAMMY™-nominated Texas Guitar Quartet has been hailed as “Impeccable in every respect” by Classical Guitar Magazine. Throughout the United States, Central America, Spain, and China, audiences have embraced the quartet for their daring programs, dazzling virtuosity and joyful music making. Recent highlights include performances for the Encuentro Internacional de Guitarra 2016 (Nicaragua), Victoria Bach Festival, Guitar Foundation of America Convention, Festival Internacional del Noreste (Mexico), and Texas Music Festival. During the summer of 2015, the quartet presented a series of concerts in historic cathedrals along the Camino de Santiago, Spain.

The TxGQ premiered a landmark new work by lauded American composer Nico Muhly in collaboration with Grammy-winning chamber choir Conspirare, Grammy-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and the Dublin Guitar Quartet. The group continues to push the boundaries of the guitar quartet medium by premiering exciting new works by Joseph Williams II, Peter Lieuwen, Aureo Puerta Carreño, Benoit Albert, and John Truitt and creating daring arrangements of orchestral works by Mozart, Beethoven and Ravel.

Red, the quartet's first album, was released to critical acclaim and was praised by Guitar International as a “tremendous accomplishment for the classical guitar...the TxGQ perform with virtuosity, clarity, balance, and a refined character which will no doubt help to establish them as one of today’s leading guitar quartets.” Their follow-up album, ICON, features the complete 40th Symphony by Mozart and was released in 2017.

The TxGQ has been featured in concertos with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra (Maestro Marcelo Bussiki), Camerata Bach and Nicaraguan Youth Symphony (Maestro César Bermúdez Rodriguez), Sam Houston State University Symphony Orchestra (Maestro Zachary Carretin), Abilene Philharmonic (Maestro David Itkin), and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (Columbus, GA). Their commitment to performing outreach concerts led them to be part of the Texas Commission on the Arts Texas Touring Artist Roster from 2010 to 2018, and again startig in 2024. The TxGQ is Isaac Bustos, Joseph Palmer, Jay Kacherski, and Alejandro Montiel.

Dr. Isaac Bustos

Praised for his “virtuosic yet effortless flair” (San Francisco Classical Voice) and “warm, round tones” that allow “the notes of Bach [to cascade] from the guitar, every note correct and played without hesitation” (Boston Globe), GRAMMY™-nominated classical guitarist, pedagogue, and educator Dr. Isaac Bustos enjoys an extensive performing career that has taken him across the United States, Canada, Central America, Europe, and China. He has appeared on numerous radio and television broadcasts and is in high demand as a clinician and masterclass instructor. Bustos has been invited to perform at some of the world’s most prestigious guitar festivals, including the Guitar Foundation of America Convention, the Panama Guitar Festival, the Festival Internacional de Guitarra Monterrey, and the Festival del Noreste in Mexico. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras such as the Orchestra of New Spain, the Baytown Symphony Orchestra, the Nicaraguan National Symphony Orchestra, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Maestro JoAnn Falletta.

Dr. Bustos has earned top prizes in over 12 major international competitions, including seven first-place awards. He has premiered works by composers such as Nico Muhly, Blas Atehortúa, Samuel Zyman, Frank Wallace, Mark Cruz, Peter Lieuwen, and Joe Williams II. In 2019, he gave the world premiere of a new guitar concerto composed for him by Peter Lieuwen, performing with the University of Houston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Franz Anton Krager. His discography includes recordings on the Delos, MSR, Vgo Recordings, and Frameworks.

An avid chamber musician, Bustos has collaborated with Grammy-winning ensembles, including the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Conspirare Choir, and the Turtle Creek Chorale, as well as with legendary Mexican cellist Carlos Prieto. He is also a founding member of the award-winning Texas Guitar Quartet, with whom he has released two critically acclaimed albums.

Highlights of his 2023-24 season included performances with the Camerata de Querétaro, Cusco Symphony Orchestra—where he gave the Peruvian premiere of Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto Madrigal—as well as the Brazos Valley Symphony, St. Louis Classical Guitar Society, and Symphony of the Hills.

Dr. Bustos holds a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance from the University of New Hampshire, where he was the first and only guitarist to receive a full scholarship. He earned both his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, studying under the renowned guitarist Adam Holzman.

As an educator, Bustos is deeply committed to teaching, and his students have garnered numerous competition victories, including top prizes at the Eastfield Guitar Festival, Brownsville Guitar Ensemble Competition, Classical Minds Guitar Competition, Houston Young Artist Competition, East Carolina University Competition, Rosario Competition, Appalachian State Competition, Boston Guitar Fest International Competition, and the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition. Dr. Bustos is the Head of Guitar Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio School of Music, where he also serves as Artistic Director of the Southwest Guitar Symposium.

Dr. Bustos is an Augustine Strings Sponsored Artist and performs on a 2020 Martin Blackwell Double-top cedar guitar.

Ben Lahring

From his formative years spent in tropical northern Australia to a globe-spanning music career, Ben Lahring has established himself as a captivating composers and performer with “absolutely beautiful” interpretations (Liona Boyd) and a “gift of playing the intention behind the music” (William Beauvais, composer). 

Lahring has always been bold in his musical explorations, with engagements ranging from a year-long solo-guitar performance residency in Sydney, Australia, to playing in the orchestra pits of musical theater productions and touring with choirs, rock bands and soul singers. His own compositions are consistently popular with audiences.

He was a regular fixture in the New York City guitar scene for several years, where he released his first album of solo guitar music, praised for being “fun and enthusiastic” and displaying “a natural feel for the music” (This is Classical Guitar).

Lahring’s follow-up album of solo guitar music, Driftwood, has been reviewed to high acclaim as “a work of originality and shimmering beauty” (Vivascene) and “one of the most singularly beautiful guitar recitals” (Fanfare Magazine).

Ben Lahring is the founder of MusiCurate. He has 25 years experience as a music educator and has served on the faculties of four universities. He is an Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre and an examiner with the Royal Conservatory of Music.