Walter Kitundu

Walter Kitundu (b. 1973) is an American instrument builder, composer and sound artist best known as an inventor of the 'Phonoharp' – an innovative electroacoustic instrument that combines phonograph/turntable with a stringed section. In September 2008, Kitundu received a MacArthur Fellowship. He was born in Rochester, Minnesota and spent his early childhood in Tanzania. Walter returned to the United States at the age of 8, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late nineties. Kronos Quartet invited Kitundu to create and build new instruments for the ensemble. Some of his creations can be heard on their 2009 album Floodplain. Walter Kitundu is also a visiting professor at the California College Of Arts And Crafts.