Kurt Hauser is a guitarist, composer and educator based in Bisbee, Arizona. He began playing guitar at 16 while growing up in Ohio. Initially drawn to classic rock and heavy metal he soon became exposed to other music like classical and jazz. After high school and a three year stint in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper, Kurt moved to Arizona and enrolled at Arizona State University. Studying classical guitar performance with Frank Koonce he acquired bachelor and master of music degrees.

Kurt currently plays guitar in Trio Salado, a jazz/funk/blues group. He also gigs regularly on solo guitar. Along with Gingher Leyendecker kurt founded the local AZ bands the Hardways leaving the band in 2008.

As a composer/performer  he has contributed music to award winning movie soundtracks. His compositions  span a world wide range of styles and genres. He is also an accomplished arranger of music for everything from solo guitar to orchestra.

After college Kurt started Tonal Center Music instruction in Tempe. Over the last 20+ years it has been home to several top tier instructors and hundreds of students of guitar, bass and piano.

Since 2014 he has been music faculty at Estrella Mountain Community College in Avondale, Arizona. He’s taught numerous courses there including guitar, electronic music, music theory, songwriting, world music and rock music and culture. He also founded and currently leads the EMCC Jazz Ensemble.

Kurt moved from Tempe to Bisbee in early 2021 and is looking forward to new adventures in southern Arizona.