Originally from Sucre, Bolivia, Walter Beck AKA Jose Manuel Cuba is a professional composer, arranger, educator, and guitarist.  As a performer, his theatre credits include such musicals as Legally Blonde, Hairspray, and Chicago.  He has also shared the stage with notable jazz artists such as Tia Fuller, Gary Bartz, and Derrick Gardner.  As a composer and arranger, Cuba has had pieces performed by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, and the Frost Jazz Orchestra.  His solo trombone piece Something Sentimental has been performed at trombone/brass workshops across the country including the International Trombone Workshop.  He attended Howard University in Washington DC where he was the guitarist for the renowned Howard University Jazz Ensemble while earning a degree in guitar performance.  Later, he attended the University of Miami's Frost School of Music where he earned a degree in music composition.  He is currently on faculty at the International School of Music in Maryland where he teaches guitar, bass, and ukulele.  

Outside of music, Cuba enjoys playing/watching sports, reading, collecting vinyl, and brewing specialty coffee.