Luka Andea Santin was born on January 6th, 2001, and grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. They were born with glaucoma, an eye disease that has no known cure. Throughout their life, Luka has had numerous eye surgeries to correct issues with their eyes. Because there is a possibility that they could go completely blind one day, Luka has learned braille, and used it to read and write for most of their schooling until high school.

Early in life, Luka loved music, and would often “play” their mother’s piano. As Luka got older, they began to make up their own songs on the piano, some even with lyrics. At the age of eight, Luka practically begged their mother to teach them piano lessons, as she had taken piano lessons when she was a child. Finally, in the summer of 2010, Luka’s mother began to teach them how to play the piano. It was around this time that Luka also started composing tangible pieces.

Initially, Luka’s pieces were short, easy piano solos. Throughout middle school, their style changed quite a bit, and composing began to be an emotional outlet for them. In high school, Luka began to explore how to compose for more instruments than just the piano, including wind ensembles, string orchestras, and more.

Luka really started to dig into their career as a songwriter and musician at the end of high school. When they started teaching themselves how to play the ukulele, they felt compelled to write pop-style songs with lyrics. Today, Luka prefers writing songs with lyrics, but continues to practice instrumental composing from time to time.

Reading music has been one of Luka’s biggest challenges as a musician. When they participated in middle and high school orchestra, they used a special computer monitor, called the Lime Lighter, that displayed their music in large print. A foot pedal is used to scroll through a piece on the Lime Lighter. Although Luka does not use this device anymore, they highly recommend it to other visually impaired musicians who may need it.

Despite the challenges they have faced because of their vision, Luka has shown that they are a resilient person who will not let any obstacles get in their way when it comes to making music. Music is Luka’s passion, and they absolutely adore playing and creating it.