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Luis Leguia is polite and unassuming, with the manners of an old-school gentleman. He insists that a visitor have coffee before conversation, wrestles down his feisty, friendly dog Teddy and restrains him, and modestly leaves out the details of the poverty-stricken childhood that he rose above to become a musician with the Boston Symphony Orchestra -- until his wife, Stephanie, prods him or fills in the gaps herself.
But when it comes to his cello, there is nothing quiet about the Milton musician. He wants to be heard. He wants to stand out in a crowd. For years, he had searched for a cello that would be powerful enough to distinguish itself amid the sea of sounds in an orchestra and still maintain its subtle sweetness.
He never found it. So he invented one himself using an unlikely material -- carbon fiber. And now he designs, manufactures, and sells carbon fiber cellos, violins, and violas through Luis and Clark Carbon Fiber Instruments, a company that he started five years ago and runs out of his home. Carbon fiber, strong but flexible, is strands of carbon tightly woven and set in resin. He has sold 100 cellos, 12 violins, and 20 violas. He designs the instruments, and they are fabricated by a Rhode Island boat maker, Matt Dunham.
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