December 23, 2003
Contact: Susan Gwynne
(805) 893-2098
e-mail: gwynne-s@sa.ucsb.edu

The Romeros, the royal family of the guitar,
perform at historic Rockwood

Summary Facts:

• The Romeros
• The royal family of the guitar
• A Chamber Music in Historic Sites® concert
• Thursday, January 29
• 8 pm / Rockwood, Santa Barbara Woman’s Club, 670 Mission Canyon Rd.
• Pre-show architecture chat and informal reception at 7 pm
• The concert is sold out
• Information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535

The Romeros, hailed as the royal family of the guitar, will perform on Thursday, January 29 at 8 pm at Rockwood (Santa Barbara Woman’s Club), 670 Mission Canyon Road. The concert is sold out. The Romeros encompass three generations of artists who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls, dazzling audiences with their virtuosity. Able to play with astonishing delicacy and inspiring drive, the quartet currently is comprised of Celin, Pepe, Celino and Lito, sons and grandsons of the brilliant Celedonio Romero. Stellar, exciting, bold, yet always cerebral, this ensemble brings flamenco flair to a challenging classical repertoire. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch calls them “musicians of utmost skill and taste...brilliance runs in the family.”

In 1957 the legendary Celedonio Romero, with his sons Celin, Pepe and Angel, founded the internationally renowned ensemble. Although Celedonio died on May 8, 1996 in San Diego, California, the family claims, “The spirit of the quartet is him; all our concerts now will be to pay homage to him.” To have so many virtuosi of the same instrument in one family is unique in the world of musical performance, and in the realm of the classical guitar it is absolutely without precedent. The New York Times writes, “One of the enduring mysteries of musical talent is how skills seem to flow genetically from musical parent to musical child. In the Romero family the flow has been swift and unimpeded. The virtuosity of the four Romeros was uniformly solid and finely considered, as if these techniques had derived from a single mold.”

The Romeros’ sterling reputation has been continually confirmed by repeated appearances with virtually every major symphony orchestra in the United States including those of Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The family has twice been invited to the White House; in 1983 they appeared at the Vatican in a special concert for Pope John Paul II, and in 1986 they performed for Charles, Prince of Wales.

For over 40 years three generations of Romeros have inspired composers to enrich the repertoire of guitar quartet with orchestra, which includes works by such distinguished composers as Joaquín Rodrigo, Federico Moreno Torroba, Morton Gould, Francisco de Madina, Lorenzo Palomo and others. Television fans have seen and heard the Romeros many times on the Tonight and Today shows as well as on PBS specials and PBS’s telecast of Evening at the Boston Pops with The Romeros performing Vivaldi and Rodrigo.

Prior to the concert, the Pearl Chase Society will serve light refreshments at a reception that begins at 7 pm. During this reception, historian Christine Palmer will lead an architectural chat about Rockwood.

The Romeros will hold a Guitar Master Class with UCSB Students on Thursday, January 29 from 12 noon–2 pm at UCSB Geiringer Hall, Music Building. This event is free and open to public observation. The class is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures, the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation SAGE program and the UCSB Music Department.

This concert is the second of four events in UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2003-2004 performing arts season held in local buildings of architectural significance where audiences can experience music in unique and intimate environments. The series will continue with Anonymous 4 performing at two different locations, the First Methodist Church on Friday, April 30 and La Casa de Maria Chapel on Saturday, May 1 (this performance is sold out).

Rockwood, the Santa Barbara Woman’s Club opened in 1928. Chiefly designed by the team of Edwards and Plunkett, best known for the Arlington Theatre, this gracious Spanish revival style clubhouse provides the Old World charm suited to a classical guitar concert.

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents its historic sites series by agreement with Chamber Music in Historic Sites®—a nationally licensed series, Dr. MaryAnn Bonino, president and founder. Thanks to the Pearl Chase Society for its support and to KDB Classical Radio for sponsoring this concert. This residency is funded in part by an organizational development grant using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission. The show is sold out.

For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.

Editor: For photos, please call
Susan Gwynne at (805) 893-2098.