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Romero, O Romero

By Eileen Wingard
San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage, January 3, 2003

For the second consecutive year, Pepe Romero of the "Royal Family of the Guitar" will solo with the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra (TICO). The
concert, under the direction of David Amos, will take place 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, at Tifereth Israel Synagogue.

The Romero Family concertizes internationally, but as residents of Del Mar they perform frequently for San Diego County audiences.

The original Romeros Quartet consisted of the legendary Celedonio Romero and his three sons, whom he taught himself: Celin, Pepe and Angel. They were all born in Andalusia, Spain.

Currently, the Romeros Quartet consists of Celin and Pepe and their sons, Lito and Celino. The quartet appeared during the San Diego Symphony¹s Summer Pops Season and Angel Romero served as both conductor and guitar soloist for the symphony's Dec. 5-8 Masterworks Concerts.
Also, Pepe and Celin are playing two performances of a duet recital in the California Center for the Arts in Escondido on Jan. 4 and 5.

In addition to his role in the Romeros Quartet, Pepe Romero has had an illustrious career as a soloist and recording artist. He has appeared with
major orchestras in the U.S. and Europe and as a guest performer in Salzburg and in Israel, and at the Hollywood Bowl and the Wolf Trap.

At the TICO concert, Pepe will play the Concierto De Malaga, composed by his late father, Celedonio Romero, the founder of the guitar dynasty, and
orchestrated by Federico Moreno Torroba. Celedonio dedicated this work "with all my love and admiration to my son, Pepe." Pepe has performed the concerto often and recorded it with Neville Marriner and the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields.

The mixture of classical and Flamenco is in three movements, interspersed with solo cadenzas.

TICO will open the concert with Rossini¹s Overture to Il Signor Bruschino, followed by Haydn's Symphony #93 in D Major. The second half of the program will begin with two short Spanish works as prelude to the Romero concerto. For information, call Tifereth Israel Synagogue at (619) 697-6001.