The Chamber Music Society of Detroit presented performances by guitarist Celino Romero with special guest Dr. James Lentini, senior vice president for Academic Affairs and Provost at Oakland University. The concert took place Sunday, Nov. 9 in Varner Hall.

Willa Walker, vice president of the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, was in attendance.

“This is the second season of our series at Oakland University presented in partnership with the department of music, theatre and dance,” Walker said.

Moved by music

“I knew I wanted to be a musician from the age of four and never had a second thought about that,” said Steve Wogaman, president of the Chamber Music Society of Detroit.

Wogaman obtained a Doctorate in Piano Performance from Indiana University.

“Music chooses you,” Wogaman said. “It’s amazing when you listen to someone who really does performance for a living, the sensitivity, the sound and the way the music communicates is so advanced that it’s just intuitive.”

Lentini is also a guitarist and composer. He performed during the recital in a duet with Celino Romero.

“James Lentini did a fantastic job,” Wogaman said. “The thing that was most impressive about his performance tonight was that he was able to listen so well to what Celino Romero was doing that it was as though he was another Romero on the stage.”

A harmonic history

Romero is the youngest member of the legendary Romero Quartet, founded by Spanish guitarist Celedonio Romero along with sons Celin, Pepe and Angel. Romero gave insight on his preferred guitars.

“There are two makers that really come to mind and the first one is the all-time legendary, his name Miguel Rodriguez,” Romero said. “Tonight I played a Pepe Romero Jr., so it’s Pepe Romero’s son and this was his 202nd guitar.”  

“My mother was a soprano and I’ve been around all kinds of music,” Romero said. “I learned how to read music when I was 15 years old with my mom.”

However, it wasn’t always all about music. At one point, Romero did want to become a professional baseball player.

“I still play baseball a lot and out of high school I just wanted to clear my head so I took a semester off,” Romero said. That’s when he really got into the guitar and began studying at the Romero School of Guitar and touring around the world  . 

Teaching his passion

Romero is not only a performer, but also a private instructor.

“Basically, with my students, I think the most important thing is really believing in their teacher and what the teacher is telling them,” Romero said.

The students need to listen to their instruments as well as their instructors.

“If I’m going to give a student advice, it’s to play slow, clear, metronome and also don’t forget one key thing, you’ve got to always listen to the sound coming out of your guitar,” Romero said. “A lot of people forget to listen to their instrument.”