Guitar Series

About the Guitar Series

The HCC Guitar Series provides an opportunity for our community to experience the artistry of world-class musicians right here at Dale Mabry Campus.

Sponsored by the campus Student Government Association, the series has been fortunate to host classical guitarists including Pepe Romero, Jason Vieaux, members of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Jorge Caballero, Beijing Duo, SoloDuo and Carlos Barbosa-Lima. The series also includes the first prize winner of the annual Guitar Foundation of America’s International Competition, along with other talented performers whose classical guitar careers are ascending.

Celino and Lito Romero

Concert:

Friday, April 12, 2024, at 7:30 pm

Celino and Lito Romero are the youngest members of the renowned Romero Quartet, whose illustrious career is unmistakably a milestone of twentieth century music. For the past decades, Celino & Lito have continued the family tradition encompassing three generations. The unique Romero quartet known to millions as “The Royal Family of the Guitar” was formed by their grandfather Celedonio Romero and his sons Celin (Celino’s father), Pepe and Angel (Lito’s father) after they had emigrated from Spain to the United States in 1957.

Both Celino and Lito Romero are distinguished teachers of guitar, giving numerous master classes throughout the world. Proud to carry on the tradition, Celino and Lito display the virtuosity synonymous with the name Romero. As one critic pointed out ‘scientist know how to clone sheep, the Romeros know how to clone guitar virtuosos’. To have so many virtuosi of the same instrument in one family is unique in the present music world, and in the realm of the classical guitar it is absolutely without precedent.

"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 New York Times).

Photos by Herald Hoffman

Get Your Tickets

All Guitar Series concerts are $20 each, but are free for current HCC students and employees. To reserve your free ticket, click on the ticket link above and use Promo Code “HCCStudent” (for students) or “HCCEmployee” (for employees) online at checkout. On the night of the concert, all free tickets must be accompanied by a current HCC Hawkcard ID for entry.

Masterclass with Celino and Lito Romero, classical guitar duo

Saturday, April 13, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

To participate in the masterclass, please contact us at hccguitarseries@hccfl.edu. Those who wish to watch the masterclass are welcome to attend without reservation.

Jay Kacherski, Classical Guitarist

Concert:

Friday, October 13, 2023 at 7:30 pm

"Virtuosismo" and "technical dominance" are the words used by the press to describe American guitarist, Jay Kacherski. A native of New York, Kacherski has performed around the world as a soloist and member of the Grammy nominated Texas Guitar Quartet. He has performed at distinguished music festivals and venues such as the Festival International de Guitarra de Taxco, Mexico, the Florida Guitar Foundation, the Brevard Music Center, Round Top, the New Orleans International Guitar Festival, the Austin Classical Guitar Society, and the International Guitar Art Festival in Shenzhen, China. He has also collaborated with Grammy-winners and nominees such as the chamber choir Conspirare, Chilean flutist Viviana Guzman, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and renowned American composer Libby Larsen.

Jay Kacherski is currently on the guitar faculty at Loyola University of New Orleans, the University of New Orleans, and McNeese State University, as well as NOCCA, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He has presented at music conventions and festivals throughout the U.S. and is often invited to adjudicate at national and international competitions. As a teacher, his students have been finalists and winners of international solo and chamber music competitions and recipients of scholarships for continued study.

Kacherski is the Artistic Director of the Houston Classical Guitar Festival and Competition and the Loyola Guitar Festival in New Orleans as well as the Director of the Francis G. Bulber Youth Orchestra Guitar Program. His academic studies include a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Music degree in Guitar Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, and undergraduate degrees from Florida Southern College where he graduated with honors.

Masterclass with Jay Kacherski, classical guitarist:

Saturday, October 14, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

To participate in the masterclass, please contact us at hccguitarseries@hccfl.edu. Those who wish to watch the masterclass are welcome to attend without reservation.

Lovro Peretić

Classical Guitarist

Concert:

Friday, November 3, 2023, at 7:30 pm

Lovro Peretić is an internationally award-winning classical guitarist from Zagreb, Croatia. He is regarded as one of the leading guitarists of the younger generation.

He has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious guitar festivals and music concert series, including Paris International Guitar Festival, London International Guitar Festival, Music Festival “Vladimir Spivakov” in Moscow, Zagreb Guitar Festival, Antwerp International Guitar Festival, José Tomás Villa de Petrer International Guitar Festival and many more. He has won more than 30 prizes in international competitions, including the International Concert Artist competition of Guitar Foundation of America in 2022.