There’s something remarkable about watching music pass through generations. Not just in the notes themselves, but in the way passion, wisdom, and connection are handed down, shaping lives along the way.
This weekend, our season finale will celebrate exactly that. Inspired by our season theme: Give, is the centerpiece of our season that brings together the legendary Pepe Romero, ACG’s Artist-in-Residence, with nine young guitarists from Austin to perform in three quartets where Pepe joins as the fourth member performing music written and performed by the Romero family.
A year in the making, GIVE is a radiant testament to the spirit of generosity between generations, across cultures, and through music itself. Watch the livestream here.
Every once in a while, a project comes along that feels truly extraordinary; where the power of music, the generosity of mentorship, and the beauty of human connection all shine at once. Our season finale this weekend is one of those projects.
As we look forward to GIVE, the culmination of our 2024–25 season, we had the chance this week to speak with one of the young performers, Paul, and his father, Robert. Two voices on either side of a remarkable journey that has unfolded over the past year.
Paul is one of nine exceptional young guitarists from Austin who have spent the year preparing for this moment: performing alongside the legendary Pepe Romero, ACG’s Artist-in-Residence, in three original guitar quartets.
The Give Quartets feature The Palmer Trio with Paul Devens, Noah Melendrez & Kian Mitchell The Orpheus Trio: Satvik Chawla, Allen Liu & Brandon Kim, and The Baker 3: Jianna Zamora, Teddy McCoy & Greg Sonnier.
They were coached by teaching artists Joseph Palmer, Stephen Krishnan & Alex Lew with support from Joe Williams, Travis Marcum & Tony Mariano over the past year but will be replaced with Pepe himself as the fourth member for this weekend’s shows.
For Robert, a lifelong guitarist who’s played for fun since he was seven, watching his son Paul step into an opportunity like this has been deeply meaningful.
“It makes me feel incredibly proud,” he shared, “especially knowing how much he’s put into it; balancing quartet rehearsals, private lessons, and school. The chance to perform with Pepe is definitely the major milestone so far.”
Pepe is, of course, an icon in the classical guitar world, and worked closely with nine of Austin’s most dedicated young guitarists in the fall and again this week in preparation for this weekends concerts. Paul describes the experience as transformative,
“While it has been a lot of work involving weekly rehearsals and extra music to work on, preparing and playing with my quartet has been lots of fun. Seeing our hard work come together to produce beautiful music has been extremely rewarding.
When we played together with Pepe for the first time, everything clicked in a very satisfying way. Cues weren’t even needed, we simply let the music speak for itself, and all the gestures we intended to make came into focus.
My favorite thing about this experience by far is the unspoken connection between the musicians. There is an electricity that all members of an ensemble feel when they are truly playing together and listening to the music they are making. That connection is completely unique.”
This weekend’s performances are the culmination of a year-long project rooted in our season theme: Give. It’s a radiant testament to the spirit of generosity, between mentors and students, parents and children, generations and cultures. Not only are these students connecting and sharing music with one of the biggest guitar legends in the world, but the music they’ll be performing comes from the Romero family’s own legacy! Compositions passed down and now passed on.
Robert put it best:
“I’m really looking forward to hearing how beautifully everything comes together! The shows they did with Pepe in the fall were amazing to me, as were the practice performances at the Ruiz library last weekend with their teachers. I know that the shows this weekend with Pepe will be an incredible experience of music and emotion. I know this experience will have a lasting effect on Paul’s musicianship and life more generally. The benefits will last far beyond the shows this weekend.”
Unfortunately, this concert is SOLD OUT. But we will be live-streaming the Saturday, May 3 8pm show! RSVP to watch here.
