Rosendo Reyna III

Mr. Rosendo Reyna, III

I was introduced first to the music of Jeremy Garcia a few years ago when I reviewed his release with Rosendo Reyna, "Baile del Sol".
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Well, recently I was surprised to hear that Houston has not one but two Paco de Lucias - the guitarists Jeremy Garcia and Rosendo Reyna.

Jeremy Garcia and Rosendo Reyna met in 1992 while beginning their classical studies under the direction of Philip Hii at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
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Jeremy moved on to SMU in 1996 where Rosendo joined him a year later.
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In the meantime, Rosendo completed two master's degrees at SMU - one in education and the other in performance - before moving to Houston to head the guitar program at Kingwood College.
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Jeremy and Rosendo were proud to welcome Richard aboard and enjoy his wonderful contributions to the music.

Rosendo Reyna first picked up a guitar at age 13.At such a young age he never knew that his life would grow to revolve around his musical interests, especially his guitar.Reyna currently teaches classes and applied private guitar classes at Kingwood College.

Have you ever wanted to learn to play guitar?If so, Kingwood College has an opportunity for you!The college is home to instructor Rosendo Reyna, an esteemed guitarist who will be teaching fall guitar classes.

Reyna first picked up a guitar at age 13.At such a young age he never knew that his life would grow to revolve around his musical interests, especially his guitar.

Reyna was born in the small, south Texas town of San Diego.He grew up listening to a myriad of music ranging from Spain's Paco de Lucia to the hard rock music of Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne.

"I was influenced by a broad range of artists including flamenco guitarists and classical guitarists," said Reyna.

Reyna kept playing guitar and eventually attended Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi where he studied music.Soon after, he turned his passion into a career and has performed extensively since 1997 with his nuevo flamenco group, Garcia y Reyna, and has also performed as a soloist.Flamenco, the type of music that Reyna enjoys playing, is a Spanish musical genre that began in Andalusia, Spain and includes musicians who embody a mix of Spanish cultural and musical traditions.

Although Reyna says that he mostly listens to Paco de Lucia and other flamenco artists, he does say that he has artists like Greenday and Metallica on his Ipod.

"Even if you want to be a classical guitarist I think it's important to listen to all different types of guitarists and learn from them," said Reyna.

As a musician he has traveled and performed in California, New Mexico, New York and Colorado, but now resides in Kingwood, Texas.Reyna currently teaches classes and applied private guitar classes at Kingwood College.

Private applied music classes are taught one hour per week for an entire semester.

The cost for the whole semester is $56 plus a $90 lab fee and will be available during the fall.

During the fall, Reyna teaches Guitar I and II.Classes are taught at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels.Reyna will also be teaching Music Theory III and Electronic Music, a class that teaches students how to use the computer to write and arrange music.

If you have never picked up a guitar before, Reyna says that buying the right type of guitar is essential.He suggests that first time guitarists practice on a guitar with nylon strings, because many times guitars with steel strings, like electric guitars, can be more difficult to play.

"Yamaha, La Patria, Takamine and Lucida are a few brands of guitars that are good for beginners," said Reyna.

Reyna also said that practicing everyday is a must because a beginner needs to improve the muscles in their arms and hands and build their dexterity.And, hey, a great teacher like Rosendo Reyna doesn't hurt either.

The college is home to instructor Rosendo Reyna, an esteemed guitarist who will be teaching fall guitar classes.Reyna first picked up a guitar at age 13....

Special Guests include Rosendo Reyna and Jeremy Garcia, well-known to many Houston and Kingwood/Humble residents for their exciting rhumbaflamenca guitar duets.
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In addition to their busy performing schedules, both Reyna and Garcia are highly qualified guitar instructors: Mr. Reyna teaches guitar at Kingwood College; Mr. Garcia is on staff at San Jacinto College South in Pasadena.

Rosendo was born in the small town of San Diego, Texas.He spent his teenage years there and at the age of 13 began to play guitar.He joined a band, but soon left to pursue other interests in music.He began to compose music at the age of 14.In his high-school years, Rosendo became more interested in classical guitar.During this time he received three outstanding ratings at the state level in UIL music competitions, was pianist/organist for a local church, and was violinist for a mariachi band.At 16 and 17 he went on missionary trips to Mexico, where he performed several classical-guitar concerts.At age 18, he composed his first guitar concerto and won recognition from his graduating class for composing the class song.

In 1992 Rosendo moved to Corpus Christi and began studying guitar under the direction of classical guitarist Philip Hii.
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While in Corpus, Rosendo spent most of his time concentrating on his musical studies.He performed in master classes that included such performers as Manuel Barrueco and Roberto Aussel.In 1993 Rosendo won a local competition.Three years later, he received his bachelor's degree in music from Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi.In June of 1997, Rosendo joined the Quetzal Theater Group in Corpus Christi as music director and composer.One month later, he moved to Dallas to attend Southern Methodist University, where he studied classical guitar with Robert Guthrie.

Between 1997 and the present Rosendo has performed extensively.He has also worked as a teaching assistant at Southern Methodist University and as guest composer for the Dallas Classical Guitar Society.In 1999, Rosendo received his master's degree in applied music from Southern Methodist University.The following year he received his second master's degree in music education from the same university.Rosendo has composed one film score and has done score engraving for the orchestras I Palpitti and the Orchestra of New Spain among others.As a senior guitarist at the music software company iSong.com, Rosendo supervised the classical-guitar content and had several articles published on the website.In 1999 he began to teach guitar at the Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas.The following year he was appointed as music director and composer for Cara Mia Theater.That same year he became an orchestra director for the Richardson Independent School District.In 2000 he left Cara Mia Theater and the Holy Trinity Seminary to pursue an orchestra director position with the Richardson ISD.After a year and half at Richardson North Jr. High he has moved to Houston to head the guitar program at Kingwood College.He continues to serve as music director/composer for the Quetzal Theater Group and as score engraver for the Orchestra of New Spain.In October of 2002 Rosendo co-founded the group" Garcia y Reyna", a rumba flamenca guitar duet.

Reviews

" ... the guitar graced the performance with a flowing sense of togetherness." - Corpus Christi Caller Times

" ... Rosendo Reyna scored the masterpiece."

Flutist Sydney Carlson will perform a waltz by Benjamin Godard while guitarist Rosendo Reyna will perform in both the Classical and Flamenco styles.

The college is home to instructor Rosendo Reyna, an ... Read more ...