Manly Romero

Manly Romero’s (b.1966, San Francisco) works focus on the expression of his personal history, shaped with seductive exteriors which draw listeners into dialogue regarding spirituality and self-knowledge. Works such as his string quartet Cityscape at first sound merely illustrative, but then expand to examine the emotional and spiritual states and transformations inspired by specific places or relationships between individual and society. Reflecting an interest in his paternal Latino roots, Romero’s orchestral work Merengue and other recent works draw idioms from Latin American popular and folk music.

Mr Romero served as associate artist with the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music and Concerts for Kids programs. Recipient of the American Composers Orchestra’s Helen F. Whitaker Commission, his Blanco, Azul, Rojo was premiered at Carnegie Hall. Among other honors, Mr Romero counts awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and multiple grants from Meet the Composer and the American Music Center. Scenes from his opera Dreaming of Wonderland (based on the stories of Lewis Carroll) were presented as part of New York City Opera’s Showcasing American Composers series in 2001. A recording of Romero’s piano concerto Spirals was released on the Klavier Gold label, and he is published by Edward B. Marks Music Company and M. J. Cerri Editions. Mr Romero studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and University of Michigan, where he recently completed a doctorate.