Armstrong Auditorium - News
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EDMOND—When the Romeros Guitar Quartet returned to Herbert W. Armstrong College, their destination was the John Amos Field House. But the family wanted to visit somewhere else first.

On the afternoon before their April 15 performance, Celin, Pepe, Celino and Lito Romero visited Armstrong Auditorium with music director Ryan Malone. Mr. Malone led them through the lobby, which he said visibly impressed them. The men then entered the theater.

The Romeros were originally booked to perform in the auditorium and to test its acoustic reaction. Although they would be performing in the field house instead, once they were on stage, Pepe and then Celin went to retrieve their guitars. Sitting amid tools and heavy equipment, one foot propped on a tar bucket, the men began to play.

“It was such a rare thing,” Mr. Malone remarked. “It’s hard to describe; it was an electric moment.”

The first performers to play in the auditorium strummed their classical guitars for several minutes. Afterward, the family, which has performed in Ambassador Auditorium, said they were impressed with the building’s acoustics, despite its clutter of equipment and unfinished state.

Celin spoke for the family’s feelings about Armstrong Auditorium: “You have done a magnificent thing.”

Armstrong Auditorium will open September 5 with an encore performance of Mendelssohn's "Elijah" by the Herbert W. Armstrong College Choral Union with professional soloists and orchestra.

Celino (L) and Pepe (R) Romero test the acoustics in Armstrong Auditorium during a tour April 15.