R2T2 guitar duo educates and enthralls

Raphael Bereau and Tizoc Romero joined forces in 2011 to form the “R2T2” guitar duo, and since then they have performed their rich and varied repertoire of classical guitar pieces throughout North America and Europe. In the last week of August 2018, the duo conducted guitar workshops and concerts at the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad as part of an India tour which included Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Bangalore and Gurugram. 

A general workshop was conducted for music students, followed by one-on-one sessions for serious guitarists across all grades. There was a morning assembly for the Junior School, and an evening concert on Wednesday for residential students and staff.

“It was such a unique, constructive, and enlightening experience,” shares grade 10 student Aftikhar Mominzada. “From all the basics of the guitar to recommendations in scale-chord proficiency, hand and finger positioning on the guitar frets, and chord progression, all aspects were encapsulated in the two overwhelmingly informative sessions. It is a virtue that the Academy values arts – having a platform to embrace music and follow it as an extracurricular activity empowers me to learn in depth.”

The R2T2 guitar duo has taken part in several masterclasses with world renowned guitarists. They have also participated in different competitions over the last seven years, and have won first prizes at the international guitar duo competition of “Schweinfurt” and the international chamber music competition of “Elx”, both in 2014. Always eager to explore new musical experiments, they are planning for upcoming seasons and orchestra projects by performing the concerto Madrigal composed by Joaquin Rodrigo. In November 2014 they published their first CD/Demo with Baros Records.

“It was the greatest pleasure for us to visit the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad,” wrote Raphael and Tizoc. “We were so excited to conduct workshops and performances for the students who were so enthusiastic and attentive throughout. Those two days have been the highlight of our India tour! We thank the school community for such a warm welcome and Nikhil Sardana of Sardana Creative Consultancy for organizing these engagements. We hope to be back in the future.”