Renée Guerrero

Born in Santa Clara, California, pianist Renee Guerrero was introduced to music at an early age by her father who taught her to read music. Her grandfather, Longinos “Lonnie” Guerrero, was a self-taught musician who began his career as traveling troubadour throughout Texas in the 1930s. Longinos was known as the Composer of Corridos having composed over 100 works in his lifetime. Many of his songs were recorded between 1960's and 1980's by well-known Tejano artists. In 1983, he was inducted into the Tejano Music Hall of Fame in Austin, Texas for his outstanding efforts in this style of folk music dedicated to the tradition of Mexican culture. Renee's uncle Louie Guerrero, a trained violinist and composer, composed one of the most popular and enduring pieces in the Mexican communities, the international hit known as “Peanuts”. Early on, Renee's musical influences were profound with exposure to many styles of music: mariachi, jazz, classical, and popular. In 1990, she and her husband baritone Lawrence Harris moved to New York City. She made her New York City debut as a soloist in the Yamaha Young Artists Showcase and since has appeared in important venues including Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center's Merkin Hall, Faust Harrison Pianos, and venues in northern and southern Italy. As collaborative pianist, Renee has performed with Bronx Opera, New Rochelle Opera, VoiceExperience with Sherrill Milnes, the Altamura Arts Festival as well as numerous performances under the baton of Maestro Anton Coppola. From 1999-2006 Renee founded and directed both the Community School of Music at St. Brendan's and community concert series Cantabile Concerts featuring local and international performers and groups serving north Bronx audiences. She is music director of Leonia Presbyterian Church as well as a piano faculty member at The Westchester Conservatory of Music in White Plains, New York. Renee and her husband Lawrence have just released their first commercial CD, Romanze: Songs of Tosti now available on iTunes and CDBaby.