Continuing its mandate to promote music appreciation throughout the country, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra will hold outreach concerts in Iloilo and Antique provinces on March 1 and 2.
On March 1, 6p.m., the CCP resident orchestra company will have a music concert at the church ground of the San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church (also known as the Anini-y Church) in the town of Anini-Y in Antique. The orchestra will then move to Iloilo for a musical performance on March 2, 7p.m., at the Iloilo Convention Center, located at the Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
Both concerts will be conducted by Maestro Herminildo Ranera. A conductor, composer, arranger, performer and educator, Dr. Ranera is the associate conductor of the PPO. He is also currently a faculty member of the UST Conservatory of Music, where he is the conductor of the UST Symphony Orchestra and UST Wind Orchestra.
The Western Visayas outreach concerts will be divided into two parts. For the first part, the PPO will perform classical pieces such as Johann Strauss’s Fledermaus Overture, Ivanovich’s Waves of the Danube Waltz, and Leroy Anderson’s Serenata.
The second part will feature well-known and popular Broadway and Filipino music including a Frank Sinatra Medley (arranged by Jerry Nowak), a Broadway Tonight Suite (arranged by Chase), Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, an Aegis Overture (arranged by J. Itugot), a well-known Visayan song Dandansoy (arranged by R. Cayabyab), Walang Angay (also arranged by R. Cayabyab), pop music Despacito (arranged by H. Ranera), and a VST Medley (arranged by R. Sarrel).
Established in 1973 as an accompaniment for the performing artists at the CCP Theater, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra has become the country’s leading orchestra and is widely regarded as one of the top musical ensembles in the Asia-Pacific region. It has performed with world’s renowned conductors including Mendi Rodan, Piero Gamba, Enrique Batis, Sebastian Bereau and Nicholas Koch, as well as performed with the best foreign and Filipino artists such as Van Cliburn, Renata Tebaldi, Judith Engel, Anthony Camden, David Benoit, Cecile Licad, Raul Sunico and Lea Salonga.
The PPO has toured Europe in 2001 and has participated in the Asia Orchestra Week in September 2002 held at the Tokyo Opera City Hall upon the invitation of the Association of Japanese Symphony Orchestras. It has performed at Bangkok’s National Theater in September 2004 upon the invitation of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vandhana of Thailand.
