The Cultural Center of the Philippines invites young people (ages 10-13 years old) to watch the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) perform under the baton of Maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura on August 24 at 10:00am and 2:00pm, at the CCP’s Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater). Guest artists are Filipino violinist Joaquin Maria “Chino” Gutierrez for the morning concert, and violinist Adrian Nicolas C. Ong for the afternoon performance.
The concert aims to stimulate the children’s creativity as well as develop their understanding of symphonic music in a concert setting. The young audience will also have the chance to acquaint themselves with the four major families of instruments. Certain musical terms will also be explained during the concert.
Program includes J. Strauss’ Die Fledermaus – Overture, and Pizzicato Polka, C. Saint-Saens’Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, R. Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves, Leroy Anderson’s Serenata and Arturo Marques’ Danzon No.2.
Joaquin Maria “Chino” Gutierrez began his violin studies at age seven, under Alfonso Bolipata. At 9, he won second prize at the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA), and won first prize in the same competition when he was 12.
He made his orchestral debut at age 10, with the Metro Manila Community Orchestra under Josefino Chino Toledo, at the CCP. At 14, Chino was admitted into the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, under Jens Ellermann. His education further flourished under Olga Voitova Bloch and Christoph Poppen at the same institution.
Most recently, he trained under Pierre Amoyal at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. He represented the Philippines at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition and the Singapore International Violin Festival. Chino is an alumnus of the Kronberg Academy Mastercourse, the Keshet Eilon International mastercourse and the Beijing Central Conservatory masterclasses. He performs on a 1760 Vinaccia on loan from a generous patron.
Meanwhile, Adrian Nicolas C. Ong started playing the violin at age 9, under Professor Mellissa Geronimo Esguerra. At age 12, he was accepted as a full scholar from Grades 7 to 9 at the Philippine High School for the Arts in Mount Makiling, Los Baños in Laguna, Philippines, where he trained under Professor Gina Medina Perez.
He was awarded a full scholarship grant for the school year 2016 to 2019, at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, USA. He started as a Grade 10 scholar and was included in the High Honors Lists both in the academics and the arts. He is an incoming Grade 11 student under the tutelage of Professors Paul Sonner, Ara Sarkissian, and Renee Skerik, all of whom are faculty members at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.
He had his first solo recital, titled “Concertino,” on August 26, 2016, at the CCP. He is a pioneer member of the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra, under Professor Jeffrey Solares. They recently won second place in the Summa Cum Laude Orchestral Strings Category in Vienna, Austria last July 2017.
Ticket price for the concert is Php200. For more information, call the CCP Marketing Department at 832-1125 loc. 1800 to 1806 or the PPO Office at 832-1125 loc. 1608 and 1610.
