Cellist Damodar Das Castillo, conductor Alexander Vikulov headline MSO's Tchaikovsky overload concert

A concert filled to the brim with Tchaikovsky music goodness is set to wrap up September as the Manila Symphony Orchestra presents Dancing with Tchaikovsky happening on September 27, 2025, 7:30 PM at the Aliw Theater in Pasay City.

Presented by the MSO Foundation Inc. and Standard Insurance, in partnership with EastWest Bank, this concert will feature Russian Romanticism at its core with timeless tunes composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky namely the Festival Coronation March in D major, Variations on a Rococo Theme, and the Sleeping Beauty Dance Suite.

Damodar Das Castillo

Performing the cello solo for the Rococo Variations is Damodar Das Castillo. He is a top prizewinner of five international competitions including The Young Musician (Tallinn, 2019), the International Anton Rubinstein Competition (Düsseldorf, 2020), The Young Ludwig Competition (Berlin, 2020), the Vienna International Music Competition (2020), and Musica Goritiensis (Italy, 2021), Damodar Das Castillo is one of the most promising young cellists today. He studied at the Pre-College of Mozarteum University Salzburg under Prof. Barbara Lübke-Herzl and, as a scholar of the MSJO–Standard Insurance International Scholarship Program, he performs on a George Gerl cello

Alexander Vikulov

Frequent Manila visitor and Manila Symphony Orchestra collaborator Alexander Vikulov takes to the podium as guest conductor Born in Saint Petersburg to renowned ballet dancers Sergey Vikulov and Tatiana Udalenkova, Vikulov has built an international career that bridges opera, ballet, and symphonic music. Since his 2002 Mariinsky Theater debut with Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, he has conducted at the Vienna State Opera, Finnish National Opera, Seoul Arts Center, Teatro Regio di Torino, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Currently permanent guest conductor of the Saint Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra “Klassika” and musical director at Manila’s Star and Aliw Theaters, Vikulov continues to unite cultures through the universal language of music. Damodar Das Castillo, cello

The Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO), founded in 1926 by Alexander Lippay, is one of Asia’s oldest orchestras and the Philippines’ longest surviving artistic institution. A symbol of resistance during World War II, the MSO has since collaborated with legends under the batons of Andre Kostelanetz, Arthur Fiedler, Mendi Rodan, Robert Feist, Gareth Nair, Helen Quach, and Eduard Strauss II. Antonio Molina, Antonino Buenaventura, Lucio San Pedro, Ernani Cuenco, Levi Celerio, and Ryan Cayabyab have also graced its stage.

Now nearing its 100th year in 2026, the MSO remains one of the country’s most active artistic institutions, presenting world-class performances and nurturing young Filipino talent under Marlon Chen (Music Director) and Jeffrey Solares (Associate Conductor).