Unusual music pairing in UST Symphony Orchestra’s Brahms Meets Disney

The UST Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Daniel Bartolome tried to hit two birds with one stone and appeal to a wide variety of audiences at their opening concert of the season with Brahms Meets Disney. held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Probably the most unusual music pairing that I’ve ever seen at an orchestra performance, this concert featured the music of Johannes Brahms along with music from Walt Disney feature films throughout the decades.

As the USTSO’s first concert for this academic calendar, this was my first opportunity to see new blood replacing those who have already graduated. Not surprisingly, the upper strings outnumbered the lower strings and the violins drowned the cellos and basses earlier on with the opening piece of Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80.

The big test for the orchestra though was accompanying Malaysian pianist Ng Chong Lim with Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15. While Lim was up to the task and handled the grand scale of the concerto with command and relative ease (and giving me another opportunity to hear the Fazioli grand piano so soon after the last time I did), the orchestra struggled especially the numerous upper strings that were prone to go wild at times. At the end, I felt more relieved that the orchestra was able to get through and survive the entire concerto. And major props for Lim for keeping his ground even if the orchestra was not up to par.

RAd and Ng Chong Lim

Finally, with the Brahms part out of the way, the orchestra and everyone else were more relaxed with the Disney Suite arranged by Jedrick Itugot. The featured soloists in the suite were faculty members Ronan Ferrer, Eugene delos Santos, Elisanta Cortes, Thea Perez, Nenen Espina, and students Demi Fresco, Faye Transfiguracion, John Saga, and Ryan Tamondong. Backing them up were the combined forces of the UST Vocal Performance Department, Coro Tomasino and Liturgikon. The songs performed were from a wide range of Walt Disney animated feature films like Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, and Moana. Having Santa Fe, a song from the live action film and later on adapted as a stage musical Newsies, was an odd inclusion and I think that this was probably a nod for Ronan Ferrer (who sang it) and Daniel Bartolome as the two were the vocal coach and music director respectively at the musical’s recent staging.

While I have my misgivings with the Brahms piano concerto (my most anticipated part), I knew the importance of the Disney Suite (I was not initially really keen on it, I admit) as it marked the return of Nenen Espina to the stage after suffering from a major health scare earlier this year. She exuded joy in all of her solos and it was truly a treat to witness this important moment for her after being aware of everything that she has gone through this year.

Overall, this concert was a brave risk for the USTSO especially with the Brahms piano concerto. A few concerts are still lined up for the orchestra this season and it’s up to them to make sure that they would show marked improvement in their upcoming performances.

Viva Verdi 1813-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert

Viva Verdi 1913-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert participants
Photo by Kiko Cabuena

Featuring:

Gian Luca Pasolini, tenor

Alvaro Lozano, baritone

Rachelle Gerodias, soprano

Margarita Giannelli, soprano

Nenen Espina, soprano

Thea Perez, soprano

Andrew Fernando, baritone

Ronan Ferrer, tenor

Coro Tomasino

Ballet Philippines

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Ruggero Barbieri, conductor

Celebrations for Giuseppe Verdi’s 200^th birth anniversary had a fitting finish in the Philippines with Viva Verdi 1913-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

The event, presented by the Embassy of the Republic of Italy, featured collaborations between Italian and Filipino artists led by Italian conductor Ruggero Barbieri, who for the first time conducted the Manila Symphony Orchestra. This tandem provided the live music accompaniment for the singers on stage that included tenor Gian Luca Pasolini and baritone Alvaro Lozano from Italy. The Italians were joined on stage by local talents that included sopranos Rachelle Gerodias, Margarita Giannelli, Nenen Espina and Thea Perez, baritone Andrew Fernando, and tenor Ronan Ferrer. Coro Tomasino acted out as the chorus while members of Ballet Philippines provided the dancing. Actor/writer/director Jaime del Mundo wa the evening’s narrator providing useful background information prior to the performance of Verdi’s masterpieces.

But the concert didn’t start out with Verdi’s music. In solidarity with those affected by the super typhoon Yolanda, the evening started with the orchestra playing Air on the G String (August Wilhelmj's arrangement of the second movement Air of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068) while images of the devastation were projected on screen.

After this, it was all business with Verdi. Some of the numbers were trips back to memory lane like Rachelle Gerodias’ reprisal of Violetta and Andrew Fernando’s Giorgio Germont in La Traviata. It was my first time to see and hear live performances from Rigoletto and Aida, both of which had their Metropolitan Opera productions screened some months before. I was really grateful that Jaime del Mundo was on hand or else I’d be completely lost as to what La Forza del Destino and Il Trovatore was all about.

The soloists were top notch with Rachelle Gerodias and Andrew Fernando’s ever reliable performances gave me the opportunity to relax and enjoy most of the night. This concert also gave me a chance to see Ronan Ferrer, Thea Perez and Nenen Espina perform in a featured capacity. Obviously, the audience was curious to see and hear how the Italian guest singers would fare. Tenor Gian Luca Pasolini had some fun showing off by doing some passages while laid down on a bench. On the other hand, Alvaro Lozano, was an imposing presence on stage that supported his equally imposing baritone. But the biggest surprise for many during that night was soprano Margarita Giannelli who wowed everyone with her rendition of Ritorna vicnitor from Aida. I still wonder up to this day why she didn’t do, O patria mia, a more emotional and difficult aria instead.

Alas, the praises I gave for the soloists could not be said for the chorus. Their rendition of Va, pensiero from Nabucco failed to convey the emotions that stirred the Italians to consider this song as their unofficial national anthem. The chorus also seemed a bit lost during the Triumphal March in Aida but I hardly blame them for this since there was supposed to be a dance number by Ballet Philippines during this part. The scene was hardly triumphant as the chorus was left uncomfortably looking at the projected images on stage instead and the audience wondering if there was something else that was supposed to be happening instead. Ballet Philippines’ minimal participation was left to the Zingarelle e Matadori in La Traviata which was the exact choreography from CCP’s production of the said opera.

This production was indeed very intriguing since there seemed to be a lot more stuff that happened behind the scenes like Ballet Philippines’ minimal participation. The Requiem portion was also scrapped but I think that having the Air on the G string tribute piece meant that Requiem had to go, or the chorus was already up to their necks with all that they had to do with the very little preparation time that this entire production had. But most intriguing of all was Alexander Cortez being the director of the whole affair for it was originally announced that Floy Quintos would be at the helm.

Anyways, the Embassy of Italy, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Philippine-Italian Association, and Rustan's were able to pull off Viva Verdi 1913-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert and it was still a great success judging by the happy faces of the many people at the lobby after the concert. But I never imagined all the headache and the drama (that completely dissolved away with the audience’s applause) that goes into putting up a show like this. I guess it’s all very fitting considering this is how Giuseppe Verdi’s operas are, full of drama whether it’s on or off the stage.

Korean artists guest star in Tribute to the Thomasian 2014 concert

March 30, 2013, 6:00 PM

Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)

CCP Complex

Pasay, Metro Manila

Featuring:

Fr. Manuel P. Maramba OSB, piano

Yun-Kyoung Yi, soprano

Nenen Espina, mezzo soprano

Ronan Ferrer, tenor

Daesan No, baritone

UST Singers

Coro Tomasino

Liturgikon Vocal Ensemble

UST Symphony Orchestra

Jae-Joon Lee, conductor

Programme:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Overture from The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492

Robert Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54

Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125

The University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines presents the UST Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Korean conductor Jae-Joon Lee with Filipino and Korean classical artists in a concert entitled Tribute to the Thomasian 2014 on March 30, 2014, 6:00 PM at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

Soprano Yun-Kyoung Yi

Baritone Daesan No

The program consists of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Overture from The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492, Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. Featured artists are pianist Fr. Manuel P. Maramba OSB, soprano Yun-Kyoung Yi, mezzo soprano Nenen Espina, tenor Ronan Ferrer, and baritone Daesan No with the UST Singers, Coro Tomasino, and the Liturgikon Vocal Ensemble.

Mezzo soprano Nenen Espina

Tenor Ronan Ferrer

Founded in 1927 by Dr. Manuel Casas of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, the UST Symphony Orchestra has produced many musicians, some of whom have become the country’s leading artists. Presently, the Orchestra is comprised of 70 student-members, including winners of national music competitions, participants of foreign youth orchestras and scholars of important music schools abroad. It is the official orchestra of the University of Santo Tomas and an integral part of the UST Conservatory of Music. A resident performing group of the CCP which subsidizes its training program, it holds regular concerts at the CCP and participates in the CCP Outreach and Exchange program. It also serves as a training orchestra for the future needs of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and other professional ensembles.

Conductor Jae-Joon Lee

Ticket prices:

P1000 Orchestra Center

P800 Orchestra Side

P600 Balcony I Center

P500 Balcony I Side

P300 Balcony II

For inquiries:

UST Conservatory of Music 731-4022, 406-1611 local 8246

CCP Box Office 832-3704
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Viva Verdi Gala Concert at the CCP celebrates Giuseppe Verdi's 200th birthday anniversary

December 10, 2013, 7:30 PM

Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)

CCP Complex

Pasay, Metro Manila

Featuring:

Gian Luca Pasolini, tenor

Alvaro Lozano, baritone

Rachelle Gerodias, soprano

Margarita Giannelli, soprano

Thea Perez, soprano

Nenen Espina, soprano

Ronan Ferrer, tenor

Andrew Fernando, baritone

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Ruggero Barbieri, conductor

The Embassy of the Republic of Italy, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine Italian Association, and Rustan’s, present Viva Verdi 1813-2013 Bicentennial Concert, an event in honor of the 200^th  birth anniversary of the great Romantic opera composer Giuseppe Verdi to be held on December 10, 2013, 7:30 PM at the CCP’s Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

The concert, directed by Floy Quintos will feature selected opera scenes from La Forza del Destino, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Nabucco, La Traviata, and Aida. A couple of Italian singers, tenor Gian Luca Pasolini and baritone Alvaro Lozano leads the lineup in this concert. Joining them are leading Filipino singers namely sopranos Rachelle Gerodias, Margarita Giannelli, Thea Perez, and Nenen Espina, tenor Ronan Ferrer, and baritone Andrew Fernando. Also included in the cast are Coro Tomasino, Ballet Philippines, narrator Jaime del Mundo, and Maestro Ruggero Barbieri conducting the Manila Symphony Orchestra.

Viva Verdi 1813-2013 Bicentennial Gala Concert will also feature an exhibit, entitled Giuseppe Verdi, the Composer, the Man, the Patriot which opened at the Yuchengco Museum last month. It will be on display at the University of the Philippines’ College of Music this December 9-18, 2013. The exhibit is a traveling multimedia exhibition presenting three different aspects of Giuseppe Verdi.

Giuseppe Verdi is considered as one of the greatest opera composers of the Romantic era, alongside Giacomo Puccini, Gaetano Donizetti, Gioacchino Rossini, and Georges Bizet. It was a Golden Age for opera, where elaborate costumes and set designs ably complimented the dramatic singing and acting in a grandiose setting of elegant operatic venues of Europe. The themes represent human frailties, emotions, and experiences in everyday life, such as love, anger, treachery, and tragedy – which ironically are still very much persistent in today’s society. In this way, opera serves as a mirror of ourselves but presented in dramatic and artistic fashion.

An added value of Viva Verdi 1813-2013 and of the 13^th Edition of the Week of the Italian Language is the educational component, the involvement of students of music and Italian, who will be offered free transportation and entrance to the Theater on December 10^th, and the Master Class on Italian Opera and Giuseppe Verdi conducted by Italian tenor Gian Luca Pasolini and Italian baritone Alvaro Lozano, which will be held at the College of Music, on December 11^th.

Viva Verdi 1813-2013 promises to be the country’s culminating climax to honor the great Italian opera composer and Italian culture, where his informative exhibits and operatic excerpts will aptly demonstrate his genius and legacy.

This event is sponsored by Rustan’s, Elburg Shipmanagement Philippines Inc., Italian Maritime Academy Phils Inc., Crewtech Shipmanagement Phils Inc., PIASI, FILA, The Peninsula Manila, HSBC, Trevi Foundations Philippines, and Furnitalia.

Ticket prices:

P1500 Orchestra Center

P1000 Orchestra Side

P800 Balcony I

-20% senior citizen discount

For inquiries:

CCP Box Office 832-3704

Ms Lulu Casas 895-2109

culturale.manila@esteri.it

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