The Manila Symphony Orchestra's Centennial Season, apart from delivering noteworthy performances by one of Asia's oldest orchestras, has also been a refresher course on Philippine history.
The next concert of the season is no exception as the MSO commemorates the post World War II years with Liberation: 80 Years of the Philippine Republic, happening on July 4, 2026, 7:30 PM at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila.
The upcoming performance looks back on the MSO's Gala Symphony Concert back in July 5, 1946 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium celebrating the inauguration of the Philippine Republic.
Featured in this concert are violinist Jeanne Marquez, her brother clarinetist Jason Marquez, and guest conductor Jose Reyna, Jr.
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| Jeanne Marquez |
Jeanne will be the soloist at the rarely heard Violin Concerto in D Minor by Lucio San Pedro. She is an MSJO-Standard Insurance International Music Scholar and a recent graduate of the Juilliard School with a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance.
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| Jason Marquez |
On the other hand, Jason, who is a principal clarinetist at Michigan and Texas, gets the spotlight at Concerto for Clarinet by Artie Shaw.
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| Jose Reyna, Jr. |
Jose Reyna, Jr. is an American Prize-winning Filipino conductor, hailed as the “Filipino Toscanini” (The Manila Bulletin) for his panache and artistry on the podium.
Also to be performed at the concert is the opener Youth by former MSO Assistant Conductor Col. Antonino Buenaventura. Premiered at the 1946 MSO Gala Symphony Concert and conducted by the composer himself, the work portrays the youth as the epitome of vigor, energy, and love, standing at the threshold of life's journey". The evening wraps up with Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture by George Gershwin arr. by Robert Russel Barnett.
MSO's Liberation concert brings together works by Filipino and American composers whose music reflects the artistic exchanges and cultural connections that have shaped both nations over the past eight decades.
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| Manila Symphony Orchestra |
The concert venue, the Metropolitan Theater, also holds significance to the MSO. The orchestra performed at the Met's inauguration back in 1931 making the upcoming concert a sort of homecoming for the MSO.
The Manila Symphony Orchestra's Liberation: 80 Years of the Philippine Republic is presented by the Manila Symphony Orchestra Foundation, Inc. and Standard Insurance; co-presented by EastWest Bacnk and PAGCOR in partnership with Bagong Pilipinas, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Metropolitan Theater.
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