MSO goes from classical to romantic in From Mozart to Mahler concert this May 30

The Manila Symphony Orchestra goes from classical to romantic for the second concert of its Centennial Season this May 30, 2026, 7:30 PM at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati.

Joshua Dos Santos

Billed as From Mozart to Mahler, the concert sees the return of Venezuelan conductor Joshua Dos Santos to the Philippine stage. Joshua was trained in Venezuela’s trailblazing music program El Sistema and was part of the Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra (when it was still a youth orchestra) that went viral online for its Mambo encore at the BBC Proms back in 2007. He has been appointed associate conductor of the Simón Bolivar Chamber Orchestra in 2023.

The concert begins with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E-flat major, K. 364 with violinist Emanuel John “EJ” Villarin and violist Christian Wrona as the featured duo taking center stage for this classical piece.

Emanuel John Villarin 

EJ, a student at the Universität für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, is an award-winning violinist gaining 1st prize at New York Yong Performers Prize in 2021 and the NAMCYA in 2020. He performs with a Gencer Cerit Eskisehir violin.

Christian Wrona

Christian Wrona is a Filipino-Canadian violist, who also studies at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. An Asian Youth Orchestra alumnus, Christian is mentored by renowned artists including Tabea Zimmermann and Kim Kashkashian.

Manila Symphony Orchestra

The MSO goes romantic for second part of the concert with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major. For this Titan of a symphony that challenges both the orchestra and the audience, the MSO gets joined by select members of the UST Symphony Orchestra. This collaboration is in celebration of the UST Conservatory of Music’s 80th Anniversary and acknowledgment of the ties between MSO and UST. Many past and present members of the MSO have been students and faculty members at UST.

UST Symphony Orchestra

The evening is poised to showcase the precision, clarity, and refinement of the classical period along with the emotional, expansive, and richly textured music of the romantic period.

The Manila Symphony Orchestra’s Concert II – From Mozart to Mahler is presented by the Manila Symphony Orchestra Foundation Inc. and Standard Insurance, along with EastWest Bank, and in partnership with the Austrian Embassy and the University of Sto. Tomas, and media partners the Manila Times, 98.7 DZFE-FM | The Master's Touch, and EON Group.

NAMCYA winner Joshua Ethan Dakanay in ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra concert

Barely a couple of weeks after the educational Evening with Beethoven, the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra presents its latest installment of their Classical Concert Series happening this April 26, 2019, 6:45 PM at the ABS-CBN's Studio 4.

For this evening, the orchestra, along with conductor Joshua Dos Santos, welcomes Joshua Ethan Dakanay as their guest soloist.

Dakanay won the 1st Prize at the 2018 National Music Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA) Junior Strings Category. He will be the featured soloist at Camille Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33.

Also part of the evening's program are Claude Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune/Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, B. 178, "From the New World".

Admission to the concert is free. Seats are limited so do contact Joji Cardones at (02) 415-2272 extension 2407 or (0998) 969-7329 to ensure one's seat.

An educational Beethoven evening with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra

Joshua Dos Santos and the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor Joshua Dos Santos led the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of two Beethoven symphonies that not only delighted the predominantly young audience that filled the Dolphy Theater, but also served as further education for a more enjoyable concert experience.

Before the performance began, Joshua gave the audience a brief background on Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60 and the more popular and frequently performed symphonies that preceded and followed it. He stressed the importance of thinking the fourth as a transition to Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, undeniably the most popular symphony out there. And that whatever baffles the audience with the fourth with its less than dramatic and majestic music will fall into place and finally make sense once he/she gets listens to the fifth 

Conductor Joshua Dos Santos gives a pre-concert talk

As for me, this was a new way of approaching the fourth since I always regarded it as an unusual follow up to the epic, revolutionary third symphony. Instead of further revolutionizing the symphony, it seemed to harken back to the second. So in this concert, I had the fifth in mind (instead of the second and the third) while listening to the fourth.

Joshua conducted the orchestra with such vigor as if he had a Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra sized battalion of strings at his disposal. Despite the small number of the strings, he was able to bring out a full, robust sound from them without sacrificing precision.

Joshua Dos Santos "conducts" the audience on how to applaud

After the concert, an audience unaccustomed to how applause is usually done was "conducted" by Joshua. He said that while it is not cool to applaud in between movements, it is definitely cool to clap loudly during the curtain call and while the soloists from the orchestra are acknowledged. And proving how effective of a conductor he is, the audience was able to pick this up and I am confident that they will applaud in a cool way when they watch their next concert.

ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra in all Beethoven concert

The ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra presents An Evening with Beethoven on April 11, 2019, 7:00 PM at the Dolphy Theater.

The evening will feature performances of two of Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies namely Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60 and probably the most popular symphony in the whole world, Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, with Joshua Dos Santos conducting the orchestra.

Admission to the concert is for free. Contact Ms. Joji Cardones at (0998) 969-7329 for more infornation.

ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra performs Beethoven, Lalo, and Tchaikovsky in free concert

The ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra presents their Classical Concert Series with a performance on March 15, 2019, 6:00 PM at the Dolphy Theater, ABS-CBN Compound.

Venezuelan Joshua Dos Santos conducts the concert featuring Ludwig van Beethoven's Egmont Overture, Op. 84, Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole in D minor, Op. 21 with Orchestra of the Filipino Youth's concertmaster Jose Marie Eserjose as the soloist, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17 ‘Little Russian'.

Admission to the concert is free. Contact Joji Cardones at (0998) 969-7329 for more information.

Christian Bautista joins Ballet Manila's Ballet & Ballads

Singer Christian Bautista joins Ballet Manila in the latest edition of the company’s signature series Ballet & Ballads opening this February 10, 2018, 6:00 PM at the Aliw Theater.

Christian will perform music from his latest album, along with musical theater hits, in this show that falls right smack during the Valentine’s season. I think it was during the promotional tour of the Soundtrack album back in 2014 when I last saw Christian so it’s high time that I see him perform live once again. With this show, Christian joins the ranks of singers like Ariel Rivera, Lani Misalucha, Jaya, Nyoy Volante, Karylle, Kyla, and Freestyle who were featured in previous Ballets & Ballads that has singers sharing the stage with ballet dancers.

The inclusion of opera singers from the Klassikal Music Foundation (KMF) namely baritone Andrew Fernando, sopranos Jade Riccio and Stephanie Aguilar, mezzo soprano Krissan Manikan-Tan, tenor Leo Angelo Lanuza, along with the special participation of tenor Dr. George T. Yang, gives this year’s edition a newer dimension.

These opera singers are very familiar to me and I’ve seen them perform numerous times before. I am actually excited for the other audience members who are not into opera to have their first taste of this art form via this show. I have a great hunch that they will be singing during Martin Lawrance’s Aria, a five act work set to opera music that will have its world premiere in this show.

The ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra will be providing live music throughout the evening and to say that I am very curious to see for the very first time Joshua Dos Santos’ conducting on local soil is such an understatement.

Ballet & Ballads is geared towards bringing new audiences to the ballet through music, the “Ballads”, that is familiar to the public. I may not be that new audience but I’m very much looking forward to seeing the new work by Martin Lawrance, the Vaganova method trained dancers in a new light, and ultimately Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Ballet Manila moving forward through the introduction of new works.

Ballet & Ballads with Christian Bautista opens on February 10, 2018, 6:00 PM at the Aliw Theater. Succeeding shows will be on February 11, 2018, 3:00 PM, February 17, 6:00 PM, and February 18, 2018, 3:00 PM.