Enjoy An Evening of Bel Canto with Arthur Espiritu on October 26

Press Release:

A rare treat awaits music lovers as the Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation presents a special concert, "An Evening of Bel Canto" on October 26, 2013 at 7:00 p.m., at the Ayala Museum, Makati Ave. cor. de la Rosa St., Makati City. 

Bel Canto which literally means "The Art of Beautiful Singing" is a vocal fad made popular during the late 17th century that requires singers to possess incredible virtuosic vocal technique and impeccable musicality. Composers such as Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti wrote music with limpid melodic lines that would encompass a singer's whole vocal range with a lot of ornate embellishments. Operas like I Puritani, La Sonnambula, Norma, Lucia di Lammermoor are some of the well-known bel canto opera.

Promising a spectacular vocal evening, "An Evening of Bel Canto" will feature some of the country's finest young singers today headed by the internationally-acclaimed Filipino tenor - Arthur Espiritu, considered as the country's premiere tenor today, the sole and first Filipino to win the Belvedere Vocal Competition in Vienna, and the only Filipino to have sung in many major opera houses in the world including the prestigious Teatro alla Scala, St. Gallen Opera in Switzerland, Paris Opera, Pittsburgh Opera to name a few. Performing with him are soprano Elainne Vibal, a Jovita Fuentes Vocal Competition winner; soprano Myramae Meneses, the 2012 Aliw Awardee for Best Actress in a Musical and the top winner of the National Competition for Young Artists; and soprano Stephanie Aguilar, last year's third prize winner of the Jovita Fuentes Vocal Competition. Performing with them will be most a sought-after collaborating artist -- pianist Najib Ismail. The concert will also have Supertitles, an English translation projected on the sides of the concert venue for the audience's better appreciation of the words and music.

Highlight of the program includes some of the most challenging arias and rarely performed scenes from great operas including the duet from Bellini's "I Puritani" with its three high D's (high notes), the exquisite duet from Rossini's "Semiramide", and the fiendish Donizetti's "La Fille du Regiment".

This concert is for the benefit of foundations that support medical treatment for children afflicted with Cancer. For tickets, please call TICKETWORLD at (891-9999), COEA at (782-7164 or 0918-3473027) and MCO Secretariat at 750-0768 or 0920-9540053.  This concert is made possible in partnership with Ayala Museum, BusinessWorld, HighLife, DZFE.FM The Master’s Touch and Lyric Piano.

16-year old Pianist to Close MCOF Young Artists’ Series

Press Release

Pianist Matthew Calderon will be performing at the Ayala Museum, Makati Ave. corner De la Rosa St., Makati on October 16, 2013 at 7pm under the aegis of the MCO Foundation's "Young Artists' Series".

 

Considered one of the most exciting young artists of this generation, Matthew Calderon started his first piano lessons at the early age of 6 under Mr. Jerome Baes.  In 2010, he was accepted as a music scholar at the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) at 12 years old.  He is now on his 4^th year and under the tutelage of Prof. Mary Anne Espina. Since his first year at PHSA, he has consistently garnered academic and artistic excellence awards.

  

In 2011, he won 4^th prize in the PTGP’s 2011 “Soundscapes” competition.  Last year, he was the lone winner of the 2^nd International Mozart Piano Competition held in Bangkok, Thailand. He joined with 11 other young talented pianists across Asia to participate in the 2013 Summer Piano Institute at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory at Singapore where he had master classes with Prof. Thomas Hecht and Prof. Albert Tiu.

 

Aside from solo concerts, Matthew also engages himself with chamber music with other young musicians of his age, and regularly performs in school or outreach concert handled by National Arts Center of the Philippines in Los Baños and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

 

Matthew regularly attends piano masterclasses including those handled by Claudia Yang, Fr. Manuel Maramba, OSB, Prof. Najib Ismail, Prof. Aries Caces, Dr. Ross Salvosa, Prof. Reynaldo Reyes, Dr. Victor Asuncion, Ms. Carmencita Sipin-Aspiras, Dr. Charisse Baldoria, Dr. Anna Kijanowska and Prof. Rolf Dieter Arens.

 

For this concert, Matthew will be performing works by Bach, Debussy, Schumann and Beethoven.  This concert is made possible through partnership with Ayala Museum, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts,  Lyric Piano, National Book Store, Sheaffer Fine Pens, BusinessWorld, HerWord, HighLife, Development Bank of the Philippines, and 98.7 DZFE.FM The Master's Touch.

 

The "MCOF Young Artists' Series" is one of Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation’s core programs.  The MCOF, established in 1985, has a mission of promoting classical music. Every year, the MCO Foundation selects some of the most promising young artists, who are given the endorsement, performance opportunities, and exposure to a wider public. Oftentimes, the recitals of young artists under the MCOF aegis have become the artists’ official debut as performers. The MCOF has featured numerous young talents who are doing well now in their respective careers.

 

For tickets, please call TICKETWORLD 891-9999 and MCO Secretariat at 750-0768 and 0920-9540053.

An April Evening with a String Quartet . . . Finale to MCOF Music Series 2013

Press Announcement:

What a perfect way to spend a romantic summer evening enjoying the pure sound of four string instruments playing music in unison.  This April 17, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Ayala Museum, join Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation (MCOF) and Ayala Museum for an evening with the Philippine premiere of a string quartet, "Quartetto Espressivo" as the ensemble performs for you two of the most romantic works for string quartet ever written - Tchaikovsky's nostalgic first string quartet, and Verdi's heartwarming and the only String Quartet. This concert ends MCOF’s “Chamber Music Festival”, which opened last February 2013. 

 

Quartetto Espressivo won the first prize in the National Competition for Young Artists Chamber Music Category.  Each of the four members of the quartet are winners of the same music competition, and are regular members of the Manila Symphony Orchestra.  The quartet is composed by violinist Christian Tan, second violinist Sara Maria Gonzales, Violist Ray Casey Concepcion, and cellist Gerry Graham Gonzales.  The ensemble's mains advocacy is perform Filipino classical compositions in string quartet arrangements to bring further awareness on, and appreciation for Filipino Art Music.

Tchaikovsky's first string quartet work is considered the first major great Russian string quartet.  Its second movement, famous in its own right, was based on a folk song heard by the composer whistled by a house painter.  When the quartet was performed at a Tribute concert for Leo Tolstoy, it was said to have brought Tolstoy to tears.  As a tribute to Giuseppe Verdi on his birth bi-centennial this year, we present his dramatic and only String Quartet.  Written before the world premiere of his famous opera Aida, the work demands impeccable technique from its performers, but filled with beautiful melodies only the King of Opera can imagine.

The MCO Foundation is a non-stock, non-profit organization established in 1985 and is dedicated to the promotion of the classical arts.

For tickets, call Ticketworld at 891-9999, MCOF at 750-0768 or 0920-9540053, and Allan 782-7164 or 0918-3473027. 

Turning Point:: An Evening of MCO Music

Press Release:

After the success of the first concert of the series which featured tenor Arthur Espiritu and pianist Najib Ismail, the MCO Foundation and Ayala Museum invite you again to another enchanting chamber music evening featuring two of the most loved chamber music written - the dramatic  3rd Piano Trio of Dvorak and the exquisite  Four Seasons of Piazzolla  in a concert entitled “Turning Point: A Chamber Music Evening” on March 6, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Ayala Museum. Featured artists are some of the country's finest musicians headed by pianist Mary Anne Espina, violinist Gina Medina; and a new sensational, young cellist making waves in the international music scene, -Guo Qiele.

Gina Medina

Repertoire includes Antonín Leopold Dvořák’s “Third Piano Trio”, which is considered his most dramatic and passionate chamber music composition.  This work is a product of a series of disappointments including rejections from fellow composers, the death of his mother, and beginning of Dvorak’s musical friendship with Johannes Brahms. Brahms had a lasting influence on Dvorak. This work placed Dvorak among the league of great composer.  Another featured work is Astor Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons”, which After graduating from the Nadia Boulanger in Paris, Piazzolla returned to Buenos Aires to form a new tango ensemble mixing the traditional instruments with modern electric guitars.. He began composing in a style influenced by jazz and avant garde art music, and was dubbed tango nuevo. “Four Seasons” depicts the cycle of life in each of the four seasons of Buenos Aires but focusing on the urban nightlife throughout the year.

Mary Anne Espina

Leading the group is the two-time Aliw Awardee for the Best Instrumentalist Category, pianist Mary Anne Espina.  Known for her excellence in chamber music, she is one of the most sought after collaborating artists in the country today.  She has teamed up with violinist Frederic Pellassy of France,  Violinist Hagai Shaham of Israel,  Russian violinist Anastacia Chebotareva, the winner of Tchaikovsky and Paganini Competition,  Sopranos Joan Gibbons, Kaori Sato, Leigh Adolph to name but a few.   Likewise, distinguished Gina Medina has gained a vital seat in the Philippines' classical music circle as an admired violinist for both solo and chamber music concerts.  She has performed with distinguished artists including pianist Nena del Rosario, violinist Chino Bolipara, cellist Willie Pasamba, Renato Lucas to name a few.  She is currently the concert master of the Manila Symphony Orchestra.  The sensational 16-year old Chinese cellist Guo Qiele was named one of the "Ten Talented Young Artists of China" when he was only 14.  Two years later, he took part in a national cello competition "Ai qin bei" and won the 2nd prize.  Currently he is the prized student of world reknowned Cellist Qin Li Wei in Singapore. (Cellist Qin Li Wei has given a concert under the aegis of the MCO Foundation where he received numerous standing ovations in fully-attended concert.) Quile regularly participates in masterclasses including the one conducted by pedagogue Frans Helmerson, Louis Claret and Luise Hopkins.  He is a regular member of the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra in Singapore.

For tickets, call Ticketworld at 891-9999,  MCOF at 750-0768 or 0920-954-0053, Allan (782-7164 or 0918-347-3027). 

Filipino tenor Arthur Espiritu opens MCO Chamber Music Series 2013

Press Announcement:

Considered the finest Filipino tenors in the world today, Arthur Espiritu returns to Manila after his successful series of highly acclaimed performances as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Theatre St. Gallen in Switzerland. He opens MCO Foundation's Chamber Music Series 2013 in a special concert entitled "The Poet Speaks" with collaborating pianist Najib Ismail on February 6, 2013 at 7:00 in the evening at the Ayala Museum, Makati Ave. cor. de la Rosa St., Makati City.

Opera critics described Arthur as "a singer who possesses an exceptionally beautiful lyric voice, capable of conveying a broad range of characters and emotions, and perform them with great ease.  His sings superbly with beautiful legato. A regal tenor."  A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music,  Arthur Espiritu is the Grand Prize winner of the of distinguished 2009 George London Award, the La Scala award in the Belvedere Vocal Competition (Vienna), 2nd price in the Irene Dalis Vocal Competition and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition to name a few. Today, he regularly performs with Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Opera Fuoco, Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Theatre St. Gallen in Switzerland, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv and major opera companies in the United States including Pittsburg, Connecticut, Opera North, Austin and Santa Fe. In Manila, he recently essayed the role of Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata and the magnificent Count Almaviva in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Seviglia.

Assisting him at the piano is one of the country's most sought after chamber music musicians and leading vocal repetiteur, pianist Najib Ismail.  Winner of numerous music competitions, Mr. Ismail has collaborated with most of the major Filipino and guest foreign artists in the country.  A graduate of UST Conservatory of Music and Hongkong Academy for the Performing Arts, he is currently a faculty of the UST Conservatory of Music.

The “Poet Speaks” will showcase the versatile artistry of Arthur Espiritu as he performs one of the most beautiful and profound songs cycle -- Schumann's Liederkreis, the heartwarming songs by Franz Liszt based on Petrarch love sonnets, and opera arias that portray the different aspects of love.

This concert is presented by Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation in partnership with Ayala Museum, BusinessWorld and Lyric Piano.  The MCO Foundation, hailed as “Makati’s Cultural Oasis”, is currently on its 28^th year of promoting classical music.  Part of the proceeds from the ticket sales will also benefit the Unang Hakbang foundation, a caring organization engaged in helping children on the streets and in urban poor communities by creating sanctuaries for children, designing and promoting programs to help them tap their potentials to become productive and responsible members of their communities.

For tickets, please call TICKETWORLD at 891-9999, MCOF Secretariat at (750-0768 or 0920-954-0053) and COEA (782-7164 or 0918-347-3027). 

A Valentine's Date at the Museum

A Painting exhibit entitled “Sygnos” was launched February 7, 6pm at the Ayala Museum. Featured painters include; Joey Simsim, Marga Rodriguez, Milmar Onal, Manju Gagoomal, Wayan Narra, Indigo Narra, Benedict Abigan. Guests included Singapore Ambassador and other embassy officials. The exhibit is ongoing from Feb. 7 to 19, 2012.