Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra - Holiday Treats

"Holiday Treats"
by Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo,
Cultural Center of the Philippines,
Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
December 8, 2006, 8:00pm

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) 2006-2007 season continues with its fifth concert entitled: Holiday Treats featuring soprano Camille Lopez-Molina and the UP Concert Chorus, under the baton of Maestro Ruggero Barbieri.

The program includes Tchaikovsky's Polonaise from E. Onegin, third act, and Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op. 66a, as well as Filipino and traditional holiday favorites.

Camille Lopez-Molina studied Voice at the University of the Philippines College of Music under the tutelage of Prof. Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. She was a scholar of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, earning a Professional Diploma in Opera Studies under Prof. Kevin Miller. From 1996 to 2001, she studied at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien under professors Marija Sklad-Sauer and Julia Conwell. Camille has performed in various productions here and abroad. She is a faculty member of St. Scholastica's College School of Music, Centro Escolar University Conservatory of Music, and the Asian Institute of Liturgy and Music.

Italian conductor Ruggero Barbieri's international career embraces both the symphonic and operatic repertoires. Currently the Artistic Director and Founder of the Intramuros International Music Festival in Manila, he has recently concluded his successful tenure as Music Director and Principal of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he earned in 1997. He continues his association with the orchestra as a regular guest conductor. He and the PPO toured Europe in 2001, during which the orchestra performed with the Filipino artists and presented works of Philippine music that were much appreciated by the audiences.

During the incumbency of General Carlos P. Romulo as President of the University of the Philippines, the UP Concert Chorus was born. Formed in 1962, the group has metamorphosed from a simple choral ensemble performing for the university's cultural presentations to a musical force of national and international stature. Winner of the ALIW (Entertainment) Award as Best Cultural Group and recipient of a CECIL award for their recording of Ryan Cayabyab's Misa, the choir has also distinguished itself by winning top prizes in international choral competitions. Undaunted in their musical ventures, the choral group has performed medieval music dramas, a mime play, operas, Broadway musicals, musical revues and zarzuelas to critical public acclaim. It has also produced full-length television specials, appeared in movies ("Kakabakaba Ka Ba?" by Mike de Leon) and done all conceivable types of choral music from the heavy classics to avant garde, popular and rock/jazz songs.

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra's Holiday Treats concert will be staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo on December 8, 2006 at 8:00pm.

For more details, please call CCP Marketing Department at 832-1125 loc. 1806, CCP Box Office at 832-3704.

Ticket prices: P900, P700, P500, P350

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The PHILIPPINE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (PPO) is the country’s leading orchestra, widely regarded as one of the top musical ensembles in the Asia Pacific Region.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra was formally inaugurated on May 15, 1973 as the CCP Philharmonic Orchestra and was initially intended to assist artists performing at the CCP Theater. The PPO’s first music director was Prof. Luis Valencia with Julian Quirit as concertmaster.

In 1979, then First Lady Imelda R. Marcos asked Prof. Oscar C. Yatco to reorganize the orchestra. Three years later, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra was born with a new vision - to become a world-class orchestra. Three years later, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra was born with a new vision - to be ranked among the best in the world.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra has performed with many of the world’s most renowned conductors including Mendi Rodan, Piero Gamba, Yaacov Bergman and Nicholas Koch. It has also performed with some of the very best Filipino and foreign artists, including Cecile Licad, Lea Salonga, Martin Nievera, Regine Velasquez, Van Cliburn, Renata Tebaldi, Judith Engel, Anthony Camden and jazz pioneer David Benoit. The PPO has gone on a very successful European tour and participated in the Asia Orchestra Week 2002 held at the Tokyo Opera City Hall.

The orchestra performed in a hugely successful Charity Royal Command Concert last September 27, 2004 at the National Theater in Bangkok, Thailand, upon the invitation of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, the older sister of His Majesty the King of Thailand. This was a project of the Fund for Classical Music Promotion, a nonprofit charity organization that gives out scholarships to young, talented and needy musicians to further study music, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Philippines and the Ministry of Culture of Thailand. The PPO is presently planning its 2007 US Tour to showcase the national orchestra and to highlight the artistry, and excellence of the Filipino artist.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra has featured the Philippine premieres of works by Margaret Brouwer, Michael Tilson, and Mark Anthony Turnage, to name a few. Maestro Eugene Castillo, as Music Director and Principal Conductor, leads the country's national orchestra in the promotion, propagation, and nurturing of Filipino culture, expression, and heritage.

For inquiries, please contact:
Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Office
Lower Basement, Cultural Center of the Philippines
Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City
Telephone 832-1125 local 1608-1610 or Telefax 832-1125 local 1613
Email: ppo@culturalcenter.gov.ph