MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, and Philippine Madrigal Singers bring world-class performances to the City of Pasig on September 22 at the Pasig Cathedral at 7 pm. The concert is free to the public.
Billed as “Musikang Handog kay Inmaculada Concepcion sa 450 Taon ng Simbahan at Bayan ng Pasig,” the concert is a commitment of the CCP, PPO, and Madz to promote music appreciation through outreach concerts in different communities and regions nationwide.
Under the baton of Maestro Herminigildo Ranera, the PPO will be performing classical pieces as well as contemporary OPM and Broadway music, while the Madz take the spotlight with their vocal prowess.
Through this concert, both the CCP and PPO hope to bring comfort and warmth to the broadest audiences through music.
In spite of the ongoing rehabilitation of the CCP Main Building, CCP’s programs, shows and projects have gone beyond the corners of the complex to provide world-class artistic experience to more and more Filipino audiences while promoting and preserving the best of Filipino arts and culture.
The concert is made possible with the support of Immaculate Conception Cathedral – Diocese of Pasig, Comite de Festejos de Pasig 2023, Office of the Lone District Representative of Pasig, City Government of Pasig; Bishop Mylo Hubert C. Vergara, Bishop of Pasig; Hon. Roman T. Romulo, Congressman of Pasig City; Hon. Vico N. Sotto, Mayor of Pasig City; Hon. Dodot B. Jaworski, Vice-Mayor of Pasig and Members of the 11th Sangguniang Panlungsod; Rev. Fr. Mariano L. Baranda, Rector & Parish Priest of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral; and Jovito Gertes & Marinella A. Salem, Presidente & President of the Comite de Festejos de Pasig 2023.
The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra is the country’s leading orchestra and is widely regarded as one of the top musical ensembles in the Asia-Pacific region. The PPO has performed with many of the world’s renowned conductors including Mendi Rodan, Piero Gamba, Enrique Batis, Sebastian Bereau, and Nicholas Koch. It has also performed with the best foreign and Filipino artists such as Van Cliburn, Renata Tebaldi, Judith Engel, Anthony Camden, David Benoit, Cecile Licad, Raul Sunico, and Lea Salonga.
The PPO toured Europe in 2001 and participated in the Asia Orchestra Week in September 2002 held at the Tokyo Opera City Hall upon the invitation of the Association of Japanese Symphony Orchestras. It performed at Bangkok’s National Theater in September 2004 upon the invitation of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vandhana of Thailand.
The PPO has premiered Filipino compositions and has featured works by foreign composers not yet performed in the Philippines. It continues to promote music appreciation through outreach concerts in schools, parishes, government agencies, and underserved communities in Metro Manila and in different regions in the country.
The Philippine Madrigal Singers, also known as the Madz, was organized in 1963 by National Artist Professor Andrea O. Veneracion. The group is composed of students, faculty, and alumni from the different colleges of the University of the Philippines (UP). The choir is one of the world’s most awarded, having consistently won all the top prizes in most of the world’s prestigious choral competitions: Concorso Polifónico Guido d’Arezzo (Arezzo, Italy); Concorso e Festival Internazionale Di Canto Corale “Seghizzi” (Gorizia, Italy); International Chamber Choir Competition (Marktoberdorf, Germany); International Chorwettbewerb (Spittal, Austria); Festival Choral International de Neuchatel (Neuchatel, Switzerland); Florilège Vocal de Tours (Tours, France); International May Choir Competition Prof. G. Dimitrov (Varna, Bulgaria); Béla Bartók International Choir Competition (Debrecen, Hungary); Festival Internacional de Música de Cantonigròs (Cantonigros, Spain), Certamen Coral de Tolosa (Tolosa, Basque Country, Spain) and Certamen Internacional de Habaneras y Polifonia (Torrevieja, Spain). They hold the distinction of being the first choir in the world to win the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing twice (1997 and 2007).
The ensemble performs a wide repertoire of various styles and forms: renaissance music, classical music, Filipino and international folksongs, contemporary and avant-garde music, opera, and even popular music. Their specialization and focus on the madrigal idiom have inspired their unique set-up of singing while seated in a semi-circle, without a conductor.
