Himig ng Panahon, Guitar tilt launched
A national guitar competition open to amateur and professional guitar players was launched recently.
Dubbed Himig ng Panahon, Guitar Competition, the nationwide search is open to all guitar players aged 13 to 35 and who are not under professional management contract or not signed to any music labels. The grand winner will receive P100,000 cash while the second and third place winners will receive P50,000 and P35,000, respectively. A consolation prize of P5,000 will be given to 12 finalists.
Presented by Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, a heritage resort in Bagac, Bataan, the tilt aims to revitalize the age-old tradition of musical performance and to honor Filipino heritage through musical creativity.
According to Jerry Acuzar, chairman of New San Jose Builders, Inc., the property developer of the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, the competition is a cultural expression that trains the spotlight on guitar, not just a fretted musical instrument but also a cultural symbol that transcends generations.
“The sound emanating from the guitar gives one a feel of the bygone days of our younger years and is now becoming unpopular due to the advent of digitally produced music. We want to keep it alive and support its longevity,” says Acuzar, a known advocate of Filipino heritage and culture.
Himig ng Panahon winners will be chosen by a panel of judges that includes composer Ric Mercado, sixstring master Noel Manalo Mendez and classical guitar Prof. Lester Demetillo.
Mercado, one of the country’s best acoustic and electric guitarists, appears in ASAP and has performed and recorded albums with OPM stars.
Manalo, on the other hand, a seasoned session guitarist, has collaborated with artists like Kuh Ledesma, Regine Velasquez, Jay-R , Jaya, Francis Magalona, Ogie Alcasid and Leah Salonga.
Demitillo is the founder of University of the Philippines Guitar Orchestra.
The finals will be staged on Nov. 18 in one of the performance venues of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. Application to the contest is now open.
For details, call Live Artists Production, Inc. at 920-2643 or 926-0556.