Lifestyle Asia

THE SYMPHONY OF MUNIFICENC­E

- Text EDU JARQUE

As if she hasn't given enough, and yet, she has never ceased to deliver. Since the age of barely five, with her mother, Pilar Blanco Sala, as her first piano teacher, Ingrid Sala-Santamaria has dedicated long stretched hours of practice, before she moved on to more days in grueling rehearsals, to captivatin­gly perform in palaces and royal residences, for royalty and aristocrac­y, premiers and presidents, global leaders and business icons, and in sold-out arenas and prestigiou­s concert halls, before discerning audiences in tune with music.

However, she did not stop there. Together with Professor Reynaldo Reyes, a fellow internatio­nally decorated concert pianist, they embarked on outreach missions for years to bring classical

music to the countrysid­e, in the far-flung remotest barrios, and isolated islands, in open fields, barangay halls, covered basketball courts, even on top of a 6x6 truck, under the heat of the scorching sun.

Recently, through the Ingrid Sala-Santamaria Endowment Fund for Education, an initiative that assists financiall­y challenged students, she has recently unselfishl­y donated some decades-old memorabili­a collection to the De La Salle University, during an intimate Donation Turnover Ceremony at the Taft Campus, with only her immediate family and closest friends in attendance.

This is not the first time she has imparted her blessings. In memory of her Golden Pianistic Anniversar­y in 2012, the Sta. Isabel College was the recipient of a beautiful Yamaha baby grand piano.

A classical concert pianist and an advocate for accessible education gives back

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R Concert at SM North Wing, Cebu City with Cebu Philharmon­ic Orchestra conducted by Prof. Reynaldo Abellana
Photo by Andrian Sevilla
The invitation to the intimate event.
Photo by Cathy Santamaria
L R Concert at SM North Wing, Cebu City with Cebu Philharmon­ic Orchestra conducted by Prof. Reynaldo Abellana Photo by Andrian Sevilla The invitation to the intimate event. Photo by Cathy Santamaria
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