PPO brings holiday cheers with young virtuoso
FOR the fourth installment of its 36th concert season, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) offers nostalgic holiday cheer as it performs classical pieces often associated with the Christmas season on December 14, 8 p.m. at Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).
Included in the repertoire are Hans
Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel Prelude to Act One,” and Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite,” as well as Christmas hymns, carols and songs.
Guest soloist is young violinist Joaquin Maria “Chino” Gutierrez, one of the emerging crop of young Filipino virtuosos, carving a secure place in the international arena of violin playing. He is set to perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Violin Concerto No. 5.”
Hailed as a young virtuoso at 15,
to have been invited to compete at the highly prestigious Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hannover, Germany. He represented the Philippines in the Singapore International Music Festival last year.
His performances have been described by many as “mesmerizing.” Alfonso Bo-
him as “unusually gifted, with a natural ability and a sense of music-making that is uncanny for someone his age.”
Conducting the concert is Maestro Herminigildo Ranera. Hailed for his authoritative, articulate and soulful conducting, Maestro Hermie as he’s fondly called, possesses a rare musical combination as a conductor, composer, arranger, performer and educator.
A three-time prize-winner of the National Music Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA) in 1982 and 1983, and a two-time Aliw awardee in 2015 and 2016, Ranera currently teaches at the UST Conservatory of Music and at St. Paul University, Manila.