From the late ‘70s to the early ‘80s, the music scholars who enjoyed the support of the Young Artists Foundation of the Philippines were pianists Cecile Licad, Rowena Arrieta and Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz, violinists Joseph Esmilla and Coke Bolipata, tenor Noel Velasco, cellist Chino Bolipata and soprano Lani Misenas, among others.
That was an unforgettable batch.
Licad was accepted at Curtis Institute at age 12 and won the Leventritt Gold Medal. Velasco won the Pavarotti competition in Philadelphia, Arrieta placed fifth in the Tchaikovsky Competition and bagged the gold medal in the Jose Iturbi International Piano Competition in Spain, with Cruz getting the silver medal.
Tuesday last week, Cultural Center of the Philippines chair Jaime C. Laya announced that CCP, after 34 years, is supporting a new batch of scholars under its International Scholarship Program.
CCP vice president and artistic director Dennis Marasigan said they have been chosen in auditions and subsequent interviews, and based on scholastic records.
The new batch: Aidan Ezra Baracol now taking advanced piano studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London; Adrian Nicolas Ong, now enrolled at the Royal Conservatory of Music The Glenn Gould School in Toronto, Canada; Lizzie Bett Estrada now enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and Mark Kenedy Rocas, taking advanced flute studies at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Massachusetts, USA.
More scholars will be selected which CCP will announce on a much wider platform.
Lizzie Bett Estrada, Aidan Ezra Baracol, Mark Kenedy Rocas, Adrian Nicolas Ong
CCP president Kaye Tinga (third from left) with CCP supporters and media
This year’s batch of scholars was presented in a CCP presscon by Laya and newly named CCP president Kay Tinga who announced their concert with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Herminigildo Ranera, on Saturday, July 27, 5 p.m. at the Concert at the Park.
In the musical preview for the media, we noticed how the scholars preferred Filipino composers, except for one token aria (O mio babbino caro) from a Puccini opera, sung by Estrada.
Their ensemble capabilities were tested in the folk song Leron Leron Sinta as arranged by National Artist for Music Lucio San Pedro.
There was fairly good rapport, with the soprano soloist emerging as highly promising.
Rocas did a poignant interpretation of Eduardo Parungao’s Pagsapit ng Tag-araw.
Aidan Baracol at the Royal Academy of Music in London
Moreover, the initial numbers showed the sensitivity of collaborating pianist Baracol whose own composition (The Smugglers) revealed his other talent as composer.
Violinist Adrian Nicolas Ong: Memorable year at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto
Easily the standout was Ong’s soulful rendition of Ernesto Vallejo’s Habanera Filipina No. 2.
Ong shared encounters from a year of studies at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto, Canada. “It has been rejuvenating and exciting year. The student population is very small, just around 120 students. Everyone knows each other. Thus, we are always given full attention by the faculty and staff. It is like a very big family, with inspiring and helpful peers. “
The violinist said he had the chance to work with distinguished conductors like Peter Oundjian and JoAnn Falleta.
Oundjian conducted their school orchestra performing Tchaikovksy’s 5th Symphony at Carnegie Hall in New York. “Performing that piece under his direction was pure joy. It is easily one of the best moments of my life. I have also gotten to work with violinist Ilya Kaler in a masterclass (he won gold medals at the Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, and Paganini competitions).”
At the Glenn Gould school, he studied under two professors, Min Jeong Koh and Paul Kantor.
Min was the first violinist of a string quartet that won in the Banff String Quartet Competition, while Kantor is part of the violin faculty at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas. “Kantor is a much sought-after violin pedagogue who continues the lineage of the famous violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. Kantor and Min have instilled in me an even deeper love and understanding for music and especially the importance of connecting with your audience. When I was younger, I would be notorious in school for locking up myself for hours on end in the practice room. At the Philippine High School for the Arts, I would wake up early in the morning so I could practice a bit before reporting to my 7 a.m. class. It was too much practice that I have forgotten why I was playing the violin. What my professors have advised is true. That a good balance is needed between life and music. Rubinstein’s quote rings true. ‘Never practice more than three or four hours a day. No one can concentrate longer than that. You must spend the rest of your time learning about life and love and art and all the other wonderful things in the world. If a young person sits in the practice room all day, what can he possibly express in his music?’”
‘A good balance is needed between life and music’
Other school encounters include meeting the Korean diva Sumi Jo during one of her Toronto concerts. “She was a character,” he said.
For the July 27 PPO concert, Ong will play Ysaÿe’s Caprice diapers lettuce en forme de valse de Saint-Saens.
Pointed out Ong: “The Ysaÿe piece is based on a Saint-Saëns piano etude which is probably inspired by a waltz. The first time I heard this piece was on an album of encores recorded by Maxim Vengerov who was a constant inspiration to me especially when I was younger. This piece starts with a stormy and dark introduction and is suddenly interrupted by a very beautiful waltz melody. This will go on throughout the piece, a juxtaposition between light and dark and joy and sorrow. But in the end joy prevails. It was also fun to figure out all the challenging passages of the piece which includes virtually all kinds of double stops configurations and harmonic passages. The piano etude is also really challenging when I asked my pianist friend about it. When Ysaÿe arranged it for the violin, the melodies are still there but the piece has been transformed into almost like a mini violin concerto filled with many violin pyrotechnics.
Ysaÿe was also known as the “King of the Violin” and has composed six solo sonatas for the violin and dedicated each of it to a violinist he respected or admired. “As a violinist, he did everything. He was composer, concertmaster, conductor, soloist, chamber musician. He lived and breathed music.”
Aidan Baracol explained his piece, The Smugglers, which he composed in 2022. “It is essentially a mischievous chase in two contrasting sections, reflecting the adventurous, nomadic life of the main character.”
For the July 27 concert, Baracol will play a movement from the relatively unknown Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1. “The Rachmaninoff concertos have always been a personal favorite. His first offers a rather youthful and mysterious charm, a fresh perspective from him that I would like to explore. It may seem overshadowed by his other concertos, the second and third in particular. But this first concerto only captivated me more.”
Poster of July 27 PPO concert
He sums up his initial year of schooling in London thus: “It is an honor and sheer delight to have spent a meaningful year at the Royal Academy of Music. At first, it was a challenge adapting to the rather competitive environment, everything being advanced and fast-paced. It was, however, through the support and guidance of teachers, friends, and colleagues that the seemingly daunting enterprise became a fascinating pilgrimage to undiscovered places. I learned so many things simply by observing everyone around me. My mentor—Prof. Joanna MacGregor—has taught me more than fresh approaches relating to technique and artistry. She taught me that to create music, one has to share an inspiration.”
