There’s a cellist as young as eight years old. The oldest in the group is 25.
That’s the age range of the 80 musicians who make up the Orchestra of Filipino Youth (OFY). Majority of them are scholars.
Music director and OFY conductor is Maestro Gerard Salonga. He began serving as music director in January 2021. “I received a call from the OFY vice president Shirley Cruz, as well as from Joshua Dos Santos, who served as OFY music director from January 2017 to December 2020,” said Salonga. “They asked if I could help and, of course, I said yes, having been in close touch with the OFY since its beginning in 2012.”
‘For many of them, it will be their first time to touch the repertoire and actually perform it,’ says Salonga. ‘That needs to be a positive experience for them’
The young musicians play challenging pieces for both artists and the audience. ”But it is also very carefully curated for these young musicians,” Salonga pointed out. “The wrong choices can either be uninteresting or possibly traumatic. The professional musicians who work in the OFY as mentors play a big role in selecting level-appropriate repertoire for the OFY to perform.
“Everything’s within their reach, but they do have to stretch. Many of the pieces we play are famous ones from the symphonic repertoire, so they are already known to anyone who loves music, including the OFY musicians. They are also performing ballet, chamber music (smaller instrumental ensembles), and soon, we will introduce them to operatic performance with young opera singers.”
Asked what is most challenging about leading a young orchestra like the OFY, Salonga said they are the same difficulties for anyone helping educate younger people. “There is a different kind of responsibility involved in working with a youth orchestra. For many of them, it will be their first time to touch the repertoire and actually perform it. That needs to be a positive experience for them, because these will form core memories that will last throughout their musical lives.
“We all remember our first Beethoven 5 or first Dvořák 9. I want it to be a happy memory and, of course, I want them to benefit from the experience that we as mentors bring to the OFY. In terms of what I do on the podium, there’s really no difference. I work with them the same way I would work with anyone else.”
More than half of of the musicians of the OFY are not from Metro Manila, but from as far as Cebu.
More than half of the musicians of the OFY are not from Metro Manila. Most are from the provinces. “We have members from Zambales, Rizal, even Cebu,” said Mickey Muñoz, executive director of Ang Misyon, the non-profit organization supporting musically talented and underprivileged youth. OFY is the performing arm of Ang Misyon, Inc., an NGO founded in 2012 by then ABS-CBN chair Gabby Lopez, First Philippine Holdings chair Federico Lopez, and concert pianist Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz. “They come to Manila on subsidized airfare. They don’t get their training in Cebu, so they come to Manila and train with with Gerard. We sponsor the meals, the instruments, the transportation coming to Manila. We plan to lower the age bracket next year to 23. A lot of them are in college, so from 18 to 21. We want to shift next year.”
The members are not housed in a specific place, since they attend regular school Mondays to Fridays. They just need to train on Saturdays. “So we sponsor their transportation during practices,” said Munoz. “It’s heartwarming to see those who cannot afford going to formal music schools getting to train with the OFY.”
The OFY does not as yet have a concert season. “I wish we could have one, but it’s impossible to do that because we do not have a unified school schedule in our country,” lamented Salonga. “In other places, youth orchestras can organize a series of concerts in the summer, but because the OFY members attend different schools in different districts, and in different levels from grade school to university, there’s no long period of everyone being away from school.
“Instead, we plan for concerts throughout the year and try our best to make sure that they are gapped properly to give everyone enough time to prepare, while taking care of their school requirements.”
The number of past and present members through the years who have decided to make music their life is what Salonga is proudest of. “The program was not conceived to be just a pathway to life as a professional musician, but the fact that there are members who have become skilled enough to join international festivals, as well as who have continues their music studies abroad—this tells us that the program is also doing well to serve the art form that we love.”
The number of past and present members through the years who have decided to make music their life is what Salonga is proudest of
Ang Misyon believes in the transformative power of music, and the discipline needed to make this happen. “This is a chamber orchestra, so the performances are seen per section,” explained Munoz. “The training for the whole 80-piece orchestra is different. The sections have different training. They can hear each other better. That’s also a good thing.”
Resonant Spaces was the title of OFY’s recent concert at the Proscenium Black Box Theater. “Since this is a new venue, we want to resonate,” said Munoz. “The space is different for us. We want to test it. We want to resonate with this new Vivace sound system. It was the first time that an orchestra played here at the Black Box.”
Black Box has a Vivace sound system that will not amplify the general sound, but will enhance the sound of the instruments, instead. Vivace is a series of microphones and speakers intelligently located around the room to create the feeling of being in a different acoustic space. There’s a cathedral setting, and provides the best acoustical environment for the music. The microphones are probably hidden all over the place, but the whole effect is to be invisible.
There will be another show in February 2026 and another in August, this time at the main theater of Proscenium. “We’re trying to find an audience for the OFY,” Munoz said. “Here in the Philippines, classical music needs to look for a regular audience. But now that we have a venue, Proscenium, that is built for classical concerts, we are taking baby steps. We are grateful to Rockwell.” Salonga also thanked Ang Misyon for continuously enabling the young musicians to perform at this “wonderful venue.”
This 2026, the OFY has planned for some concerts to look forward to, with interesting artists and a beautiful repertoire. “Please stay tuned for the announcements,” said Salonga. “We’re very excited about what will come.”
Understandably, Salonga has dreams for the OFY. “A youth orchestra by its very nature is a revolving door,” he pointed out. “There will be members who will graduate to pursue studies or simply because they have reached the age limit, but I look forward to meeting the new musicians who will take their place, and continuously trying to use music to inspire them.
“My dream for the OFY is for it to be known to all Filipinos as not only a youth orchestra training program, but something that has helped young Filipinos become good citizens of their country and the world.
“Yes, it sounds very Miss Universe Q&A, but I really mean it. In an orchestra, the members must listen to their fellow musicians and play in harmony with different instruments.
“A trumpet must have a civilized conversation and be able to blend with a violin, which is a very different-sounding instrument, the sound of which is produced in a very different way. Without listening, there will only be noise and no direction. This applies to everything outside music, as well.”
Friendships forged in music last a lifetime, notes Salonga.
Several hours after the recent OFY concert at the Proscenium Black Box Theater, Salonga was at the airport to head back to Kuala Lumpur for his professional orchestra job as resident conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO).
“I’ll be in KL for three weeks to close the season, then I’ll head back to Manila to do the New Year’s Eve concert with Lea (Salonga) and Raymond Lauchengco, as well as prepare for January concerts with Filharmonika in Manila and with Lea in Hong Kong.”
Since 2018, Salonga has shuttled between Manila and KL. By this time, he has apparently adjusted to the schedule. “Shuttling back and forth has become something of a routine,” he said. “Thank goodness for budget travel and video calls! I always miss my family, but my work in Kuala Lumpur is also very meaningful to me.
“The MPO is wonderful, with great colleagues and an amazing concert hall right between the Petronas towers. I also conduct the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO) regularly, and members of the OFY have come to KL to perform in side-by-side concerts with the MPYO. It’s great for them to meet like-minded young musicians from other countries and expand their network. Friendships forged in music last a lifetime.”
2026 will still be busy with a lot of concerts with the MPO and MPYO, OFY, and Filharmonika for Salonga. “It’s great that Filharmonika is back and performing a lot. We’ll be doing a lot of film concerts at Solaire with Film Concerts PH, Star Wars Episode 6 and Harry Potter 5 films in concert with live orchestra, plus many others.
“I’m conducting the Hong Kong Philharmonic, which is a special orchestra to me. They really helped me grow as a musician. For two years, I served as their assistant conductor, so they are very much a musical family to me. I’ll also be conducting the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for the first time and I’ll be touring Asia with Lea. No complaints. It’s good to be working a lot!”
