The 32nd International Bamboo Organ Festival

February 22, 2007— Gala Concert

February 23, 2007— Tribute to BAROQUE MASTERS (A showcase of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 for piano four hands; Scarlatti Sonatas for two guitars and Bach’s Cantata no. 52 with soprano Camille Lopez Molina, the Las Piñas Boys Choir, and the Festival Ensemble conducted by Jonathan Velasco).

February 24, 2007— CONCERT UNDER THE TREES (Performance by local pop artists).

February 26, 2007– AN EVENING OF ORGAN MUSIC (Dalibor Miklavcic, an international organist from Slovenia).

February 27, 2007— FIESTA MUSIKA (A tribute to National Artist for Music, Maestro Lucio San Pedro).

March 01, 2007— CLOSING CONCERT (A tribute to St. Cecilia, patroness of music, with compositions written in her honor by Britten and Handel, to be performed by the Ateneo Chamber Singers conducted by Jonathan Velasco, with soloists Camille Lopez Molina and Vienna-based Filipino tenor Abdul Candao).

DALIBOR MIKLAVCIC was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia and studied both in Vienna and Milan. An award-winner in several national and European competitions, he concretizes regularly all over Europe. He was founder-president of the Slovenian Organ Society, has taught at the State University, is a lecturer at organ master classes and summer organ academies in Italy, Germany and Austria, and has recorded several CDs of organ music. His practice organ at home is adorned with wood-carvings made by the Diego Cera OrganBuilders of Las Piñas.

After winning the 1982 National Music Competitions for Young Artists, ABDUL CANDAO studied at the UST Conservatory of Music where he earned his music degree. In 1990 he enrolled at the Vienna Conservatory and since then has had an active performing career, singing in operas and concerts in various European countries, the US and the Philippines. From 2002 to 2006 he was engaged at the Eduard von Winterstein theater in Annaberg-Buchholz where he sang lead tenor roles in various operas. He is presently a faculty member of the Vienna Conservatory of Music.

The LAS PIÑAS BOYS CHOIR was founded in 1969 by Fr. Leo Renier for the purpose of having a group of young voices sing at church services. Through the years they have gained popularity and are now mainstays at both the parish and the annual Bamboo Organ Festival. For their work, the boys are awarded incentives such as academic scholarships. The Boys were national champions of the 3rd National Competitions for Children’s Choirs in 1974; their latest triumphs are first place at the Vivere Church Competitions in 2005 and a nomination for Best Choral Group in the 2006 Aliw Awards. More competitions, including international ones, are planned in the future.

SIXTO E. ROXAS began his musical career with the electric guitar and later switched to classical guitar, pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree from the UST Conservatory of Music. On a grant from the Spanish Government, he undertook master classes in Barcelona, Spain. An active performer in various recitals and concerts, both solo and ensemble, he is on the faculty of the UST Conservatory of Music.

RUBEN REYES, an alumnus of the UST Conservatory of Music, where he is now a member of the faculty, is an active performer of both classical and jazz music. He performs with the UST Guitar Quartet, and was part of the Wednesday Group of guitarists that brought guitar to Paco Park, the British Council, and Siliman University. He now heads the guitar department at UST, and plays electric bass with the jazz trio Majam.

ARMANDO SALARZA is the Titular Organist of the Bamboo Organ. At age eleven, he gave his first public performance on this instrument, and while still a student became the accompanist of the Las Piñas Boys Choir. He was also the youngest finalist ever to participate in the NAMCYA piano competition of 1978. Immediately after graduating from high school, he left for Graz and Vienna, finishing his studies ten years later and taking highest honors at the University for Music and Performing Arts in those two cities. Salarza has given many important recitals here, in Europe and in the US; and since 1986 has been featured every year at the International Bamboo organ Festival as recitalist, ensemble player, harpsichordist and conductor, displaying the versatility of his musical talent. A faculty member of St. Scholastica’s College, he is presently conductor and trainer of the Las Piñas Boys Choir and the Festival Choir.

The DIEGO CERA TRIO is composed of graduates of the St. Scholastica’s College School of Music: Rea L. Jimenez, Mary Grace Martinez and Marisol Taylo; the latter two are also alumnae of St. Joseph’s Academy of Las Piñas. Since 2003 they have been regular performers at the Fiesta Musika, playing music of Filipino composers. At present they are all music or violin teachers of St. Scholastica’s College.

RANDY LOPEZ started his music studies at the age of 16, eventually joining Banda San Jose as clarinetist. He qualified for a scholarship in St. Scholastica’s College in 1996, also becoming a member of the Manila Symphony Youth Orchestra. He is currently principal clarinet of the Manila Symphony Orchestra II. Since 1998, he has been associate conductor of Banda San Jose, teaches brass band music in a couple of schools, and is co-founder of the BSJ Woodwind Quintet and the Woodwind Five Quintet.

REA L. JIMENEZ earned her Master’s degree in Music, major in Music Education, from St. Scholastica’s College, where she also finished her Bachelor’s degree, major in piano, cum laude. She now teaches at the schools High School department, and accompanies their Glee club, along with the Las Piñas Boys Choir and the Festival Choir on occasion. Since 2002 she has been a regular performer at the Festival and is also a member of its Program Committee. She is a member of the Diego Cera Trio, and as an educator has been treasurer of the Kodaly Society of the Philippines for two years.

The FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA is made up of the best of Manila’s younger instrumentalists who are mostly members of the Manila Symphony Orchestra II, based at St. Scholastica’s College where they are taught and conducted by Arturo Molina. The members play in varied formations, and so have filled many functions for the Festival, of which they are now a vital element.

Pianist NAJIB ISMAIL has been acclaimed as chamber musician, collaborative artist and solo performer. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree at the UST conservatory of Music and a professional diploma from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. He has been featured soloist under distinguished conductors, and has performed solo and chamber music recitals around the country as well as in China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Spain, Austria, France and Switzerland. In 1998 he was presented in the prestigious Filipino Artists Series of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and was recently soloist in the October 2006 season concert of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. He is on the faculty of the UST Conservatory of Music.

CAMILLE LOPEZ MOLINA studied voice at the University of the Philippines before she went on a scholarship to the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts where she earned a certificate in Opera Studies. From 1996 to 2001 she further studied at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wein in Austria. The list of roles she has sung is long and varied: ranging from Bloody Mary in South Pacific to Giulieta in Tales of Hoffmann; from the Countess in Le Nozze de Figaro to Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana and many others in between. She was soloist for the 2001 European tour of the Philipine Philharmonic Orchestra, and has been featured in their season concerts and in the Filipino Artists Series; she has concretized extensively locally, in the US, Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore. She presently teaches at the UST Conservatory, St. Scholastica’s College and Centro Escolar University.

The story of the ATENEO CHAMBER SINGERS must be familiar to many people by now: from 2000 to 2001 alumni and graduating members of the Ateneo College Glee club embarked on a European tour, sweeping top prizes in major choral competitions in Germany, France and Spain. On their return to the Philippines, the group sought an opportunity to sustain the musical and personal friendship they had created during the tour, and with the blessing of principal conductor Joel Navarro, created the ACS in 2002. Jonathan Velasco, who had served as guest conductor on their tours, took the helm as musical director. In the four years that followed, the young choir has produced two albums, had a successful US tour and sung in numerous concerts including at the Bamboo Organ Festival, where they are practically a fixture. They have just returned from a tour of France and Spain; competing at the 38th Tolosa Choral Contest where they won the top prize in the polyphony category. This was followed by a trip to Singapore where they were invited to perform with choirs from Singapore and Japan at the Esplanade Hall.

JONATHAN VELASCO is a much sought after choral conductor, clinician, and adjudicator of international renown. He joined the UP Madrigal singers under Prof. Andrea Veneracion in 1981, becoming its assistant choirmaster two years later. In 1989 he started his studies in Choral conducting at the Berliner Kirchenmusikschule, finishing with distinction. He was a member and assistant conductor of the World Youth Choir, and for its 1996 summer session became the first Asian to become principal conductor. Velasco was part of the jury during the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Choir Olympics in Busan, Bremen and Xiamen respectively; he has also judged international choral competitions in Belgium, Budapest, Spain, Germany, China and Malaysia. Since 1993 he has been on the faculty of the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music and is currently Chairman of the Choral Studies Department; he also regularly holds choral clinics and workshops in Manila, Europe and Asia. He currently conducts and trains the Ateneo Chamber singers, the Miriam College Glee Club and the AILM Chorale.

There was never any doubt that music would play a major role in the life of JACQUI MAGNO. Singing through Grade School and High School in the glee club, chosen for lead roles in school musicals, putting together her own singing group, becoming female lead singer of the Scheraders, and then member of the unforgettable Circus Band – all these led to a solo career that began with gigs in folk houses, then on to singing (and sometimes playing) with pop/rock/jazz bands, and the first original Filipino rock opera, MAHAL.

And then there was jazz. Jacqui was now clearly in her element, winning Cecil Awards as Best Female Vocal Performer in 1984, and Best Jazz Vocal Performance in 1984 and 1985. In 1995 she was part of TALA. A band formed solely to represent the country in the Northsea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. She recently did musicals with Tanghalang Pilipino at the CCP, and joined a Circus Band silver Jubilee Reunion at Ultra in 1997. An outcome of the latter is a CD of the live performance available under the Bookmark Audio label. She has also recorded for the same label an album of kundimans with a twist, aptly titled “Paglingon: Return of the Native”. It won for her a special citation as one of the three awardees for the Catholic Mass Media “Best Album of the Year” in 2000. The following year, she was named Katha’s “Best Female Jazz Vocalist”. She has just finished recording under Manna Records an all-standards CD with Toti Fuentes as Musical Director and produced by Richard Merk.

RICO J. PUNO started out in show business in 1974; in the span of two years he was named Most Promising Entertainer by Aliw Awards, and in 1977 was named Entertainer of the Year. The years after that saw a whole string of awards, the highlights of which are: Best Asian Performer in the Tokyo Music Festival and Juke Box King in 1979; Most Outstanding Recording Artist in 1997; and Hall of Fame Awardee in 2004. In 1998 Rico J. entered public service, and served as City Councilor of Makati City’s first district in 1998, 2001, and 2003. He was Chairman of the Committee on Tourism and Culture, as well as the Committee on Public Information; and authored the Makati Anti-Piracy Ordinance. This singer/entertainer, businessman, and public servant is better known to his fans as the Total Entertainer.

CHRISTINE LOVE MARCAIDA is a recording and concert artist, who has had performances in Australia and the United States. She presently runs The Voice Box, a singing and stage performance school in Makati City.

The grand winner of Pop Star Kids RITA DANIELA DE GUZMAN IRINGAN, 11 years of age, has been in television most of her life. She is a regular on Ganda ng Lola Ko and other shows on QTV Channel 11.

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