Arts & Leisure
Posted on May 10, 2016 05:06:00 PM
PPO to perform in the US for 1st time
By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
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IT’S A story of first and last, but definitely one for the books and music to everybody’s ears. The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) will perform, for the first time ever, at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 18. At the helm of this historic event is the award-winning conductor Olivier Ochanine, 36, the PPO’s youngest music director. Unfortunately though, it will also be his last, but perhaps grandest, performance with the PPO in his six years with them.
THE CARNEGIE Hall concert will be the last time Olivier Ochanine will conduct the PPO.
“It is an exciting chapter in Filipino arts,” Mr. Ochanine said in a press conference on May 5 at Hotel Jen, just across the PPO’s home, the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
“It’s a great way to showcase the Filipino talent,” he added.
He said was a childhood dream to perform at Carnegie Hall where art bigwigs and enthusiasts converge for classic and contemporary concerts as well as for exhibits, lectures, readings, and films.
“How do you perform at the Carnegie Hall? ‘Practice, practice, practice’,” he said while smiling.
He admitted that fulfilling the dream was three years in the making. Years “of ups and downs, but in the end, it’s meant to be.”
Performing in the concert along with the PPO are pianist Cecile Licad and young violonist Diomedes Saraza.
Ms. Licad has performed with the world’s best symphonies and orchestras. Mr. Saraza on the other hand has just graduated from the Julliard School in New York City and is pursuing further education at Yale University in Cambridge.
With ticket prices ranging from $12.50 to $120, the proceeds of the concert will go to the housing project of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation in Tacloban, Leyte which is meant for 247 families still living in bunk houses after their homes were destroyed by supertyphoon Yolanda.
The concert is “unprecedented” said CCP Vice-President and Director Chris B. Millado. It is also a good way to “reach out to the Filipino-American community living in New York City,” because while there, the team will hold two outreach community concerts. The venues are yet to be announced.
Mr. Ochanine, the PPO, and the CCP couldn’t overemphasized their gratitude to the private companies that helped them make the dream possible.
“We are used to bringing in international acts like Les Miserables in the country. Now it’s a great honor and pride to bring the Filipino talent to New York,” said Julie Carceller, Smart Infinity and multi-segment marketing head.
Visit carnegiehall.org for concert tickets. -- Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
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