By Caesar Vallejos
EBC Correspondent
“If you want more, you have to come to New York,” Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) Conductor Olivier Ochanine told the audience at the Cultural Center of Philippines who clamored for an encore at the send-off concert last June 10 for its Carnegie Hall performance in the USA.
“Thank you for coming to energize us,” he said. The PPO is leaving on Monday to perform in one of the best music halls in the world on June 18. The orchestra will be joined by renowned Filipino pianist Cecile Licad and violinist Diomedes Saraza, Jr.
“To play there, where so many great and legendary artists have performed, is an honor and artist’s dream come true,” CCP President Raul Sunico’s message states.
“It’s the scariest thing”
Asked if the PPO will wow New Yorkers, VP and Artistic Director Chris Millado responded, “it is our hope that PPO will make an impression. But you can never tell. It’s the scariest thing. New York is always the testing ground for artists. Even the best musicians find New York as a challenge.
About 300 performances happen every night at the Big Apple. “Stepping on the Carnegie Hall stage is already a big leap,” Millado said. The PPO’s performance is a first for a Philippine orchestra. “This establishes the musicality of the Filipino who has earlier conquered Broadway with the world-class talents of theater artists including Lea Salonga. This establishes the fact that Filipinos do not only excel in Broadway theater but in classical music as well.”
The next conquest
Ironically, the next conquest of the PPO after Carnegie, according to Millado, is the Philippines. “The PPO is a huge orchestra yet it is only accessible to people who come to the CCP. It should be known and embraced by every Filipino, the same way they play basketball in gyms and rice fields,” Millado explained.
The country’s pride
Virna Valerio, one of the violinists who will be joining around 80 members of the performing group said, “we will be music ambassadors to promote goodwill and friendship. This is for the pride and honor of our country.” Valerio is also a member of the INC Symphonic Orchestra (Read: FYM Oratorio: A Musical Magnificence).
Uniquely Filipino
At the send-off concert, the PPO played beautifully rendered masterpieces intertwining familiar Filipino folk tunes including “Sarung Banggi”, “Leron-Leron Sinta”, “Dandansoy” and “Gaano Kita Kamahal”. It re-introduced Filipino music in an elaborate, stirring orchestra rendition truly deserving of a world-class stage and audience. (For the programme, Read: Carnegie Hall starts selling tickets for 1st Filipino orchestra performance in the US by PPO)
