MSO launches season in final ‘Rush Hour’ concert

MANILA, Philippines - The Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) launches its 2013 season on the final installment of the “Rush Hour Concerts” series in Ayala Museum, Makati City on May 22, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Initiated and conceptualized as an addition to the cultural vista of business-minded Makati, the “Rush Hour Concerts” opened with the music of National Artist Lucio San Pedro. The succeeding concerts each focused on various orchestra sections such as strings, woodwinds, and brasses and percussion.

The fifth installment will reunite all the orchestra’s sections, and include a repertoire of Edvard Grieg, G.F. Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach, and other classical composers’ works. The concert will be conducted by Artur Molina, who also led MSO in the first three “Rush Hour” performances.

“We are fortunate to partner with Ayala Museum to bring the music of Manila Symphony Orchestra in the middle of the Makati Business District,” says Jeffrey Solares, MSO’s executive director and the “Rush Hour Concerts” annotator. In previous performances, Solares introduced pieces with trivia on the history of various instruments, historical context of compositions, anecdotes from musicians’ lives, and sometimes MSO’s previous experiences in performing these masterpieces, making “Rush Hour” both an educational and entertaining experience for audiences.

Mariles Gustilo, Ayala Foundation Inc. senior director for arts and culture, explains, “With MSO’s ‘Rush Hour Concerts’ series, we hope to provide the community we serve with a brief but enriching respite and sanctuary from the traffic and throngs of commuters that define their daily lives. And in time, we hope that it evolves to be an integral part of Makati City’s cultural life.”

Tickets are available for P300 at The Ayala Museum on and before the event. For inquiries, e-mail museum_inquiry@ayalamuseum.org. or call 757-7117 to 21.