Orchestras, baton wielders/Ranera conducts Phl works/Mitch tickles SSC alumnae

This report is being written without any reference notes but I presume it will be generally accurate.

In 1926, the Manila Symphony Orchestra was organized and established under the auspices and sponsorship of the Manila Symphony Society headed by president Mrs. Benito Legarda (nee Trinidad Fernandez), also known as the Mother of the Symphony Movement of the Philippines.  The orchestra’s Viennese conductor was Dr. Alexander Lippay.  He was succeeded by Herbert Zipper; Bernardino Custudio was the MSO’s assistant conductor.  Later on, Oscar C. Yatco took over as conductor and he continued introducing to music lovers masterworks by composers Beethoven, Bach, Mendelssohn, etc.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 1973.  Its first music director was Luis Valencia. PPO had conductor Eugene Castillo, Italian Ruggiero Barbieri and now French American Olivier Ochanine.  At the first concert of Maestro Ochanine some three years ago, I wrote in part the following review: “His ability to arouse and hold attention was as obvious as his lively rapport with the orchestra…while focusing on melody and form, he sustained a long pianissimo, starting from ‘loud’ to soft, almost inaudible pianissimo, making the superbly controlled rendition an incredible feat in dynamics.”

The UST Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1927 by Dr. Manuel Casas.  He also served as conductor.  The group disbanded and  in 1961 by National Artist for Music Antonio Buenaventura reorganized the orchestra. Now it consists of students,  graduates and faculty of UST Conservatory of Music, has for its conductor Herminigildo Ranera who is also assistant conductor of the PPO.

The Metro Manila Community Orchestra based in Miriam College was founded by Coke Bolipata in 2000, consisting of talented instrumentalists, is conducted by Josefino “Chino” Toledo.

Rodel Colmenar, who founded the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra, is its music director and conductor.

The Manila Symphony Orchestra II was reorganized by Basilio Manalo and Sister Mary Placid Abejo in 1985 under the auspices of St. Scholastica’s College of Music.  He passed on the reins to Arturo Molina. 

The Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation Inc. (the new name of  the now-defunct Manila Chamber Orchestra) reorganized in 2010 by its current chairman Baltazar Endriga.

The newest ensemble is the ABS-CBN Philharmonic founded in 2012 with Gerard Salonga as its conductor.

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Herewith is an announcement sent me and thereby edited.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra performed Filipino works under the baton of PPO Associate Conductor Herminigildo Ranera last October 11 at CCP.  Billed as Mostly Filipino, the concert consisted of Pena’s Philippine Festival Overture”, Buenaventura’s “Manik Buangsi and Tuan Putli Symphonic Poem”, San Pedro’s “Buan sa Kabundukan”, and Padilla de Leon’s “Manila Sketches”.  Also “La Creation du Monde” of Darius Milhaud and “Slavonic Dances Nos. 1-8 Op.48” of Dvorka.

Herminigildo Ranera is hailed for his authoritative and soulful manner of conducting.  He is a rare musical combination of conductor, composer, arranger, performer and educator all rolled into one.  He has under his belt majors in fields of Trombone and Theory from UST, Master of Music Degree in Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado and a Ph.D major in Educational Management from Cagayan State U.

As conductor, Dr. Ranera has led the PPO, California State U., Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Chia-Yi Wind Orchestra, San Miguel Philharmonic, Manila Philharmonic, the UST Symphony Orchestra, and the Transylvania Philharmonic in Club, Romania.

Various international and local artists have performed under his baton, including Alexander Tomescu, Tian Jiang, Maki Hirasawa, Theo Mertens, Zoltan Szabo, Nena del Rosario-Villanueva, Fr. Manuel P. Maramba, Reynaldo Reyes, Rowena Arrieta and Dr. Raul Sunico.

Ranera is a faculty member of the UST Conservatory of Music.  In 2003, he was given the Dangal Award (Most Outstanding Faculty), Performing Arts Category by the UST and the 2006 Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award given by the City of Manila.

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This announcement comes from Elsa Lava-Mapua:

Come for a night of fun and laughter with Mitch Valdes and Jon Santos in “A FUNny Kind of Blue”, a dinner show sponsored by the St. Scholastica’s Alumnae Foundation Inc (SSAFI).  The show is on Thursday, November 14, 6:00 p.m. at the Ayala Banquet Hall, Makati Sports Club.

Beneficiaries are the Night Secondary Scholars (supporting children from disadvantaged families in the Singalong community in Manila), the Child of a Scholastican Program (for daughters of alumnae who were forced to stop schooling due to financial difficulties), TULUYAN Shelter (a halfway house to feed or house the needy) and the recently launched SSC Sports Scholarship and Development Program which will provide scholarships to deserving athletes in St. Scholastica’s College.

Tickets available at the SSAFI office c/o Noemi at 524-1559 or 0921-987-0555 and at the Makati Sports Club or Rose at  842-3453 or 842-0261 for those residing in the South.