THE UST Guitar Octet displayed classical guitar music prowess at Paco Park in San Marcelino, Manila last Jan. 20 to support the century-old park’s tourism and cultural development.
Titled “Paco Park Presents: UST Guitar Octet,” the concert was part of a joint project of the National Parks Development Committee and the Department of Tourism.
Led by Alberto Mesa, chairman of the the Conservatory of Music Guitar Department, the group opened the concert with “Rythmaginaries,” a French guitar classic arranged by composer Roland Dyens.
It was followed by solo guitar performances by Octet members Arbon Guieb, Ruel Reyes and Nico Panopio
Guieb began with Agustin Barrios Mangore’s “La Catedral (Preludio, Allegro Solemne)” and Astor Pizzola’s 1970 classic “Primavera Porteña.”
Reyes played a medley of Mangore’s “Junto A Tu Corazon,” Japanese rock band One Ok Rock’s “Heartache” and “Sunburst” by Grammy-winning American guitarist Andrew York.
Panopio performed 19th-century composer Napoleon Coste’s two-movement solo “Les Soiree de Auteuil.”
The Octet ended the program with a rendition of Argentine composer Astor Pizzolla’s famous “Michelangelo.”
The eight-man ensemble bagged second place in the Tarrega Malaysia International Classical Guitar Festival in Klang Valley, Malaysia last September.
