TWENTY-TWO students from the Conservatory of Music won awards in the final round of this year’s National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA), held last Nov. 26 to Dec. 1 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City.
The three-way tie for first place in the chamber music ensemble category included 10 Thomasians.
Sibol Guitar Octet and The Bard Trio, of which two members were Thomasians, claimed top honors.
The Sibol Guitar Octet, mentored by 2005 NAMCYA winner Asst. Prof. Alberto Mesa, was composed of Luis Alberto Capistrano, Frances Jillian Ancheta, Manuel Agustine Chua, Angelo Lopez-Rodrigo, Gentry Carlo Nalzaro, Jose Miguel Sto. Domingo, Karl Dominique Sabado and former Varsitarian Circle editor Lyon Ricardo Lopez.
The group played “Waltz of the Flowers” by Tchaikovsky, “Cote Sud” by R. Dyens, “Ernani Cuenco Medley” (arranged by Jedrick Itugot) and “Djembe” by A. York.
“We owe this win to many: to the school, even more to our mentors, especially Professor Alberto Mesa, and a great deal to our family and friends. Most of all, though, we owe this to each other, because we stuck by one another to the last note,” Lopez told the Varsitarian.
The Bard Trio, mentored by the Conservatory’s Gina Medina-Perez, had Thomasians Kenneth Laron on cello and Reynaldo Gendrano on piano.
“We were overwhelmed to be considered as winners. It was more than what we expected because honestly, our goal was just to connect with the people and tell different stories through our music. We wanted to live out the meaning of our name, ‘Bard,’ the storytellers,” Yambao told the Varsitarian.
The trio performed “Piano Trio in G major,” widely known as the “Gypsy” or “Gypsy Rondo” by Franz Joseph Haydn, and “Primavera Porteña” (Spring) and “Invierno Porteño” (Winter) from Astor Piazolla’s “Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas” (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires).
In the voice category, Cloi Daphne Sugano and Katrine Sunga won second and third prizes, respectively, while Angela Lista won an honorable mention.
Sunga, mentored by Gloria Dizon-Coronel, sang “Pleurez Mes Yeux” by Jules Massenet, “Kundiman ng Luha” by Nicanor Abelardo, “Gretchen am Spinnrade” by Franz Schubert and “Anak Ko Magpakababa Ka” by Fr. Manuel Maramba for the final round.
Alumnus Karl Angelo Tangco won first prize in the choir category as conductor of the Far Eastern University Chorale.
In the lower strings competition, Joven Aquisap on viola and Rei Benedict Francia on contrabass placed second and third, respectively.
In the violin subcategory, Alain de Asis placed second and Miles Serrano placed third.
Nathan Samuel Gemina also placed second, while Denzel Abarquez received an honorable mention in the piano competition.
Josh Rampall Silangcruz won second prize in the woodwinds category.
Organized in 1973, NAMCYA is the country’s most prestigious competition for young musicians.
