Barely five months after the establishment by the UP Board of Regents as the official orchestra of the university, the UP Symphony Orchestra has been making waves and living up to their moniker as Orkestra ng Bayan. Under the leadership of the country’s premier conductor and composer, Prof. Josefino Chino Toledo, the UPSO has featured works of classical composers alongside protest songs and contemporary Filipino compositions never tackled by any of our local orchestras.

“Resist!—Anthems of Struggle and Triumph” will be the fiery opening salvo of the 2019 Abelardo Hall Concert Series. The four-month-old University of the Philippines Symphony Orchestra (UPSO) will make its Abelardo Hall debut on February 23 at 7:00 PM, together with the UP Madrigal Singers, pianist Pia Dino-Balasico, and playwright-singer Rody Vera. They will perform under the baton of UPSO musical director Prof. Josefino Chino Toledo.

Now on its 40th year, the UP Jazz Ensemble continues to swing as a band which does not only perform great jazz but also promotes the genre through its performances and collaborations with other organizations. Nearing his retirement from the university, the group’s bandleader, Prof. Rayben Maigue, looks back with fondness at what the ensemble has become in four decades.