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UPSO delivers musical performance on UP’s 118th year
| Written by Clariza Concordia
Professor Emeritus Josefino Chino Toledo, music director and conductor of the UP Symphony Orchestra. Toledo’s masterful arrangements of “UP Beloved” (“UP Naming Mahal”), “Mga Awit Mula sa Sigwa ng Unang Sangkapat” (“Songs from the First Quarter Storm”), and “Bayan Kong Hirang” were among the pieces featured in the concert, Handog sa Unibersidad ng Bayan. Photo by Kevin Roque, UPS-MCO.
Hymns of patriotism, resistance, and struggle for freedom echoed through the University Theater as the University of the Philippines Symphony Orchestra joined the celebration of UP’s 118th founding year and the 128th anniversary of Philippine Independence. Handog sa Unibersidad ng Bayan was held June 19 at UP Diliman.
Accompanying the Orkestra ng Bayan were the UPSO Symphonic Chorus, Philippine Madrigal Singers, and soprano Bianca Lopez-Aguila. Under the baton of Professor Emeritus and Maestro Josefino Chino Toledo, UPSO music director and conductor, the ensemble performed orchestral pieces spanning Western classical music and Philippine patriotic songs.
The UP Symphony Orchestra’s violin section during the concert, Handog sa Unibersidad ng Bayan. Photo by Kevin Roque, UPS-MCO.Soprano Bianca Lopez-Aguila (right) is a guest performer in the UP Symphony Orchestra concert, Handog sa Unibersidad ng Bayan. An alumna of the UP Diliman College of Music, Lopez-Aguila was a member of the Philippine Madrigal Singers and has performed in various operas and musical productions. Photo by Kevin Roque, UPS-MCO.“One of these mornings, you’re goin’ to rise up singin’.” Bianca Lopez-Aguila (center) sings her rendition of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” with the UP Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of musical director and conductor, Professor Emeritus and Maestro Josefino Chino Toledo (left). Photo by Kevin Roque, UPS-MCO.
A performance of Nicanor Abelardo’s “UP Naming Mahal” opened the two-hour concert.
Soloist Lopez-Aguila sang her renditions of Antonín Dvǒrák’s “Song to the Moon” and George Gershwin’s “Summertime.”
Philippine music comprised the second half of the concert. From folk songs depicting scenes from the Philippine revolution to popular revolutionary songs that circulated during the First Quarter Storm, the repertoire paid tribute to the patriotic spirit of the Filipino people.
Jon Roi Mendones, principal trumpet of the UP Symphony Orchestra, performs the solo in George Gershwin’s “Summertime.” Photo by Kevin Roque, UPS-MCO.The bass and tenor sections of the UPSO Symphonic Chorus and the Philippine Madrigal Singers perform “In Taberna Quando Sumus,” an excerpt from Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” Photo by Kevin Roque, UPS-MCO.
The concert closed with an encore performance of “Pamantasang Hirang Overture,” a Toledo composition based on the university hymn.
Handog sa Unibersidad ng Bayan is part of this year’s Buwan ng Unibersidad, the monthlong celebration of UP’s founding anniversary, June 18.
