sent by Pinx Asuzano

Market! Market! continues to celebrate Filipino ingenuity with another world-class cultural showcase. After hosting NCCA’s Ani ng Sining Art Festival and Harana: The Best of Filipino Love Songs last February, Market! Market! brings to the stage the magic of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) is the country’s leading orchestra and is widely regarded as one of the top musical ensembles in the Asia-Pacific region. The PPO was formally inaugurated on May 15, 1973 as the CCP Philharmonic Orchestra with Prof. Luis Valencia as the first music director and Julian Quirit as concertmaster. In 1979, then First Lady Imelda R. Marcos asked Prof. Oscar C. Yatco to reorganize the orchestra. Three years later, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra was born with a new vision – to be ranked among the best in the world. The PPO has performed with many of the world’s renowned conductors that include Mendi Rodan, Piero Gamba, Enrique Batis, Sebastian Bereau and Nicholas Koch, as well as the best foreign and Filipino artists such as Van Cliburn, Renata Tebaldi, Judith Engel, Anthony Camden, David Benoit, Cecile Licad, Raul Sunico and Lea Salonga. The PPO toured Europe in 2001 and participated in the Asia Orchestra Week in September 2002 held at the Tokyo Opera City Hall upon the invitation of the Association of Japanese Symphony Orchestras. It also performed at Bangkok ’s National Theater in September 2004 upon the invitation of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vandhana of Thailand. The PPO has premiered Filipino compositions and has featured works by foreign composers not yet performed in the Philippines. It continues to promote music appreciation through outreach concerts in schools, parishes, government agencies and underserved communities in Metro Manila and in different regions in the country.

Experience the captivating music of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at the Market! Market! Activity Center on April 18, 2010 at 5 o’clock in the afternoon.