Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Awarded pianist a green activist
WHEN Manila's music aficionados troop to the Filipino Artists Series concert on the night of September 27 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines to watch Rudolf Pelaez Golez play mostly Mozart, Liszt, and Chopin pieces, how many of them would probably know that on center stage is an international prize-winning pianist who uses his art to pursue his passion as an environment activist?
"I try to use my art to make the world a better place to live in," said the twenty something Golez, who has become some sort of urban legend in Cagayan de Oro for fearlessly chasing trucks carrying illegally cut logs in his sleek, vintage Mercedes Benz in the wee hours at night.
Of late, Golez has been giving free piano concerts at Liceo de Cagayan University's Rodelsa Hall, the first theater for the performing arts in Mindanao, to benefit his pet project, the Safer River, Life Saver Foundation.
The foundation has been doing research, clean-up drives, and projects relating to the Cagayan de Oro River.
In fact, Golez has launched two "river taxis" -- lightweight watercrafts, which can navigate through the exciting swaths of the Cagayan de Oro River.
Imagine a Metro Rail Transit (MRT) on the Cagayan de Oro River, but instead of a railway above or below the city's concrete highways, you get to ride on the historic river that defines the entire landscape: a series of 14 stations, or docking areas, from Nazareth district near the Macasandig hills all the way to the mouth of Macajalar Bay. That's almost two miles of river cruising, with a taste of sea at journey's end.
"You escape the road traffic, and you get an away-from-it-all breather as well," beamed Golez. "It's an alternative means of transportation for our students and a tourist getaway, too."
Golez should know about travel.
After a childhood made memorable by a string of piano teachers---first, his mother, Dr. Rafaelita Pelaez-Golez, who tutored him on the piano when he was four years old, followed by Sister Lourdes Allegado, Nelly Castro, Mimi Trosdal, and Father Theodore Murnane, SVD---he hied off to New York City where he spent his high school years at the Juilliard School of Music Preparatory Division under the tutelage of Seymour Lipkin.
In 2002, he graduated with a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance at the University of the Philippines College of Music under the instruction of internationally acclaimed Filipino concert pianist Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz.
Golez has participated in the 9th International Piano Festivals in Tenerife and Villa-Seca, Spain, under the tutelage of Dr. Solomon Mikowsky, Professor Jesus Angel Rodriguez, and Professor Cecilio Tieles. He has also taken master classes with the famed Filipino pianist Reynaldo Reyes. In November 2000, he participated in the master classes conducted by Professor Arie Vardi as part of the Festival of Light in Hong Kong.
In 2004, he wowed a select international jury in Kuala Lumpur, who named him the sole prizewinner at the 1st Asean International Chopin Piano Competition.
He has since embarked on an innovative educational piano concert tour series in key cities in the Philippines.
At present, Golez continues to coach under Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz, with whom he played a piano duo concert at the Rodelsa Hall in Cagayan de Oro, and Professor Russell Brandon, the Professor of Piano, for 20 years, at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and, for 12 years, at the University of Wales.
As a pianist, Golez said, "I want to explore the development of the body of work of one major composer, and discover the multiple complexity of an artist---his styles, his concerns, the full range of his personality and his powers."
As an environment activist, Golez said, "We are responsible for the world we live in, and we are responsible for it for future generations."
After tonight's concert, he returns home to Cagayan de Oro to check out his river taxis, meet up with the Safer River, Life Saver Foundation, and probably chase illegal loggers late at night in his Mercedes Benz.
(September 27, 2006 issue)
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