SET aside your Monday evening on January 23 for some soothing classical music at the Marco Polo Ballroom.
"Sonata, An Evening of Classical Music and Filipino Art Songs" has been organized by the Davao Museum of History and Ethnography in partnership with the Marco Polo Hotel Davao featuring soprano Stefanie Quintin, classical guitarist Anton Luis Avila and the special participation of child prodigy, pianist Martina Audrey Uyboco starting 6 p.m.
The concert is a fund-raising activity for Davao Museum's exhibits and programs for its 40th year celebration.
Tickets will be available outside the venue at P1,500 for VIP, P500 for general admission, and P150 for students.
Davao Museum president Patria Montemayor recalled how the museum was started as an initiative of Zonta International in 1977 on a lot inside the Davao Insular Village donated by no less than Don Enrique Zobel de Ayala, the developer of both Insular Village and Insular Hotel.
The idea of putting up a classical concert came to be when Sylvia Lorenzana listened to Stefanie in a birthday party in Manila.
"I knew that she can be a famous soprano singer," Lorenzana said during the press conference on Sonata last week at the Sarangani Room of Marco Polo.
Marco Polo Davao general Manager Dottie Würgler-Cronin is excited for the concert, saying that this is the type of cultural performances that Marco Polo would want to have more of.
"I really want more events that will showcase the culture of Filipinos," she said.
Stefanie Quintin
Stefanie has a degree in Vocal Pedagogy and Vocal performance from the University of the Philippines College of Music under the tutelage of Professor Emeritus Fides Cuyugan-Asensio and Maestra Rica Nepomuceno.
She had master classes for Alte Musik at the Vielklang Meisterkurs in Germany under Soprano Sybilla Rubens and Lutenist Lee Santana. She is also a member of the Ripieno Ensemble, a group dedicated to the promotion and performance of New Music in the country.
She has been performing in various international festivals as a soloist, including the Asia-Europe New Music Festival, Stings of Unity-International Rondalla Festival, the International Bamboo Organ Festival, and in 2007 received the Delphic Lyra Award for Traditional Music at the International Junior Delphic Games.
She has also been joining choirs that participated in choral competitions and concerts abroad.
Anton Luis Avila
Anton also attended the University of the Philippines College of Music under Lester Demetilla. He has performed with ensembles in concerts held in different countries including the Baguio Guitar Duo, the UP Guitar Orchesta, the Villancico Choral Ensemble, and the Ateneo de Manila College Glee Club.
He has performed with renowned guitarists Jose Valez, Michael Dadap, Zeah Riordan, Judicael Perroy, and Rupert Boyd.
For all these, he was a recipient of the Loyola Schools Award for the Arts by the Ateneo de Manila University School of Humanities in 2011.
Martina Audrey Uyboco
Ten-year-old Martina is a fourth grade pupil at the Davao Christian High School who has been playing the piano since she was five.
It was when she turned six when she came under the tutelage of Scottish musicologist and concert pianist Professor Russel Brandon, who has been residing in Davao City. It was Prof. Brandon who recognized Martina's talent and challenged her to play more difficult pieces.
At ten, she already had six public performances, two at Claude's Cafe d'Ville, her first recital in 2014 at the Yamaha School of Music in Makati City, and three other performances in Metro Manila in January 2016, one at Yamaha again, another at the Manila Pianos, and the third at the Philippine Women's University, with an audience of music majors.
Aside from Marco Polo, the other groups and individuals credited for making this concert possible are AP Securities Inc., Dusit Thank, Maria Stella Celi, Damosa Land, Anflocor, Sun Made Brown Rice, One Network Bank, Atty. and Mrs. Joseph Tan, R.A. Hao Group, Mary Ann K. Al-Sheri, Agnes Locsin, and the Locsin Dance Workshop.
Special mention was given to Virginia Andersen Dominguez who has been giving full support for all endeavors of the Davao Museum.
For this year, the Davao Museum is putting up several exhibits including the one that just opened earlier this month, the Davao Arts: All in the Family exhibit featuring families that passed on their arts to the next generation.
The late Architect Ramon Basa, regarded as the father of architecture in Davao City, has passed on the legacy to son Architect Renato Basa, Carmen Locsin, the ballet guru of Davao has daughters Agnes and Bing to carry on her legacy, then there are adopted Dabawenyo and national artist Victorio Edades and daughter Joan, poet-writer Tita Lacambra Ayala and musican brood Joey and Cynthia Alexander, and theater artists Rolando Bajo and daughter Geejay.
For ticket reservations and inquiries, contact the Davao Museum at (082) 233-1734 or 0939-503-5613.