LICEO de Cagayan University, through its Office of Cultural Affairs, stages Duetto at the Rodelsa Hall this November 24, 2015, at eight in the evening.
Duetto , featuring sought after classical musicians, violinist Juan Luis Muñoz and pianist Mariel Ilusorio, is for the benefit of the scholarship program of the Rodolfo N. Pelaez Foundation.
“We are doing the concert as part of our thrust in helping the University’s scholarship program for incoming senior high school students and help raise fund for the scholarship program for the non-academic or performing arts scholars of Liceo U,” said Director Owen Jaen, head of the Office for Cultural Affairs.
He added, “Our goal also is to help bring culture and the arts closer to the people of Cagayan de Oro.”
Compositions from classical composers George Frideric Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Franz Schubert will fill Rodelsa Hall through the instruments of Muñoz and Ilusorio.
Muñoz is a highly acclaimed Chilean violinist-conductor based in South Africa. He was born in Santiago, Chile and was the concertmaster of the University of Santiago Symphony Orchestra. As soloist and concertmaster of the Pro-Musica Orchestra, he has also toured throughout Chile, Argentina, and Peru. He moved to South Africa to be the sub-principal violinist for the CAPAB Orchestra and has since then performed numerous concerts as leader of several South African orchestras. He also founded the Cape Town Baroque Ensemble and served as its conductor.
Muñoz has also conducted concerts and concerto festivals in several cities and countries including Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Grahamstown, in Bulgaria, and with the Manila Symphony Orchestra in the Philippines.
Ilusorio, on the other hand, is an international Filipino concert pianist. She started playing the piano at an early age in Manila and continued her musical studies in America with the help of various scholarships.
She earned her Pre-College Diploma from The Juilliard School in New York and her Bachelor of Music Diploma from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. She has won several prestigious awards including the Special Prize during the 14th Rina Sala Gallo International Piano Competition in Italy, a 4th Place Medal during the 45th Maria Canals Piano Competition in Barcelona, the East Friesland Piano Prize 1999 in Germany, and the Grand Prize during the Carlo Soliva International Piano Competition 2000 in Italy.
As a piano soloist, Ilusorio was featured by the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony Orchestra, the Oberlin Symphony Orchestra, the Cantu Orchestra, the Manila Chamber Orchestra, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, the Manila Symphony Orchestra, the Wernigerode Chamber Orchestra, the Rhodes Orchestra, and the East Cape Philharmonic Orchestra in South Africa.
This husband and wife tandem has been making music together for quite some time already. Classical music lovers and your regular Kagay-anons alike are sure to appreciate the music coming from this perfect pairing of piano and violin.
All proceeds from the ticket sales of Duetto will get to the scholarship programs of Rodolfo N. Pelaez Foundation as well as funding for several other community initiatives by partner organizations.
“We are also partnering with other organizations to help fund their projects with the proceeds of the tickets such as JCI Kagayhaan Gold for their RED 1nitiative program,” added Jaen.
The RED 1nitiative is the JCI Kagayahaan Gold’s program to educate people about HIV and Aids and help defeat the discrimination and stigma attached to it.