Press Release
The yearly International Bamboo Organ Festival is the longest running festival of classical music in the country, if not in the region. Now celebrating its 51st year, it will run from Feb.18 to 28.
Guest organist is Andrés Cea Galán (Sevilla, Spain) who besides his appearance at the Bamboo Organ during the Gala night on Feb.19 and his solo recital on Monday Feb.23, will conduct master classes for organists, lectures on the Spanish organ tradition, and as a musicologist will visit the historic Spanish organs in Bohol, Cebu and Negros.
We also welcome flutist Toshiyuki Shibata (Japan), who is soloist in Bach’s Orchestral Suite n.2 BWV 1067 on Feb. 19 (gala), 20 and 21. Shibata has been with us in 2024 for the performance of Bach’s St. John’s Passion. He is currently teaching in Paris and Bruges (Belgium), and is the artistic director of Musica Antiqua Takamatsu, and Early Music festival in Japan.
Our guest choir will be the Ateneo de Manila College Glee Club, to be accompanied by the Manila Baroque Ensemble and conducted by Eudenice Palaruan in a concert titled “Treasures of the Baroque”. Beside of the classical composers (Bach and Vivaldi), we have on the program a series of villancicos, popular tunes that were sung during the Spanish time, and recently rediscovered as part of our Filipino music history.
Highlight of this year’s Festival will be the performance of Spem in alium by the 16th c. English composer Thomas Tallis, written for 40 (forty) soloists, coming from the Collegium Vocale Manila and Aleron, an all male choral group. There will be only 2 performances of this work : one at the SEMO (San Ezekiel Moreno Oratory at the Villar Sipag Center in Las Piñas) on Feb.25, and Feb.28 (at ARETE, Ateneo de Manila University, QC). Conductor will be our artistic director Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng, who will at the same time be the lecturer of this concert, guiding us through the amazing world of the polyphonic music.
It has been part of the tradition of the Festival to take special care of the liturgy of the Sunday Masses during the Festival week. These masses held at 4:00 pm are scheduled on Sundays Feb.15 and 22 at the SEMO, and Mar 1 at the St. Joseph’s Parish Church. The Las Piñas Boys Choir and the Cantores de Las Piñas are conducted by Rey Joseph Peña, with Armando Salarza at the organ. Our guest organists will play before and after the Mass, and during the offertory and communion.
For more details of all events, consult our website www.bamboo-organ.com . Tickets can now be purchased online via Helixpay, https://bambooorganfoundationinc.helixpay.ph/. For more information, call 8825.7190 or 8820.0795, 0966-2058807 look for Ms. Beth and Ms. Juvy.