First-Ever Manila International Piano Masterclass Festival This August 4 to 11
Supported by the embassies of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, the first-ever Manila International Piano Masterclass Festival (MIPMF) is set to happen from August 4 to 11, 2018 at the showroom of Manila Pianos, Inc. in Makati.
Focused on the art of piano performance, the intensive music camp seeks to give more young Filipino classical pianists the opportunity to study under the tutelage of renowned musicians from Europe and the United States without having to travel abroad while supporting the continuing development of cultural exchanges between Europe and the Philippines.
The MIPMF is organized by Filipino concert pianist, artistic director, and educator, who trained at Chetham’s School of Music in England and at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where he completed his Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees in Piano Performance. A recipient of the Ten Outstanding Young Men Award in 1996 for his contributions to the arts, Cruz is one of the pioneers of the renaissance of classical music awareness in the Philippines.
Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz
For the festival’s inaugural edition, Cruz will be joined by five eminent pianists and pedagogues coming from France, Italy, and the United States in leading private one-on-one lessons, masterclasses, and performance revues, as well as performing in private recitals in Manila:
- (France and Italy) – a famed international piano pedagogue, Maestro Delle-Vigne Fabbri has been teaching at the prestigious École Normale de Musique de Paris “Alfred Cortot” in France for over 40 years, and was appointed Professor Extraordinaire at the Chapelle Musicale “Reine Elisabeth” in Belgium and Honorary Professor at the Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida. He is also the founder and artistic director of the International Certificate for Piano Artists, an international pedagogical program organized in collaboration with numerous foreign institutions.
Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri
- Roberta Rust (United States) – Dr. Rust has performed in prestigious venues all over the world, including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, New York’s Merkin Concert Hall, Rio de Janeiro’s Sala Cecilia Meireles, Washington’s Corcoran Gallery, and Seoul’s KNUA Hall. She is the head of the piano department at the Lynn University Conservatory of Music in Florida. She obtained her Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and her Doctorate from the University of Miami, and also studied at the Peabody Conservatory.
Roberta Rust
- Chiara Cipelli (Italy) – Cipelli graduated with highest honors at the Conservatorio G. Nicolini in Piacenza, Italy and later, at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg in Germany. She continued her studies under the tutelage of Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri at the École Normale de Musique de Paris “Alfred Cortot” in France, where she earned her Diplôme Superieur de Piano.
Chiara Cipelli
- Adam Kent (United States) – Dr. Kent is the Director of Cultural Outreach at the Burgos International Music Festival and teaches at the Cursos de Verano of the Fundacion Princesa de Asturias in Spain. For his advocacy and specialization in Spanish music, Dr. Kent was bestowed the Orden al Mérito Civil by the government of Spain. He obtained his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music in New York and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts from Julliard.
Adam Kent
- Elodie Vignon (France) – an Artist-in-Residence of the Fondation Bell’Arte, Vignon completed two Master’s degrees in Piano Performance and Chamber Music (with distinction) and has performed as a soloist in festivals and music halls all over the world, including those in Paris, Brussels, Madeira, Vilnius, and Moscow. She recently released her first CD recording entitled “Complete Etudes for Piano” by Claude Debussy.
Elodie Vignon
According to Cruz, the visiting artists represent the three main Schools of Thought with regards to piano performance, which would offer positive and holistic training to the developing pianist.
For 10 days, these esteemed virtuosos will serve as mentors to 18 Filipino delegates who are students or graduates of the major schools of music in the country, such as the Philippine High School for the Arts, the Philippine Women’s University, Silliman University, St. Scholastica’s College, the University of the Philippines, and the University of Santo Tomas.
It is the first piano festival in the country set in the 19th-century European salon-style environment, which is described as live, intimate performances of serious art music in residences for an exclusive audience.
“Pianists ought to be well-rounded musicians. Aside from the Schools of Thought and the technical aspects of playing the piano, a pianist’s development ought to include advocating the theoretical and historical values of the instrument they have come to love. The 19th century was a time when art and music were a way of life, and when the pursuit of beauty was more the priority than the pursuit of perfection,” Cruz explained.
Details:
What: Manila International Piano Masterclass Festival
When: August 4 to 11, 2018
Where: Manila Pianos, Inc. Ronac Lifestyle Center, Paseo de Magallanes, Makati City
This is a press release. Minor edits were made prior to publishing.
