The repertoire will feature FRANZ SCHUBERT: Moment Musical no.1 in C, Moment Musical no.2 in Ab and Moment Musical no.3 in Fm; FREDERIC CHOPIN: Prelude no.10 in C#m ‘The Moth’, Prelude no.15 in Db ‘Raindrop’, Prelude no.18 in F minor ‘Suicide’; DOMENICO SCARLATTI: Sonata in C and Sonata in G; Sergei Rachmaninoff: Moment Musical no.3 in Bm, Moment Musical no. 4 in Em; and CLAUDE DEBUSSY: Prelude no.6 ‘General Lavine’, Prelude no.12 ‘Fireworks’.
For ticket inquiries, please call the UST Conservastory of Music at tel. 7314022 and look for Otep or Nomo. Tickets at P 800.00
Dingdong started playing the piano at the age of 13 out of curiosity for the instrument.
After finishing secondary school, he enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of former Conservatory dean, Prof. Erlinda Fule.
He graduated in 2007 with a degree in Bachelor of Music major in Piano and was the recipient of the Rector’s Awards for Academic Excellence, having obtained the highest academic average of the entire course, as well as the Benavides Award for Outstanding Achievement.
After graduation, he studied for more than 2 years at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, Germany and was one of only four pianists (2007-2009) chosen to study under then Hochschule Rector Prof. Rolf Dieter Arens (Solo Piano and Chamber Music). He also took lessons in Vocal accompaniment with Prof. Karl Peter Kammerlander.
While still in college, Dingdong already demonstrated an immense gift and considerable progress in his studies and performances, as evidenced by his consistent triumphs at piano competitions, which include bagging the First Prize at the UST Etude Competition Cat. A in 2002, and Simultaneous First Prizes in 2003 at the UST Mozart/Haydn Sonata Competition and the UST Beethoven/Schubert Sonata Competition on the same day.
Due to these accomplishments, Dingdong was conferred the RECTOR’S SCHOLARSHIP IN 2004, the highest scholarship grant ever to be given to a student in the university for his commitment to excellence.
He is the FIRST RECIPIENT OF THE DR. ERNESTO LEJANO AWARD IN PIANO in 2005 for winning the FIRST PRIZE IN THE CONCERTO COMPETITION with his rendition of the Ravel concerto for the left hand alone. In 2006, he also won the FIRST PRIZE AT THE PIANO TEACHER’S GUILD OF THE PHILIPPINES (PTGP) MOZART PIANO CONCERTO COMPETITION.
Also during college, Dingdong had the privilege to record an album together with some of the Philippines’ most talented musicians, entitled ‘SOUVENIRS DE FILIPINAS’ under the Sinagtala label, featuring the works of Francisco Santiago.
The era of his post-graduate studies saw Dingdong’s reputation gaining ground in the international community, including an AWARD at the first international piano competition he joined- THE 2008 EIVISSA INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION IN SPAIN.
His thirst for musical excellence was quenched further by the privilege to have taken special lessons from concert pianists Erling Erikson (Finland), Maurizio Moretti (Italy), Jose Luis de Miguel (Spain), Eugen Skovorodnikov (Canada) and Peter Nagy (Hungary).
Through sponsors like the DEUTSCHE POST, THUERINGER AUFBAUBANK, SPARKASSE THUERINGEN and THE FRANZ LISZT STIFTUNG, Dingdong was able to perform in a series of CONCERTS AROUND EUROPE AND ASIA- in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, France, Germany, Guam and China among other countries, earning the admiration of PRINCE PHILIPPE OF BELGIUM, PRINCESS IRENE OF GREECE, PRINCE ANDREAS OF SACHSEN, COBURG AND GOTHA ,PRIME MINISTER DIETHER ALTHAUS AND PRIME MINISTER YVES LETERME, to name a few.
Recently acclaimed concerts include the Ravel and Liszt Piano concertos at the GSIS theater with the USTSO; A tribute to Franz Liszt at the Philam Life concert hall; and the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto live at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Considered as a well-rounded musician, Dingdong does not confine himself to classical music. He takes special interest in electronic keyboard synthesizing, playing and writing music with several progressive rock bands and is keyboardist to some musical plays, including FORBIDDEN BROADWAY AND DISNEY’S ‘THE LITTLE MERMAID’ which was recently staged in Manila. He is also pianist to various Jazz groups including the MAJAM TRIO and the co- founding member of the JAZZ FUSION TRIO “HDC”.
Dingdong attracted the attention of some composers who were moved to write music specifically for him. These include a solo work by Spanish pianist and composer MICHAEL DAVIDOV and “5 PIECES FOR DINGDONG” which was composed specifically for his musical persona by Filipino composer KAAN BAUTISTA.
Dingdong is also a composer himself. Under the Guidance of composer/film scorer – Antonio Africa, Dingdong was able to write music for the only Greek silent film that survived the Pre-World War 1 era, “THE GREEK MIRACLE” stemming from a request by the Embassy of Greece who specifically wanted Dingdong to score the music for the said film. He was also commissioned to compose music for the SPANISH FILM “PILAR GUERRA”. Both films were premiered at the 5TH MANILA INTERNATIONAL SILENT FILM FESTIVAL 2011.
Dingdong‘s character as a pianist is summed up by the words of Prof. Rolf-Dieter Arens who mentored Dingdong during his stint in Weimar: “Dingdong is a remarkably talented pianist who can awe his audiences with utmost sensibility and fire only a total pianist can convey”.
