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UP College Of Music Launches UPSO MusiKademya

Likhang Peyups Diliman at UPSO. Music Press Asia

[UP Diliman OICA recent performance of Likhang Peyup. Image by Hanani Asuncion Photography

Established in 2023 in partnership with the University of the Philippines College Of Music’s MusicX, UPSO MusiKademya is now launched to offer children, teenagers, and adults the opportunity to learn orchestral instruments with our accomplished UPSO musicians.

Beyond basic performance techniques, according to their official news release, MusiKademya aims to ‘equip its students with skills in ensemble playing to further enhance their enjoyment of classical music’.

UPSO MusiKademya stemmed from the “kademya” or community learning center for music of the Philippine band tradition. In the years to come, UPSO envisions spearheading the formation of a UP community orchestra comprised of MusiKademya students and other interested musicians.

The first batch of MusiKademya lessons begins this month. To register and learn more about MusiKademya’s programs, click here.

Last month, UP Symphony Orchestra collaborated with the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA) to present Likhang Peyups: A Celebration of Music by Composers from Diliman with Josefino Chino Toledo as music director. The live performance featured works of Marfil, Santos, Toledo, Trangco, and Villanueva.

The live performance also featured Ilig-Duta (Land flow, land loss) – a work by Dr. Maria Christine Muyco – that refers to environmental degradation that also parallels the indigenous people’s loss of land. The orchestra piece is a reflective advocacy against various forms of wastings, man’s inhumanity, and loss of conscience on those deprived of the earth’s resources. There are also cultural manifestations by the presence of gongs, directly alluding to Central and Southern Philippines’ experiences of land loss, as well as bamboo instruments implying Northern Philippines’ sentiments.

Christine Muyco performs contemporary music with UPSO. Music Press Asia
[Dr. Maria Christine Muyco’s latest works titled Ilig-Duta was performed at Likhang Peyups with the UP Symphony Orchestra.]

Muyco is a full professor at the University of the Philippines College of Music. She has written for various instrumental, electronic, and vocal ensembles performed in Asia-Pacific countries, Europe, and the U.S. She has also written for recycled media and films (URIAN awardee for Best Musical Score). She was recently the recipient of the 2022 Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Artist-in-Residency (Italy) and worked on a project of ASEAN-inspired themes for a song cycle.

Relevant news:
UPSO has an opening for one trumpet player and only musicians affiliated with the University of the Philippines from any campus in any capacity, whether student, alumni, or employee, are eligible to audition. Accepted musicians must be available and willing to attend rehearsals at UP DILIMAN.

To apply, submit two separate videos playing (1) any 2-octave scale, and (2) any piece of your choice that best reflects your musical skills. The deadline for submissions is on March 26, 2023. For video submissions and more information, click here.

UP Symphony Orch trumpet auditions. Music Press Asia
[UP Symphony Orchestra Trumpet Auditions 2023]

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