‘Mostly Filipino’ in PPO’s concert

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Cultural Center of the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra performs a program of Filipino works under the baton of PPO Associate Conductor Herminigildo Ranera on October 11, 8 p.m. at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Main Theater.

Herminigildo Ranera. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Cultural Center of the Philippines

Billed as “Mostly Filipino,” the concert consists of Angel Peña’s “Philippine Festival Overture,” Alfredo Buenaventura’s “Manik Buangsi and Tuan Putli Symphonic Poem,” Lucio San Pedro’s “Buan sa Kabundukan,” and Felipe Padilla de Leon’s “Manila Sketches”. Also on the program are “La Création du Monde” of Darius Milhaud and “Slavonic Dances Nos. 1-8 Op.48” of Antonin Dvorak.

Hailed for his authoritative, articulate and soulful conducting, Herminigildo G. Ranera possesses a rare musical combination as a conductor, composer, arranger, performer and educator. He obtained his Bachelor of Music Degree, majoring in the fields of Trombone and Theory, from the University of Santo Tomas, Master of Music Degree in Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado (with the Dean’s Citation for Graduate Excellence and National Graduate Award) and Doctor of Philosophy major in Educational Management from Cagayan State University.

As an orchestral conductor, Dr. Ranera has led the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, California State University Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Chia-Yi Wind Orchestra, San Miguel Philharmonic, Manila Philharmonic, and the UST Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Transylvania Philharmonic Orchestra in Club, Romania.

Various international and local artists have performed under his baton, including Alexander Tomescu, Tian Jiang, Maki Hirasawa, Theo Mertens, Zoltan Szabo, Nena Del Rosario-

Villanueva, Fr. Manuel P. Maramba, Leonor Kilayko, Reynaldo Reyes, Rowena Arrieta and Raul M. Sunico.

Ranera teaches at the UST Conservatory of Music, where he is the conductor of the UST Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Band. In 2003, he was chosen as a Dangal Awardee (Most Outstanding Faculty), Performing Arts Category by the University of Santo Tomas and recently, the 2006 Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Awardee for Music given by the City of Manila.