Cebu Philharmonic Orchestra Christmas concierto with Ingrid Sala Santamaria

CEBU, Philippines -  The Northwing at SM City Cebu presents “Cebu Philharmonic Orchestra Christmas Concierto” with Cebu’s very own classical pianist Ingrid Sala Santamaria on December 23, 6pm at the Northwing Atrium.

The Orchestra was quietly formed last March 2011 by a group of Cebu-based classical musicians. It hopes to revive the appreciation for classical music. Some of them were formerly members of the Cebu Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) and some existing members of Peace Philharmonic Philippines (PPP) which was established by the Salvador and Pilar Sala Foundation, some members of Air Force Symphonic Band and some international musicians. While most of them are second generation musicians trained by original members of the CYSO.

Born in Cebu City, Ingrid Sala Santamaria received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Battig Piano School in Cebu under her mother, Pilar Blanco Sala. Further studies followed at the Juilliard School in New York. She received a Master's Degree from Sta. Isabel College in Manila. De La Salle University conferred on her the Doctor of Music degree in Music Education, honoris causa, in 2006.

As chair of the Salvador and Pilar Sala Foundation, Inc. (SPSFI), Santamaria spearheaded a Ten-Year Music Development program which produced the Cebu Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) in 1995 evolving into the Peace Philharmonic Philippines (PPP) in 2000. Desiring to showcase something unique in her field, Santamaria commissioned erstwhile PPP Music Director Prof. Jeffrey R. Solares, to transcribe orchestral/2nd piano accompaniments to Romantic Concertos into String Quartet form. In this new combination, she has had many performances with the PPP String Quartet since 2003.

This Christmas concert happens on December 23, 6pm at the Northwing Atrium of SM City Cebu. For event updates, check out SM City Cebu (Official) on Facebook.