In an interview with the Communications Bureau, the new program is an exciting opportunity for Music interns and fresh graduates, whose skills in “performance, theory, and composition, among others, will be tested.” According to Africa, the implementation guidelines will be formulated now that the agreement has been formalized. Qualified interns will be in Big Ben International Academy of Music and Performing Arts for six months on an all-expenses-paid program that will see them performing teaching tasks. Furthermore, the “partnership officially brings the London College of Music Examinations of the University of West London to the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music. With this, the London College of Music annual face-to-face Examinations in the Philippines may now be held inside the UST Conservatory of Music, a first for any university in the country,” according to the Music Dean.

Representing BBIAPAM were its Managing Director, Mr. Hidajat Firdaus, and Academic Director, Mr. David Saraza. Meanwhile, the signing was witnessed and hosted by Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia H.E. Gina A. Jamoralin and Vice-Consul Glenn Teh.

UST’s Conservatory of Music programs and specializations are named a Center of Excellence by the Commission on Higher Education. In recent years, programs like Music Technology have been added to the roster of programs, which include Music Performance (with specializations for various instruments and for voice) and Music Education.

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After making his mark in the said competition, Sibbaluca will then represent the country in the grand finals to be held in Guangzhou, China.

He is mentored by Asst. Prof. Anthony Y. Say.

Watch his winning performance .

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As a way of showing support to Original Pilipino Music (OPM) and to Filipino musicians, the UST Symphony Orchestra, the world-renowned UST Singers, Liturgikon Vocal Ensemble, Coro Tomasino, and other talented Thomasian musicians from the Conservatory of Music will all collaborate to take the centerstage and serenade the community, setting the Christmas mood in the campus glowing with Christmas décor.

The UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe will also offer us a plethora of dance performances from the ethnic to contemporary genres. They will be stationed at the Benavides Park, near the revamped UST Tiger, and at the Arch of The Centuries.

The concert will be held in conjunction with the anticipated opening of the Christmas lights and campus decór and the traditional Agape.

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In the notification letter addressed to the Grand Chancellor, Very Rev. fr. Gerard Francisco P. Timoner III, O.P., SThL-MA, the recognition is given for the programs’ “valuable contributions in uplifting and sustaining quality and excellence in higher education in their respective programs, disciplines, and areas of responsibility.” The letter was signed by CHED Executive Director IV Atty. Cinderella Filipina S. Benitez-Jaro.

The University’s 13 Centers of Excellence are as follows: Biology, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Elementary Education, Hotel and Restaurant Management (now Hospitality Management), Medical Technology, Medicine, Music, Nursing, Pharmacy, Philosophy, Psychology, Teacher Education (Elementary and Secondary Education), and Tourism/Travel Management.

UST ranked third among universities with the most number of Centers of Excellence. A total of nine Philippine HEIs were given the award by CHED, led by Chairman J. Prospero de Vera IV. Receiving the recognition on behalf of UST were Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl R. Peralta, DrPH and Secretary-General fr. Louie R. Coronel, O.P., EHL.

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In a circular released by the Office of the Secretary-General, fr. Coronel expressed the prayer that the new professors “may continue to be blessed by our Great Teacher, Our Lord Jesus Christ, so that they remain faithful in living out the University’s core values of competence, commitment, and compassion, as they serve the University and society.”

The new Professors were elevated in Academic Year 2018-2019 and in Academic Year 2020-2021. They are as follows:

A.Y. 2018-2019
Arts and Letters
– Professor Lino N. Baron, PhD
– Professor Rachelle B. Lintao, PhD
– Professor John Jack G. Wigley, PhD

Engineering
– Professor Angelo R. dela Cruz, PhD

Medicine and Surgery
– Professor Sjoberg A. Kho, MD
– Professor Clarissa M. Mendoza, MD

Nursing
– Professor Marica G. Estrada, PhD

Pharmacy
– Professor Mary Jho-Anne T. Corpuz, PhD
– Professor Edilberto P. Manahan, PhD

Rehabilitation Sciences
– Professor Valentin III C. Dones, PhD

Religion
– Professor Arvin D. Eballo, PhD

Science
– Professor Pia Marie S.P. Albano, PhD
– Professor Cecilia B. Moran, Dr. rer. nat.

A.Y. 2020-2021
Arts and Letters
– Professor Fleurdeliz A. Albela, PhD
– Professor Jovito V. Cariño, PhD
– Professor Luciana L. Urquiola, PhD

Commerce and Business Administration
– Professor Mary Caroline N. Castaño, PhD

Engineering
– Professor Michael Francis D. Benjamin, PhD

Medicine and Surgery
– Professor Encarnita R. Ampil, MD
– Professor Ma. Teresa Tricia G. Bautista, MD
– Professor Ida Marie T. Lim, MD

Music
– Professor Ma. Alexandra I. Chua, PhD

Pharmacy
– Professor Agnes L. Castillo, PhD
– Professor Ma. Cristina C. Doria, PhD
– Professor Analin B. Empaynado-Porto, DEM
– Professor Ma. Freida Z. Hapan, PhD
– Professor Florence C. Navidad, PhD

Religion
– Professor Concepcion Liza V. Corotan, PhD
– Professor Joel C. Sagut, PhD

Science
– Professor Maria Rosario Virginia C. Garcia, PhD
– Professor Moises Norman Z. Garcia, PhD

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Custodio’s award-winning a capella piece was entitled “Tagu-taguan“. It was premiered by the Philippine Madrigal Singers.

According to Custodio, in an interview with , his inspiration in writing Tagu-taguan back in 2019 was in remembrance of his childhood, which inspired him to write a song constructed from his memories and personal experiences and, at the same time, a musical vignette that harked at the Filipino culture among children.

The judges of the competition were Anton Armstrong (USA), Ki-Sun Lee (South Korea), Soon-Jung Kim (South Korea), Young-Jo Lee (South Korea), Yu-Chung John Ku (Taiwan)​, and Zoltá​n Pad (Hungary).

This is also the second time that a Thomasian has bagged the gold medal in BCFC. Previously, in 2019, Mark Agpasa of the Conservatory of Music and the world-renowned UST Singers received the gold medal for his piece entitled, Jubilate Deo.

Custodio holds a Bachelor of Music degree, major in composition, minor in viola and kulintang performance, which he earned at the University of the Philippines – Diliman.

The theme of this year’s BCFC was “Nothing Can Stop us from Singing Together”.

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In the 3-hour long music extravaganza premiered on Youtube on August 27, 2021, Alumno and Ciriaco played their renditions of classical music in the Solo Category – Open Division of the said competition.

The two award-winning Thomasian musicians are under the tutelage of faculty member and BM-Trombone Performance alumnus Mr. Ricson Poonin, who plays trombone for the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, our country’s top musical ensemble.

Watch the performances of Alumno and Ciriaco here:��

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Individual recognitions

As part of the University’s Quadricentennial celebration in 2011, Calalang was feted with the “Gawad Lorenzo Ruiz Award for International Achievements.” He also received the “Benavides Medal for Outstanding Achievement to the University” for his conducting role in the España-based chorale group and was inducted to the 100 Outstanding Thomasian Alumni who brought honor and glory to the University.

Outside the University, the Thomasian conductor also received prestigious awards and recognitions.

In the 4th Florence International Choir Festival, held in Italy in 2015, Calalang reaped the Grand Prize, as well as two special awards, namely the “Best Interpretation of the Required Piece” and the “Best Contemporary Choral Arrangement Prize” for his arrangement of Ennio Morricone’s “My Heart and I”, which was from the film La Piovre.

Moreover, Calalang was also one of the prize winners in the “2007 Mga Awiting Bayan Para sa Korong Pilipino”, a national choral writing contest organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

In 2002, he was awarded the “Best Conductor Prize” at the Tonen International Choral Competition in Netherlands and in 1999, he received the top award in the International Composition Competition in California for his 8-voiced work “Ama Namin” (Pater Noster). 

The UST Singers

Under his baton, Calalang has brought the UST Singers to over 30 international concert tours around the world. The group has also bagged more than 80 top prizes in different international choral competitions, including the Choir of the World Champion, the 2019 Choir of the World Champion of Champions, and 2017 Grand Prize at the Ave Verum International Choral Competition in Austria, among others.

During the pandemic, solidarity with the Covid-19 frontliners, the UST Singers alumni from around the globe performed Dodjie Simon’s “Isang Dugo, Isang Lahi, Isang Musika” (One bloodline, one race, one music) in a music video uploaded on April 23, 2020.

Calalang is the founder and conductor of the University of Santo Tomas Singers (UST Singers), a premiere mixed ensemble of the University.

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The Thomasian virtuoso and the ivory keys
Throughout his career, the multi-faceted Sunico has been no stranger to awards, recognitions, and standing ovations of the crowd, both on local and foreign soil, after he hit the last key of his piano concerts.

Known for immortalizing classical Filipino kundiman, folk songs, as well as contemporary and pop compositions, Sunico studied each song and blended it with his knowledge gained in the Juilliard School of Music in New York, and in the New York University; he aimed to bring timeless Filipino songs in the international map.

Moreover, Sunico’s notable contribution was to bring to life and to evoke national pride in the pioneering Filipino classical songs written by National Artists for Music Julio Nakpil, Felipe de Leon, Levi Celerio, and Ernani Cuenco, to name some, in every concert. Furthermore, Sunico recorded his renditions of classic Filipino love songs in his three-volume anthology entitled “Filipino Love Songs – In a Classic Piano Mood”.

In 2005, he was named the “Best Male Classical Instrumentalist” in the Aliw Awards, hosted by Ultimate Entertainment. A year later, Sunico, along with Thomasian cello professor Assoc. Prof. Renato Lucas, PhD, bagged the “Best Instrumental Recording” award for their recording of George Canseco’s “Gaano Kadalas Ang Minsan.” In the same year, the Far Eastern University conferred the degree Doctor of Humanities (honoris causa) to the Thomasian virtuoso.��In 2008, he was named the Outstanding Artist in the Dangal ng UST Awards.

Sunico served as the artistic director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 2009; he was elected by the CCP Board as its president the following year.��

SUDI Awards
In its two-part program, NCCA recognized nine awardees and three special citations, whose contributions fall in the 2000 to 2009 category; while the second installment of the program, to be aired on August 28, 2021 at 7 p.m., will recognize 10 awardees and five special citations, whose contributions fall in the 2010 to 2020 category.

A brainchild of the National Artist for Literature and former NCCA chairman, Dr. Virgilio S. Almario, the SUDI Awards is given to the outstanding musical achievements of artists, musical pieces, journals, cultural workers, or institutions that defined the past decades.

Moreover, SUDI is an Ilokano adjective synonymous to “illustrious”, “renowned”, “celebrated”, or “famous”.

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BM-Piano Performance student Michael Angelo Valenciano bagged the first prize in the Lucy Boyan Balakian Award – College (Ages 19-23) category for his performances of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata no. 31 in A-Flat Major in the (preliminary round), Claude Debussy’s “Les collines d’Anacapri”, and Frederic Chopin’s “Polonaise” (final round).

Valenciano is under the tutelage of renowned collaborative pianist and chamber musician, Assoc. Prof Najib M. Ismail.

Moreover, BM-Music Theater student Anyah Therese Dizon De Guzman received the first prize in the Olly H. Kukepuu Vocal Award category. De Guzman’s performance of “Ich gehör nur mir” (from��Elisabeth) by Sylvester Levay and “Those Palace Walls” (from��Aladdin) by Alan Menken earned her the top prize.

She is under the mentorship of Asst. Prof. Randy Gillogo.

Meanwhile, BM-Violin student Alain Cabanes de Asis bagged the 2nd prize in the Aaron Rosand Memorial Prize Category, while BM-Violin student Victor Luigi Torres received the Honorable Mention distinction.

De Asis and Torres are under the mentorship of Manila Symphony Orchestra concertmaster-violinist and faculty member, Ms. Regina Medina-Perez

Watch the final round of NYYPP 2021 here:

For the full list of performers:

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