Gabri Panlilio WIll Make You Love Classical OPM

We have heard a lot of singers with different genres, but have you tried listening to classical singer singing to tunes of pop music? It's actually surprising that this style brings flavor to the usual tunes that we have. Yet not everyone can shift to this because it takes training and techniques to make them possible.

This is what Victoria Gabrielle "Gabri" Panlilio has trained for years starting at a young age and is now considered as one of the country's emerging classical crossover artists, following in the footsteps of her musical idols such as Audra McDonald, Renee Fleming, Natalie Dessay and Cecilia Bartoli.

Her love for classical music started when she was 10 years old. Inspired with the Phantom of the Opera, she began her formal lessons and also trained under mezzo-soprano Clarissa Ocampo. Currently she is coached by  multi-awarded Fil-American tenor Arthur Espiritu.

She also had one-on-one sessions with Michael Lavine, a Broadway voice coach who trained ldina Menzel, among others. She had her first solo classical recital when she turned 15, performing a repertoire comprised of Cesti, Mozart, Handel, Gabriel Faure, Gounod, and Lucio San Pedro.

Over the past five years, Gabri had represented the country in various music festivals across Asia, including the ChildAid Asia music festival in Tokyo in 2016, fund-raising benefit shows in Singapore and Malaysia, and a couple of unforgetta ble performances performing before Japan's Crown Princess Kiko (Akishino) and the prime minister of Singapore.

Equipped with the prowess, she now felt her calling to write her own songs that she can proudly perform along with her classical favorites. Gabri's Spotify discography includes a mix of covers and originals songs like "A Place Called Home", "Liwanag", Tuloy", "Kung Wala Ka", "Narda", "Panaginip Lang", "Kisapmata", "Kundiman", "Boy With Luv", and "Let Me".

She started songwriting with the help of of Patricia Lasaten (keyboardist of Ben&Ben) who helped her forge her musical style and musical voice. As a young lady she also enjoys the trends of her generations as she watches anime and listens to KPOP with BTS as one of her favorite groups. 

Gabri also dreams to collaborate with Lea Salonga, which she looks up to. As she also likes Disney songs like "Part Of Your World," "A Whole New World" and many more. To further appreciate classical music and artists, she in now learning Italian and Japanese and would like to perform in places in Europe where the best opera singers are based.

Even in the pandemic, she still giveback to society by volunteering for her brother Aldo and girlfriend Michele Gumabao's Y2P (Your 200 Pesos) charity advocacy, which included out-of-town food distribution sorties and feeding programs for marginalized communities.

Though it may be still be challenging to have people listen to Classical music, young singers like Gabri are already giving their best to show the beauty of these technical vibratos can jive well with the pop beats of this generation. She is just like people her age who loves KPOP, anime, and social media yet what she can offer as a singer can definitely expand our musical experience.

You can watch our interview with her below:

And also check out her Spotify playlist