The Manila Symphony Orchestra beams with pride this 2026 as it celebrates its Centennial year bringing together music, legacy, collaboration, and learning through concerts, conversations, and community programs.
In Pursuit of Excellence: The Manila Symphony Orchestra at 100
A Celebration (1926-2026)
Presented by the Manila Symphony Orchestra Foundation Inc. and Standard Insurance
Concert I – Centennial Opening: The Sleeping Beauty
March 13 -15, 2026
Aliw Theater
Featuring Ballet Manila with Alexander Vikulov, conductor
The Manila Symphony Orchestra ushers in its Centennial Season with the timeless Tchaikovsky masterpiece, The Sleeping Beauty. This grand production brings to life the fairy-tale magic of Princess Aurora’s awakening. With lush orchestration, exquisite choreography, and visual splendor, this performance marks a truly magnificent opening to MSO’s 100th year celebration.
Ballet Manila is one of the Philippines’ foremost ballet companies, known for its high artistic standards, strong educational mission, and dedication to presenting classical and contemporary ballet to local and international audiences.
Alexander Vikulov is a Russian conductor of international distinction, trained at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, whose eminent career spans opera, symphonic, and ballet repertoire, with collaborations at leading institutions including the Mariinsky Theatre, Vienna State Opera, and Teatro Regio di Torino, and Ballet Manila.
Concert II – Rising Stars of the Philippines
May 30, 2026
Proscenium Theatre, Rockwell, Makati
Featuring: Jeanne Marquez (violin), Damodar Das Castillo (cello), and Joshua Dos Santos (conductor)
The future of Philippine music takes center stage as Jeanne Rafaella Marquez and Damodar Das Castillo join Joshua Dos Santos from Venezuela and the MSO for a showcase of youthful brilliance. The concert features Brahms’ Double Concerto in A minor, Op. 10 and other symphonic gems, celebrating both tradition and the promise of new artistic horizons. Supported by Standard Insurance, this evening shines a spotlight on the next century of Filipino talent.
Jeanne Rafaella Marquez is a Standard Insurance scholar, studying at The Juilliard School in New York. A Golden Medalist of the Vienna International Music Competition and recipient of the Philippine Ani ng Dangal Award, she has earned top prizes at major international competitions in New York, Singapore, and Manila.
Damodar Das Castillo is an MSJO-Standard Insurance scholar and a Mozarteum Alumnus in Salzburg, Austria. He is a top prize winner of five international music competitions, including Musica Goritiensis (Italy) and the International Anton Rubinstein Competition (Germany), and is the winner of the German Musical Instrument Prize 2012.
Joshua Dos Santos is recognized as one of the most accomplished young conductors to emerge from Venezuela’s National System of Youth Orchestras. He began conducting at the age of fifteen, and has conducted the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, maintaining close ties with the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth.
Concert III – Symphony of a Nation: 100 Years of Music, 80 Years of FilAm Friendship July 4, 2026
Manila Metropolitan Theater
Featuring Emanuel John Villarin (violin) and Thanos Adamopoulos (conductor)
The MSO celebrates a century of Filipino creativity with a concert devoted to the nation’s most stirring orchestral works. The evening traces the evolution of Philippine symphonic expression, from its roots in tradition to its bold, contemporary voice. A musical portrait of a people, told through a hundred years of sound.
Emanuel John Villarin is an MSJO-Standard Insurance scholar and Hanns Eisler Scholar in Berlin, Germany. He is a first prize winner of the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (2020) and the National New York Young Performers Prize (2021).
Thanos Adamopoulos is a Parisian conductor active across Europe, the United States, and Asia. He began his musical studies in Israel and, at the age of nineteen, and is the music director of the Chapelle de Larranie in Brussels and maintains a long standing artistic relationship with the Manila Symphony Orchestra, the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra, and the Asian Youth Orchestra.
Concert IV – Legacies in Song: MSO’s 100 Years and the Voice of Conching Rosal August 29, 2026
FEU Auditorium
Featuring: Rachelle Gerodias – Park (soprano), Michelle Mariposa (mezzo-soprano), Byeong In Park (baritone), and Marlon Chen (conductor)
Celebrating the timeless union of voice and orchestra, the program includes Bizet’s Carmen excerpts and other operatic treasures, tracing the MSO’s legacy in vocal music over the past century. A lush evening of passion, drama, and melody that honors the orchestra’s lyrical heritage.
Rachelle Gerodias - Park is a winner of “The Outstanding Young Men” and “The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service” awards. She is also the first “Aliw Awards Hall of Fame” awardee for Best Female Classical Performer, thereby cementing what many have long known: that Ms. Gerodias is currently the country’s brightest gem in the field of opera and classical vocal performances.
Michelle Mariposa is a Filipino-Chinese mezzo-soprano, a Grand Finals Winner of the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, and Winner of the 2023 Sullivan Foundation Award. Michelle completed her Master's degree in Voice and Opera Performance at Northwestern University, and her Bachelor’s degree in Voice and Psychology at the University of the Philippines, both summa cum laude.
Byeong In Park is an international Korean baritone who studied under acclaimed tenor Francisco Araiza at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart, Germany. Since his studies in Germany, he has been actively performing in opera productions and concerts around Europe and Asia.
Marlon Chen is the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra since 2019 who is acclaimed for his dynamic versatility across opera, ballet, symphonic, and chamber repertoire. He has guest-conducted leading orchestras worldwide, including Orchestre de Paris, MDR Leipzig, and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, while holding key positions in the US and Mexico.
Concert V – Philippine Master Composers, Past, Present, and Future October 24, 2026
Hyundai Hall, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University
Featuring New works by Ryan Cayabyab, Marlon Chen (conductor)
The grand finale of the Centennial Season is a sweeping tribute to the genius of Filipino composers across generations. The MSO presents the world premiere of a new work by Ryan Cayabyab, alongside masterpieces by other national icons. This historic gala concert brings together the country’s musical past and its bright creative future in one resounding celebration of national artistry.
Concert VI – MSO 100 Centennial Finale
January 2027
Venue: TBA
Featuring: Camille Thomas (cello), and Marlon Chen (conductor)
Bringing the Centennial Season to a resounding close, this grand finale celebrates a century of the MSO’s artistry and impact through a program of luminous orchestral works that reflect both gratitude for the past and hope for the future. Presented in partnership with UNICEF, the concert embodies the orchestra’s enduring mission to uplift, inspire, and give back through the universal language of music.
Franco-Belgian cellist Camille Thomas has been performing since the age of four and is acclaimed for her deeply expressive artistry, distinguished by exceptional technical refinement and emotional immediacy, qualities that have established her as one of the most compelling artists of her generation.
*program, artists, date, and venue subject to change
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