At 100 years, the Manila Symphony Orchestra still takes command of the room the moment it plays. Founded in 1926, the MSO holds the distinction of being the oldest orchestra in Asia. It endured World War II, the postwar years and decades of cultural change, continuing to perform across generations.

Balancing global and Filipino voices

“Some orchestras continue to claim they are the first in Asia,” Jeffrey Solares, executive director of the Manila Symphony Orchestra Foundation, Inc., said at a recent press conference. “However, Chinese musicians only began joining those orchestras in the 1930s. In contrast, we were already active in 1926.”

For Solares, the centennial is not an ending point. He treats it as a continuation of the work, keeping the orchestra active, training musicians, mounting concerts and sustaining operations much the same way it has been done for decades.

“From the very beginning, we have sourced the latest repertoire from Europe,” Solares said. “That’s fine, but we have always maintained a strong commitment to Filipino music. We actively discover and regularly feature Filipino talents.”

That dual focus has guided programming choices since the orchestra’s early years, placing Filipino works alongside international repertoire without treating either as secondary.

Beyond the concert stage

According to Solares, the work of the MSO extends beyond performance schedules. The orchestra runs scholarship programs for Filipino musicians, providing financial support for formal music education.

“Right now, we have scholarship programs for Filipinos,” he said. “We support them because studying music is not easy — and it’s not cheap. It’s very expensive. Some members of the orchestra were able to finish college because of our scholarship programs.”

This year, the foundation is supporting six young Filipino musicians studying abroad.

“Currently, we have six young musicians studying in Europe and in the United States at music schools there,” Solares said. “When they come back, we sometimes feature them as soloists with the orchestra.”

“So we are not just an orchestra with an international repertoire,” he added. “We also do a lot of nation-building through our activities. These scholarship programs, our outreach concerts and the workshops we conduct in the provinces are a very important part of what we do.”

Surviving without a safety net

Asked about the future, Solares pointed first to financial realities. He said the orchestra reached its centennial largely through the support of private individuals and a small number of corporations, with funding remaining a constant challenge. Government support, he added, has been difficult to secure for decades.

“Finances are always the issue,” Solares said. “We’re very lucky to have reached 100 years with the help of some individuals and a few corporations. As early as the 1950s, there were letters from Mrs. Legarda to the Department of Finance stating that this orchestra needed support. That letter has existed for 80 years, and the government has not yet responded to that need — despite the fact that we are providing service to the nation.”

He noted that the MSO continues to operate outside government structures.

“There is already a government orchestra — the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra,” Solares said. “What we are trying to show is that it’s possible to survive as a private orchestra in the Philippines and to operate as a foundation.”

Music as daily life

“We want to stay true to the original creations of our forebears,” Solares noted, on how the MSO continues to make orchestral music accessible without narrowing its scope.

“There are many kinds of music — pop, rap and others — but for us, orchestral music is important. This is the kind of music where you have all these instruments coming together. We want Filipinos to be able to appreciate Mozart, opera and concertos alongside Filipino music,” he said.

A living archive

As part of its centennial concerts, the MSO will display archival materials in concert venues.

“Some of our archives — photos and posters — will be displayed in the lobby,” Solares said. “As you walk in, you’ll see the progression of MSO through every decade.”

Many of the materials came from families connected to the orchestra.

“They would say, ‘Oh, my dad played for the MSO,’ or ‘My grandfather was part of the orchestra,’ and then they would send us programs and photos,” he said. “In one of the workshops we conducted in the park last year, a participant told us that his grandfather was a trombone player with the MSO,” Solares said. “I looked it up, and his name appeared in our records from the 1950s to the 1970s.”

MSO centennial concerts

The centennial celebrations will formally open with the MSO 100th Anniversary Concert on 22 January at the Samsung Performing Arts Center. Titled In Pursuit of Excellence, the program will feature pianist Muyu Liu, guest conductor Darrell Ang, the Philippine Madrigal Singers and guest conductor Mark Anthony Carpio, with works by Beethoven and National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab.

A benefit concert will follow on 25 January at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati. Titled LEGACY, pianists Carmen Sipin-Aspiras and Inna Montesclaros will perform under the baton of Darrell Ang, with a program featuring works by Johannes Brahms and Frédéric Chopin.

The centennial season will continue with The Sleeping Beauty from 13 to 15 March; Rising Stars of the Philippines on 30 May; Symphony of a Nation: 100 Years of Music, 80 Years of Fil-Am Friendship on 4 July; Legacies in Song: MSO’s 100 Years and the Voice of Conching Rosal on 29 August; Philippine Master Composers, Past, Present and Future on 24 October; and the MSO 100 Centennial Finale in January 2027.