Teen harpist steps up with PPO
The 16 October concert pairs Filipino and European compositions, with 14-year-old harpist Vien Ignacio as soloist.
A 14-year-old harpist will take the stage as a featured soloist when the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra returns to the Metropolitan Theater in Manila on 16 October 2026.
Vien Ignacio, who has played the pedal harp since she was three, joins the orchestra for its second concert of the 42nd season, titled Elegance. Polish music director Grzegorz Nowak will conduct the performance, which kicks off at 7:30 PM.
Classic Handel meets Filipino heritage
The program opens with Philippine Portraits by the late Filipino conductor and composer Redentor Romero. The work weaves traditional romantic melodies from the Philippines into a sweeping orchestral score, honoring Romero's lifelong advocacy for local classical talent.
Ignacio takes center stage next for George Frideric Handel's Harp Concerto in B-flat Major. Written for a 1736 London festival celebrating Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music, the piece gives the young musician a rare platform to display her technical control alongside a full symphony.
A prodigy with global accolades
Despite her youth, Ignacio brings substantial international performance experience to the Manila stage. Studying under harpist Olga Shevelevich, she earned top honors at the 2025 Scandinavian International Instrument Music Competition, placing first in the harp division alongside special awards for romantic interpretation and young prodigy performance.
Her appearance with the PPO offers a snapshot of emerging classical talent in the Philippines, anchoring a lineup that bridges local composition with European traditions.
Polish masterpiece caps the night
The orchestra will close the evening with Zygmunt Noskowski’s 1896 symphonic poem, The Steppe. Composed during a period of foreign rule in Poland, the patriotic piece captures the dramatic grandeur of the eastern European plains.
Tickets for the concert are available through TicketWorld and the Cultural Center of the Philippines box office, with subscription packages offered for the remainder of the orchestra's current season.