The Blue Baton
Gerard and the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra
Who would have guessed that Gerard Salonga was a true blue Atenean?
Gerard finished his Bachelor of Arts Major in Interdisciplinary Studies at Ateneo de Manila University in 1994. He then chose to pursue his passion in music and studied in the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating summa cum laude. Immediately after graduation, he worked as orchestrator and music copyist for Sony Pictures. He returned to his motherland in 1999 and became one of the most sough-after musicians in the country.
Gerard is the brother of famous Broadway star Lea Salonga. But Gerard has made his own name in the Philippine concert scene. Upon his return to the Philippine concert he served as guest conductor and arranger for the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. He also served as a regular guest conductor for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. At the same time, he collaborated with famous musical artists in the Philippines such as Lani Misalucha, Martin Nievera, and Regine Velasquez.
The Blue Baton in the 2011 edition of the Blue Sound
In 2005, he formed the Global Studio Orchestra or GC4. This was later known as FILharmoniKA. Under Gerard’s baton, FILharmoniKA launched a series of albums titled Musika Natin. Musika Natin features the works of great Filipino composers such as Lucio San Pedro, Angel Matias Peña, and Antonino Buenaventura among others. Their fourth album titled Kumpas feature orchestral arrangements of Pinoy Rock Music.
Gerard won the Promax World Silver Award in New York City in 2006 in the “Best Use of Music/Post Score with or without Lyrics” category for his works on The Filipino Channel, the international television station owned by the Philippine-based ABS-CBN Corporation. He is also a 4-peat Aliw Awardee for Best Music Director in 2003.
*This article was originally featured in the 2011 edition of the Blue Sound magazine.
**Pictures from http://www.interaksyon.com/entertainment/gerard-salonga-celebrates-john-williams-film-music/ and http://studioalavi.com/alavi_tva.html.
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