Tireless worker for the arts

CEBU, Philippines - What programs or projects did he come up with as his contribution to classical music awareness?

He founded OPUS FEST in 2006, an international piano festival that was a first in the country. It was initially held in Alabang, then in Manila in 2008. He disclosed plans of bringing it to Cebu hopefully by the end of the year.

“It’s a music camp where students come and take in lessons from different teachers. We bring in the teachers from abroad and they take lessons from them. The teachers perform in the evenings. We also create courses that deal with music entrepreneurship so that young musicians will know how to manage themselves and not be fooled by agents. We make them aware of how the classical music world is out there,” he explained.

“It’s a pleasant camp. A lot of Filipinos like to go to music camps abroad but they cost so much. About $3,000 just for a two-week music camp. Plus the air fare and pocket money, so it’s easily $5,000. And that’s for only one person. So if we invite teachers from different parts of the world at the same time, they don’t have to spend $5,000.”

After that, Jovianney created the Ultimate Pianist Competition.

“It is a competition that prepares pianists to become complete: not just being a soloist but being able to work with a singer, with another instrumentalist or an orchestra. In that way, they are total pianists and not just a soloist who is used to being the star all the time.”

He also spearheaded FILFEST: A Celebration of Music & Dance, a season of concerts held at the Insular Theater, the newly established cultural center in the south of Metro Manila.

Most importantly, Jovianney makes an effort to talk to his audience about his music and encourages other performers to do the same. Instead of just writing out notes in souvenir programs, he asks artists to talk about the music that they’re about to perform such as where it comes from, the century it was composed, et cetera, to give a visual background for the audiences to appreciate it more.

“Because it’s an MTV generation now and everything is visual,” he said. (FREEMANENTERTAIMENT)