MANILA, Philippines - Eminent American conductor Robert Rÿker returns to conduct the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) as it ushers in the New Year on Jan. 14, 2011, 8 p.m. at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater).
In a concert titled “Robert Rÿker: Character Portraits”, the program includes Alfred Reed’s Hamlet, A Symphonic Suite after Shakespeare, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, Enigma Variations.
Born in Indianapolis, USA, Rÿker is a graduate of the world famous Indiana University School of Music. He began his professional career in 1955 as Principal Tuba of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. He served with distinction in a similar post with the Montreal Symphony (1960-73), where he performed some 2,000 concerts under luminaries such as Abbado, Ancerl, Baudo, Böhm, Decker, Davis, Dohnanyi, Fiedler, Fourner, Frühbeck, Giulini, Goosens, Jansons, Kondrashin, Krips, Martinon, Mehta, Münch, Oistrakh, Ozawa, Prêtre, Rudolf, Sargent, Schippers, Schuller, Shostakovich, Skrowaczewski, Smetacek, Swarowsky and Vandernoot. He pursued conducting in Europe with Igor Markevich, Herbert Blomstedt, Helmuth Rilling and Ilya Musin, and doctoral studies in America at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He won first prizes in the 1974 Baltimore Symphony Conducting Competition and the 1975 National Symphonic Conducting Competition. He has appeared in over 50 cities on four continents.
A true renaissance man of music, Rÿker founded orchestras in Canada, India, and Japan, and has written over 300 musical arrangements, compositions, and orchestrations. A distinguished writer and speaker on music, he lectured on Style in Conducting for an audience of 700 conductors at the Midwest Orchestra Conference in Chicago. Rÿker has been recognized with awards, citations and grants from the Canada Arts Council, Québec Ministry of Cultural Affairs, United States Department of Defense, and Secretary of State of Canada. In 1996, he was knighted an Officer of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem for services to music. He is also active throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and serves as Music Director of the Tokyo Sinfonia and Music Advisor of the National Philharmonic of India.
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