"Passion" is a word you will often use with Eugene, newly designated music director and conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (he officially assumes the position on May 1, 2004). He has been described as "a fusion of passion and sensitivity", a "highly gifted conductor".
Eugene’s path to the conductor’s podium was a direct and determined one. He was only three years old when he first saw Leonard Bernstein on television’s "Young People’s Concert". "I remember how amazing he was," Eugene marvels. And then there was Bugs Bunny too, conducting Pavarotti and Wagner, and he knew exactly what he wanted to be.
"When I’m on the podium conducting, I know that’s where I belong," he says. "If I could never do that again I know that I will have no purpose in my life."
He grew up on the "three Bs–Bach, Beethoven and the Beatles, equally" and played trumpet in a band from third grade to high school (although he doesn’t know what became of his trumpet, he does recall playing a band arrangement of the finale of Brahms’ First Symphony).
For high school, Eugene attended an intensive college prep boarding school in the San Fernando Valley, and even there his soul sought solace in music to soothe the "growing pains, the turmoils of the teenage years, (as I tried to) understand my life and the world changing around me and my role in the world..."
"I’d sneak out of the dorm at 2 a.m. and go to the chapel to play Bach on the organ at full blast, with all the stops out," he recalls with some amusement, adding with a good laugh, "If you’re born in Hollywood you always have some drama in your life!"
His musical pedigree is, by any measure, impressive. Eugene earned a Master of Music in Conducting (With Highest Distinction) from the California State University at Northridge. He began his professional career in 1993 as Assistant Conductor of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, coming to national attention in 1996 when he stepped in on short notice for Music Director JoAnn Faletta in two difficult pieces, earning critical acclaim (the performance was called "a glowing success"). He was also Assistant Conductor at the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra and served on the faculty at California State University at Long Beach where he taught conducting, music history, music theory and orchestral performance on top of directing the university orchestra and overseeing the String Department.
Following his success at the Aspen Music Festival in 1995 where he stepped up on five minutes’ notice to conduct Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, he was invited back to conduct four more concerts that year. He was also twice awarded a conducting fellowship at the prestigious Conductor’s Institute in West Hartford, Connecticut. In 2001, he was chosen in a nationwide search for the National Conducting Institute which culminated with his conducting debut with the National Symphony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.
With the support of his mentor Leonard Slatkin, Eugene made his conducting debut in Europe last August in Cadaques, Spain. With Maestro Slatkin, Eugene also worked with the BBC Symphony Orchestra during the world famous "Proms" Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.
Eugene is currently Music Director of the nationally acclaimed Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento, California and also serves as staff and cover conductor for the National Symphony at Kennedy Center. Under his leadership, the orchestra won the coveted 2001 Arts Excellence Award from the Sacramento Arts and Business Council and the 2002 ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Award. Personally, he was named Critics’ Choice by the Sacramento Bee in both 2000 and 2002 and received the 1999 ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming. Eugene and the orchestra were recently cited for outstanding contribution to the cultural life of the region, and he was bestowed a similar honor by the U.S. Congressional Record in November last year.
Manila caught its first glimpse of Eugene in 1993, conducting the UST Symphony Orchestra at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He has since made repeated appearances in Manila and in Cebu, conducting the Cebu Youth Symphony Orchestra. He led the orchestra in paying final tribute during the funeral service for Senate President Marcelo Fernan in 1999.
Born in Los Angeles, Eugene traces his roots to La Union on his father’s side (an aunt still lives in the town of Luna, where his late father was born and raised) and to Pasay City on his mother’s (former Mayor Jovito Claudio is an uncle). Aside from English and a passable accented Filipino, Eugene speaks French and Spanish, and studied Latin and Greek in college.
"I did a double major in music and philosophy," he reveals. "There was a short diversion from music in college, when I fell in love with classic Latin and Greek literature." Fortunately for music, he gave that up after two years. "It was taking me away from my music," he says, then adds a bit sheepishly, "and there was this Greek verb I had so much trouble conjugating!"
As passionate as he is about music is Eugene about the role of arts in society, and particularly the orchestra in the community and among the youth.
"My biggest hope is to make the people feel like the PPO is their orchestra, to break down whatever barriers–physical or psychological–exist between the concert stage and the audience, and make them true participants in the concert experience," he says. "I’d like to see the PPO on TV and radio, and meet with small groups before or after a concert and speak to them not just about the orchestra but about the music."
Key to this is accessibility, he points out, and he happily accepts the role of advocate not just for the orchestra but for arts in the Philippines. "Everything that we do–at the PPO and the CCP–is vital to human life," he insists. "The product is the emotional, intellectual and spiritual result of putting together artists and the people." In the US, he has spoken to state legislatures, city councils, congressmen and senators "to make them understand that this is vital. I do not shun that responsibility."
His approach to business and community leaders is no less targetted. He cites studies in the US on the economic impact of arts in the community. "The lowest estimate is 13 percent, and it goes up to 21 percent" including jobs generated and money poured back into the community. "They must realize that art is part of the social cycle, and the only way to make that happen is to have really exciting programs and activities," he explains. "We cannot just regurgitate the past; we must do programming to reach the most diverse audience possible...The orchestra must not only relate to the economic reality of the times, but to technology as well... Why can’t we charge half the price of a pre-paid phone card for kids to come and see the PPO on a space available basis?"
He intends to balance the standard, beloved repertoire with new works, "but we must also make new works understandable," he points out, venturing the idea of pre-concert chats to introduce members of the audience to the work/s being performed or post-concert wrap-ups with some members of the orchestra and the audience. A champion of contemporary as well as Filipino music, Eugene wants to present works by Filipino composers "young and old, past and present" and establish a composer’s residency program to give opportunity to young Filipino composers.
Eugene looks forward to his stint with the PPO, and living in Manila. "As a conductor you’re never really settled," he says when queried about his first major overseas move. He currently lives in Sacramento with his cat Chester, whom he rescued from the animal shelter. A gym is a necessary part of his life, and on some days he spends as much as two hours doing a heavy training regimen. "It (the work-out) gives me the physical and mental endurance to study scores and to meet the demands of my schedule," he explains, "and it allows me to focus and to meditate."
"A concert takes every single ounce of strength in me and I want to collapse," he admits. "I am totally devastated after a concert... but I realize that there are people I have to receive–that’s my job."
Asked about what else occupies his time, Eugene pauses and then replies, "That’s a full schedule. Score studying takes a lot of time, plus doing programming and my social responsibilities. It’s a full day."
It will be a full year before Manila gets to see Eugene up close and personal (unless plans for a short visit in October push through), but the anticipation in music circles is building up. While he may not yet be familiar to the wider audience, Manila will soon enough get a chance to see, hear and taste this serious and gifted musician, this passionate champion for the arts. When asked for his reaction to being offered the position with the PPO, he is reported to have answered: "It’s an honor to be serving my country."