The Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) continues its 100th Anniversary Season with a concert featuring internationally acclaimed Franco-Belgian cellist Camille Thomas and the World Premiere of Pasasalamat for choir and orchestra, music by National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab with text by National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario, under the musical direction of MSO Principal Conductor Maestro Marlon Chen.
The concert will take place at the Proscenium Theater in Makati on October 22.
Commissioned by the MSO for its centennial, Pasasalamat reflects on the meaning of gratitude not only as a personal feeling, but as a responsibility to others and to the community. Almario’s text considers the values that shape a shared life, from compassion and respect for differences to freedom, justice, culture, knowledge, and the willingness to accept criticism and change. At its heart is the idea that being human is not simply a given, but something we become through our choices and actions.
For the MSO, the work is particularly fitting, offering an opportunity to reflect on the responsibilities that come with being the longest surviving institution that has been part of Philippine musical life and history for a century. The text will be brought to life by MSO’s featured choir, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Bagong Himig Serenata.
The concert also features Camille Thomas, an internationally renowned Franco-Belgian cellist known for her expressive performances and technical artistry. An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2017, Thomas has performed with major orchestras and conductors across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Her recording Voice of Hope, released in partnership with UNICEF, reflects her belief in music as a means of creating connection and inspiring hope.
Thomas’ artistic advocacy resonates with the ideas at the heart of Pasasalamat. Both approach music as a way of connecting people and encouraging reflection and compassion. In the context of the MSO’s centennial, this shared perspective gives the program a contemporary dimension, inviting audiences to consider the role music can continue to play in bringing people together and strengthening the communities it serves.
Thomas joins the MSO for Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33. Written in 1876, the work draws on the elegance of the Classical style while giving the soloist opportunities for expression and virtuosity.
The program concludes with Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, Op. 48, performed with MSO and the award-winning PUP Bagong Himig Serenata. Fauré’s Requiem offers a gentler and more intimate take on the traditional music of remembrance. Its setting is lyrical and peaceful, focusing less on fear and judgment and more on comfort, hope, and rest. It brings the evening to a quiet and reflective close.
Bringing together a new Filipino work by National Artists for Music and Literature, an internationally acclaimed cellist whose artistry is rooted in a sense of purpose, and music spanning different eras and musical worlds, Centennial Concert V finds common ground in music’s power to connect and inspire hope. MSO at 100 looks ahead with the belief that orchestral music can certainly build more harmonious communities around the world.
Tickets range from P1000-P5000 and are available on Ticketworld. Discount codes for students, seniors, and PWDs are available.
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