15 JUNE 2006

CARMENCITA SIPIN- ASPIRAS: UNITY AND HARMONY
JVP welcomes home renowned pianist for fund-raising concert

Coming at the heels of the successful benefit concert held late last year that headlined musical artists Monique Wilson, Jamie Rivera, Bimbo Cerrudo and Jed Madela, the Jesuit Volunteers Philippines (JVP) Foundation, Inc. once again promotes the talents and goodwill of Filipino musicians as it brings home classical concert pianist Carmencita Sipin- Aspiras for a one-night performance on July 8, 2006, 8 pm, at the Francisco Santiago Hall in Makati City.

Emigrating with her family to the United States in 1989 and settling in the San Francisco Bay Area, she has been praised for her talents by critics in Europe and the United States. She is famous for having premiered in the Philippines the works of Sir Michael Tippit and Vlademir Kazenin, together with the Philharmonic Orchestra, and sponsored by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, during the Philippine-Russian festival some years ago.

Carmencita Sipin-Aspiras began piano studies at the age of six under the tutelage of her mother, who was an amateur pianist. She began formal studies under Hermogenes de Guzman and continued training with Juan Banez at the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music. During this time, at the age of eleven, she was chosen as soloist in Mozart Concerto in D Minor, KV 466. At the age of seventeen, she performed concertos by Mozart, Chopin and Prokofiev during her graduation recital at the College of Music of the Philippine Women’s University College, where she obtained her Bachelor of Music with honors after being mentored by Dean Lucrecia R. Kasilag. Already reflecting the importance of sharing her talents and nurturing the youth early on in her life, she would teach piano at the College of Music soon after.

Eventually, Mrs. Sipin-Aspiras began making her country proud and bringing the talent of Filipino musicians to the international forefront by pursuing her graduate studies and continuing to hone her musical prowess as a scholar of the Music Promotion Foundation of the Philippines at the Vienna State Academy of Music (now the Vienna Music University), the alma mater of Zubin Mehta, Martha Argerich, Friedrich Gulda and Mitsuko Uchida, among others. In Vienna, Carmencita’s maturity and depth as a pianist intensified with the likes of Bruno Seidlhofer, Grete Hinterhofer and Richard Hauser as teachers.

Having made an impression on such a notable list of teachers and mentors, there was no doubt that she would immediately make her unique mark on the sensibilities of international audiences and critics alike. Her Vienna debut at Musikverein’s Brahms Hall was highly praised by the leading Vienna newspaper Kurier, publishing a review that proclaimed, “The Filipina pianist Carmencita Sipin interpreted her varied program with a wide range of tonal color, sense of style and excitement. Strong applause at the Brahms Hall.” A later performance in Stuttgart would similarly compel the major German newspaper Rheinische Volkblatt to report, “It is a delight to hear such a pianist of extraordinary capabilities and refinement of taste.”

Aside from staging several other solo and collaborative performances, Mrs. Sipin- Aspiras has also brought her musical eloquence to as wide an audience possible by recording for Austrian and German networks such as Radio Vienna, South German Radio, Radio Graz and RIAS Berlin.

With JVP’s mission of empowering communities by sending dedicated volunteers to serve under-resourced schools, non- government organizations and parishes all over the country, Mrs. Sipin-Aspiras’ performance at the Francisco Santiago Hall will suitably blend classical music and the pursuit of service, love and hope, themes that have continued to serve as driving forces behind her remarkable career.

In addition to having established herself as a premier classical pianist, the essence of her stature is perhaps best encapsulated by her service both to communities in her area and to humanity at large. While she remains a teacher at the same time, Carmencita Sipin- Aspiras continues to be a regular recitalist for Neighbors Abroad, an organization based in Palo Alto. A brainchild of President Eisenhower, its purpose is to promote international understanding. Truly not a stranger to performing for good causes, the proceeds from one of her performances at the Palo Alto Arts Center a couple of years ago benefited a children’s library in Palo, Leyte in the Philippines, a local city supported by Neighbors Abroad.

Heralded as a musician of great sensitivity and intelligence, Mrs. Sipin- Aspiras’ is set to render her interpretation of pieces by Faure, Schumann, Chopin and Mozart on July 8. Solely for the benefit of the mission and objectives of JVP, her performance is eagerly awaited not only by patrons of classical music and Filipino musical talent, but equally by those who have similar desires to promote and contribute to the spread of values embodied by Jesuit volunteers- service, social justice, solidarity, simplicity, and spirituality.

An event that is fueled by the celebration of individuals and organizations who dedicate themselves to community and nation- building, this highly anticipated benefit concert will be capped off a week later, on July 15, with a concert by six of Mrs. Sipin- Aspiras’ former students. With such a gifted and prominent pianist performing for the benefit of faith-driven service for nation-building, it is only fitting that those who have had the privilege of learning and blossoming as musicians and servers of humanity under her guidance have chosen, in turn, to pay tribute to their former mentor in the most rewarding way possible- through the gifts of service, charity and music.

(Ticket prices for Mrs. Sipin- Aspiras’ 8pm performance on July 8 are slated at 300, 400 and 500 pesos. It will be held at the Francisco Santiago Hall, PCI Bank Tower I, Makati Ave. corner Dela Rosa St., Makati City. For further details, please contact the JVP Office, Rm. 313 Bellarmine Hall, Ateneo de Manila University, 426-5908 or 426-6001 local 4880.).