Pianist Raul Sunico to play Chopin to Canseco in Oct 21 concert

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Sunico was featured at a Philippine Independence Day concert at the Philippine Embassy in Germany in 2016.

Sunico was featured at a Philippine Independence Day concert at the Philippine Embassy in Germany in 2016.

In celebration of Filipino American History Month, internationally acclaimed pianist Raul Sunico will be featured in a concert on Saturday, October 21, 7:30 p.m. at the Merkin Concert Hall, Kaufman Music Center on W 67th Street.

In a 1982 concert at the Alice Tully Hall, The New York Times described him as “a young pianist from the Philippines (who) played a taxing program of Chopin, Brahms, Ravel and Rachmaninoff.”

“He created warm, clear sound from his instrument, and both his instincts and his ear responded in basically musical ways,” writes the Times’s music critic Bernard Holland.

For his October 21 concert, Sunico will perform works by Berg, Canseco, De Leon, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Piazolla, and Ravel.

Sunico started his musical career as winner of the Manila Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artist Auditions. He graduated from the University of the Philippines with the degrees of Bachelor of Music (cum laude), Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, and Master of Statistics. A scholarship from then First Lady Imelda Marcos enabled him to finish his Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York and a Doctor of Philosophy degree, major in Piano Performance from the New York University.

Sunico has performed throughout Asia, U.S. and North America and Europe. He was a featured soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Romania’s Transylvania Philharmonic Orchestra, Poland’s Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra, Taiwan Normal University Wind Orchestra as well as the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. He served as president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines from 2010 -2017, and was dean of the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music for 14 years.

He said in a Manila interview how he would continue to make Filipinos “enjoy the harmony and culture of classical music.”

He has a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School and a Doctor of Philosophy degree, major in Piano Performance, from NYU.

He has a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School and a Doctor of Philosophy degree, major in Piano Performance, from NYU.

He won silver medal in the 1979 Viotti International Piano Competition in Vercelli, Italy, was a finalist in the 1979 Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy and received the Henry Cowell Prize in the 1980 University of Maryland International Piano Competition in the United States.

A TOYM (The Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines) awardee for Music in 1986, Sunico is said to have recorded around 60 compact discs and albums of Filipino folk songs and kundimans, classical pieces, and popular American songs set to piano.

“Celebrating FilAm History Month won’t be complete and worthwhile if we don’t present and showcase our own culture,” said concert producer Jerry Sibal. “Through the music of our own world-class piano virtuoso, Dr. Raul Sunico, our FilAms can connect to their roots.”

Prior to his October 21 concert, Sunico will be conducting a class at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center on October 19, at 6 p.m. It will be presented by the Philippine Consulate General in cooperation with J&S Productions and the Felipe P. de Leon Foundation. To RSVP, email events@newyorkpcg.org or call 212-764-1330 Ext. 3866.

For tickets to his concert, call 212-501-3330 or email boxoffice@kaufmanmusiccenter.org. For more information, contact Jerry Sibal at 917-945-9983, jerrysibal@jerrysibal.com or Cynthia de Leon at 201-790-2835.

© 2017 The FilAm

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