Music lovers are in for a musical treat when the Piano Teachers’ Guild of the Philippines (PTGP) and Philamlife present the annual piano festival at the Philamlife Auditorium from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on February 24 and March 2. The marathon concert is open to the public.

Dubbed as "Pista ng Musikang Pilipino," the 18th piano festival will feature 300 young piano masters who passed auditions held at the UP College of Music, UST Conservatory of Music, St. Scholastica’s College of Music, the Adventist University of the Philippines, and Greenhills Music Studio. Also participating are 52 piano teachers.

"We are happy to note that the festival has grown from more than a hundred participants to over 300 this year. Some of the participants are winners of the National Music Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA) and past PTGP competitions," says Anthony Y. Say, PTGP festival chairman.

Darren Elias Matias (Category C first prize winner of the PTGP 2005 Sonata and Sonatina Competition, Category C prize winner of the 2007 PTGP-Philamlife Bach Competion, and Category C second prize winner of the recently concluded NAMCYA), will perform a two-piano number with Charisse Dumlao (also a prize winner of the PTGP-Philamlife 2007 Bach Competition) Dance Macabre by Saint-Saens-Franz Liszt.

Joining the roster of performers is another achiever, 11-year-old Denise Faith L. See who will render Franz Schubert’s Impromptu in A-Flat major Opus 90 No. 4. See was Category A1 second prize winner of the 2004 NAMCYA. Category A2 second prize winner of the PTGP 2005 Sonata and Sonatina Competition, Category A2 second prize winner of the PTGP-Philamlife 2007 Bach Competition.

Felix Mendelssohn’s Rondo Capriccioso Opus 14 will be played by Franco Lorenzo Liwanag, a two-time PTGP Competition prize winner. Hannah Lyn B. Tan (Category A2 second prize winner of the 2001 NAMCYA and Category B first prize winner of the recently concluded PTGP-Philamlife Bach Competition), will play Scherzo No. 2 by Frederick Chopin.

Pieces by famous Filipino artists Francisco Buencamino, Felipe De Leon, Lucio San Pedro, Antonio Molina, Lucino Sacramento, as well as concertos will also be played in the festival.

A much-awaited event for piano teachers and their students, the annual piano festival used to be held in various locations until three years ago when PTGP President Father Manuel Maramba, OSB, partnered with Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company, Inc.’s Ariel Del Mundo.

For inquiries, call Anthony Say at 743 0491 or 0917 814 4376.