The send-off concert for Cellist Damodar Das Castillo, accompanied by Mariel Ilusorio, and the unveiling of MiraNila’s renovated 1904 Steinway Grand Piano will take place on September 19, 2024, 6:00 p.m. at the Main Hall of MiraNila.
MiraNila Heritage House will be hosting a send-off concert for Damodar Das Castillo, famed cello prodigy, whose performance will showcase the accompaniment of virtuoso concert pianist Mariel Ilusorio. Julliard-trained Ilusorio will be playing on MiraNila’s newly restored Steinway 1904 grand piano, considered rare in the Steinway & Sons catalog.
At the onset of MiraNila’s construction in 1929, owner Francisca Tirona Benitez and architect Gregorio Paredes, her cousin who trained alongside National Artist Juan Arellano in Philadelphia, conceived the idea of showcasing this instrument with its unusual rococo-style feet. They positioned the piano on an elevated platform at the bottom of an elegantly winding staircase, allowing the expanse of the living room to foreground the graceful setting.
The repertoire presents a blending of classical music for cello by Bach and Chopin with popular classical pieces by Nicanor Abelardo, Henry Mancini, and Richard Rogers.
The evening concludes with a cello concerto by Dvořák, one of the numbers that allowed Damodar to make his mark on the international competition circuit.
Damodar established his reputation at age seven. Guided and inspired by his cellist father, he joined the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra as its youngest member in 2015, rising to become its most frequently featured soloist.
Among his notable performances in 2017 was one before heads of state at the ASEAN Summit and as a featured solo artist making his debut with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.
A two-time Ani ng Dangal Awardee in Music, Damodar went on to garner top prizes in prestigious international competitions, including The Young Musician in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2019; the International Anton Rubinstein Competition Cello Junior in Dusseldorf in March 2020; the Young Ludwig Youth Music Competition Age Group 2 in Berlin in September 2020; and the Musica Goritiensis International Music Competition Category C in Gorizia, Italy, in July 2021.
Damodar is currently enrolled in pre-college at the Mozarteum University Salzburg under Prof. Barbara Lübke-Herzl. He was recently offered a scholarship to further his studies under Prof. Valentin Radutiu at the Carl Maria von Weber College of Music in Dresden.
Beyond this prodigy’s classical studies is a teenager who dabbles in basketball, football, and table tennis. He enjoys playing death metal music on his electric cello and jamming with a jazz band. He seeks out universal truths while making his mark in classical music.
The cellist father, Alvin, said that his stewardship mainly lies in filling up competition applications and finalizing hotel bookings. “I just remind him about the competition date and I leave it to him to practice or not. I am not really that concerned if he wins or not. I am only concerned about how he will handle results of his preparations” (ABS-CBN News.)
Standard Insurance Company, under its Chairman Ernesto T. Echauz, has been Damodar’s constant supporter, gifting him with a cello handcrafted by Master Luthier George Gerl, a winner of the 2012 German Musical Instrument Prize.
Mariel Ilusorio is a virtuoso concert pianist and a seasoned music educator. She studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, and the State Academy of Music and Theater in Hannover. Top prizes came her way in piano competitions under the tutelage of Stella Brimo, followed by studies and performances in the United States, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Indonesia. After twenty-six years, Ilusorio returned to the Philippines, tantalizing audiences with her virtuoso piano playing. She concurrently serves as an organizer of concerts and recitals and is in the faculty of the UST Conservatory of Music, St. Scholastica’s College of Music, Philippine High School for the Arts, and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Manila.
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