Arturo Molina, conductor

Noted as one of the country's finest violinists, ARTURO MOLINA has worked with practically all the major orchestras in Philippines. He was concertmaster of the Philippine Youth Orchestra in 1979, the Youth Artist Chamber Orchestra in 1981, The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) in 1987 and the manila Chamber Orchestra in 1991 up to 1993.

Under the PPO Orchestra Development Program, he was granted a three-year scholarship to study in Russia at the Conservatory of Moscow and the Conservatory of Kiev under the tutelage of Alexander Yegorov, a prodigy of eminent violinist David Oistrach. In the course of his stay in Kiev, he joined the annual String Department Competition and after four rounds he was declared the winner. It was the first time in the history of that music school that a foreign student won the competition. This opened the door for his performance at the Bolshoi Theater for the concert winners.

As a teacher, Molina was violin and viola tutor in ASIAN Music Workshop in 1998 in Malaysia and Indonesia and the Asian Youth Orchestra. He is committed to nurturing young talents to become excellent musicians and is presently conductor of the Manial Symphony Orchestra.

Manila Symphony Orchestra

The Manila Symphony Orchestra is the oldest symphony orchestra in the Philippiness. Born almost 75 years ago, the MSO holds a very rich history in its hands. A little more than half a century ago, when Manila was re-taken by the victorious American forces and ending three years of Japanese occupation, the Philippines held the honored distinction of being the only country in Asia that had its own orchestra. Proudly carrying with it the name of the city wherein it was established, the pages of MSO's history are filled with a notable list of esteemed Filipino and foreign musical greats who performed and conducted with the orchestra through its glory-filled years.

The Manila Symphony Orchestra boasts of musician members whose talents have been nurtured, honed and developed through the Philippine Research for Developing Instrumental Soloists (PREDIS) and the Manila Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO). Co-founded in 1985 by Maestro Basilio M. Manalo and Sr. Maru Placid Abejo, Dean of the St. Scholastica's Colege of Music, the PREDIS was founded to establish an intensive training program to prepare very young musicians (as early as three years old) for careers as instrumentak soloists and performers in chamber and orchetra groups.

The PREDIS members eventually moved on to become members of the MYSO when it was founded exactly a decade late in 1995. Led by the same co-founders of PREDIS, the MYSO served as a continuing venue for the maturing musical protégés. The MYSO has performed in a number of concerts and tours - each performance earning them more accolades and rave reviews. The MYSO takes prides that many of its members are winners of the National Music Competition for Young Artist (NAMCYA) and some have been qualified as members of international orchestral groups, such as the Sian Youth Orchestra and the World Youth Orchestra.

In 2001, just in time for the MYSO members to spread their wings and venture out into the professional world of orchestra, the Manila Symphony Orchestra II Foundation was founded to assist the MYSO in its transiotion to become the ne Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO)