Filipino American violinist Adrian Nicholas Ong will make his Carnegie Hall debut this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Weill Recital Hall in New York.
Ong is the first recipient of FilAm Music Foundation’s New York City Recital Debut Award. He is a member of the young artists roster of the FilAm Music Foundation. Victor Santiago Asuncion, internationally acclaimed pianist and founder and artistic director of the FilAm Music Foundation, will accompany Ong on piano.
Graduating this month from Mannes School of Music at The New School, Ong studies violin with Stefan Jackiw. His previous teachers include Melissa Esguerra, Gina Medina-Perez, Paul Sonner, Lewis Kaplan, and Yibin Li. Before coming to the U.S., Ong attended the prestigious Philippine High School for the Arts and graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy. He has been a Friends for Cultural Concerns of the Philippines (FCCP) scholar since 2019.
Ong made his orchestral debut at the age of 17 with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Yoshikazu Fukumura, performing Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. Last July, he was invited by the French Embassy to perform with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Michael Cousteau.
Santiago Asuncion is himself the recipient of the support of Filipino American community members. This fact is one of the reasons he credits for his founding of the FilAm Music Foundation. Years ago as an artist diploma student in CT, he was financially supported by the generosity of a number of friends and fellow musicians to fulfill his dreams of becoming a musician, educator, and performer. In 2018, Santiago Asuncion created the FilAm Music Foundation to pay it forward and help mentor, identify, and fund the next generation of Filipino American classical musicians.
Most recently, the Foundation’s artists have been featured on WFMT classical radio in a live broadcast of classical music by Filipino composers, as well as in concert at Symphony Center, an event organized in collaboration with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Because the organization’s roster of musicians is spread throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Philippines, the Foundation continues to present concerts and recitals showcasing the rich depth of Filipino musical artistry to new audiences around the world.
The FilAm Music Foundation’s mission is to “encourage Filipino classical musicians through scholarship assistance and performance opportunities.” The Foundation collaborates with presenting organizations, and independently organizes concerts in a wide range of venues including established concert series, schools, government, and community settings. The organization also awards scholarships to deserving young Filipino musicians for the purpose of education and career development.
For more information or to purchase tickets for this event, visit the Carnegie Hall website.