About the orchestra
The Filharmonika Orchestra is the Manila based orchestra affiliated with Film Concerts PH. Founded by conductor Gerard Salonga in 2005, it has been restarted in 2024 after almost a decade long hiatus. The orchestra consists of many players from the former ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra, the last orchestra in the Philippines that Salonga lead as Music Director up until 2020.
Follow The Filharmonika Orchestra:
Gerard Salonga
The Filharmonika Orchestra conductor and Music Director, Gerard Salonga is currently Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuala Lumpur, a position he has held since January 2019. For two seasons he served as Assistant Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra from 2016 to 2018 where he was appointed by Maestro Jaap van Zweden, having been selected from a field of over 170 international applicants. He also served as Music Director of the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra in Manila from 2012 to 2020. In January of 2021, Gerard began his term as the Music Director of the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth (OFY).
He has assisted and covered distinguished conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Jun Märkl, Hans Graf, Yu Long, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mark Wigglesworth, and Leonard Slatkin, and has conducted the Philippine Philharmonic, Shanghai Opera House Orchestra and Chorus, Kunming Nie-Er Symphony, Evergreen Symphony of Taiwan, Thailand Philharmonic, Bangkok Symphony, Singapore Symphony, South Denmark Philharmonic, Queensland Camerata, Orchestra Victoria, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Gerard has also conducted in iconic venues such as the Sydney Opera House and Royal Albert Hall.
He has conducted a wide range of performances, covering symphony, ballet, opera, pops, family, and film including Harry Potter, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Ratatouille films in concert, plus several Disney concerts. His orchestral arrangements have been performed by orchestras such as the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, New York Pops, Guangzhou Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Indianapolis Symphony, BBC Symphony, and Royal Philharmonic. Gerard has also collaborated as arranger or conductor across different styles with artists like Lea Salonga, Lang Lang, Sumi Jo, Regine Velasquez, Wang Leehom, Wu Tong, Cecile Licad, Zia Hyunsu ShinTengku Irfan, Paul Archibald, Hacken Lee, Anthony Lun, Elisa Chan, Ivana Wong, Michael Ball, Blake, Il Divo, Danielle de Niese, TaikOz, Ksenija Sidorova, Shen Yang, Llŷr Williams, James Ehnes, Jan Lisiecki, and The Beach Boys.
In 2012 Gerard was honoured as one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM), the Philippines’ highest civilian award to achievers under the age of 40. In 2021 he was named one of the recipients of the SUDI National Music Awards by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
Follow Gerard Salonga:
Facebook