Opera singer and music educator Cipriano Mercado de Guzman, Jr. has been awarded the Gawad Parangal sa Natatanging Pasigueño 2024 for Culture and the Arts-Music.
Originally hailing from Barangay Bambang in Pasig, De Guzman is now based in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg but actively tours Europe, Asia and the USA as an opera singer and teaches choral and vocal workshops in the Philippines.
In a message broadcast during the awarding ceremonies held 27 August 2024, De Guzman expressed his appreciation for being recognized by his native city.
“Matapos ang halos dalawang dekada, ng pagsumikap at pagpupunyagi gamit ang pangalang Filipino Baritone, at ihayag sa buong mundo ang galling ng Pilipino sa larangan ng musika at opera, at magwagi sa sampung patimpalak sa Europa, Asya, at America, isang karangalan ang kilalangin sa larangan ng musika at iba’t ibang panig ng mundo, nguni’t lubos kong iganagalak ang kilalanin sa aking bayang sinilangan. Ang Lungsod ng Pasig.”
(After almost two decades, of working hard and striving as the Filipino Baritone, and revealing to the whole world the Filipino excellence in the field of music and opera, and winning ten competitions in Europe, Asia, and America, it is an honor to be recognized in the field of music in different parts of the world, but I am most happy to be recognized in my own hometown. The City of Pasig.)
“Maraming salamat din po sa nagnominate sa akin, my former English teacher Ma’am Bessie Austria,” he added.
De Guzmán Jr. has topped ten International Vocal Competitions in New York, London, Rome, Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, and Lugano. He is the first Filipino to win twice at the 2016 and 2017 American Protégé International Music Competition at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, New York City.
Most recently, he won First Prize in the Professional/Senior Category of the International Music Competition Barcelona “Grand Prize Virtuoso” held July 27, 2024 at Petit Palau – UNESCO’s Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, Spain, along with Israeli Soprano Shiri Magar, and also won First Prize in the Professional/Senior Category at the Solitär Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria, on July 31, 2024.
De Guzman, fondly known as Zip to close friends, also won the Best Male Performance in a Concert at the 35th Aliw Awards 2022 and was nominated in the 16th BOH Cameronian Arts Award in Kuala Lumpur (2019, Malaysia) in the Best Male Classical Soloist Category.
He is a two-time recipient of “Ani Ng Dangal in Music” in 2018 and 2019 from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (Office of the President) which recognizes Filipinos and Filipino works in the arts field who brought glory to the country in the past year.
(photo courtesy of the Pasig City Information Office)
Pasig Councilor Angelu De Leon-Rivera, Chairperson of the Committee on Culture and Spiritual Affairs noted that the Gawad Parangal sa Mga Natatanging Pasigueño has long recognized outstanding Pasigueños since the 421st Araw ng Pasig in 1994. She added that since its inception, this award has evolved through decades as a source of great pride and inspiration for Pasigueños everywhere.
“This year’s awardees represent the very best of our city, exemplifying the spirit of innovation, compassion and commitment that we hold dear,” she noted.
(courtesy of the Pasig City Information Office)
The seven other awardees for 2024 includes Dr. Nestor T. Castro (Education and the Academe), William I. Sidayon, Jr. (Civic Involvement and Volunteerism), Francis Gabriel O. Santos (Youth Leadership), Nika Juris D. Nicolas (Sports and Sports Development), Stephen T. Viñas (Culture and the Arts -Theatre), Christopher Simoun C. Andres (Culture and the Arts – Fashion Design) and Victor Francesco C. Cham (Culture and the Arts – Painting).
The awardees were chosen by the Selection Committee composed of Aljon Patrick Acupan, Jared Carlo L. Echevarria, Randy Carlos Guevarra, Wensley M. Reyes, Noel T. Rivera, Maria Victoria L. Santiago, and Jesus Rodrigo F. Torres.
(courtesy of the Pasig City Information Office)
The committee held the initial screening on August 13, 2024 and on August 16, 2024 for the final deliberation, selecting the final eight awardees from the 28 nominees.
Gawad Parangal ng Natatanging Pasigueño
The Gawad Parangal is an award conferred by the Pasig City government to recognize the “lives and achievements of accomplished Pasigueños in various fields, while they are still alive, in the hope that they may inspire younger generations,” according to the city’s Public Information Office (PIO).
Exemplary individuals from the fields of business, economics, and entrepreneurship; civic involvement or volunteerism; law; medicine and health; public service or governance; science and technology; sports and sports development; youth leadership; education and the academe; environmental protection, architecture, literature, writing, music, dance, sculpture, theatre and dramatic arts; and film and television can be nominated by the public.
The search for the Gawad Parangal nominees is part of the city government’s activities in the year-long celebration of Pasig’s 451st founding anniversary.
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About the artist Cipriano Mercado De Guzmán Jr.
He finished two Master’s Degrees in Music; Master en Interpretación de Òpera at Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona under the tutelage of Joan Martin-Royo and opera coachings with Mezzo-Soprano Teresa Berganza. He also finished Master of Music in Vocal Performance with Distinction (St. Cecilia Award) at Elisabeth University of Music Japan under Baritone Hiroharu Orikawa with full scholarship grant through the Loyola Memorial Foundation and the Japan Association of Catholic Universities.
In the Philippines, he graduated with academic distinction with three Bachelor’s Degrees: Major in Communication Arts as an Academic Scholar from the University of the East Manila, Bachelor in Music Education Voice Emphasis (Cum Laude) and Bachelor’s Degree in Music Major in Vocal Performance (Cum Laude) under the tutelage of Irma Ponce Enrile Potenciano /Bass Jun Francis Jaranilla † and minor in Choral Conducting under Professor Fidel Calalang Jr. at the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music with a full scholarship grant from Klassikal Music Foundation.
He is currently studying voice with Luxembourgish-Italian Mezzo Soprano Luisa Mauro, Chevalier de l’Ordre de Mérite du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.
His operatic role credits include excerpts and full operatic roles such as Il Notaio in Don Pasquale (Centre des Art Pluriels Ettelbruck, Luxembourg 2024), Marullo in Rigoletto presented by Andorra Lirica (Principality of Andorra, 2023), Silvio in Pagliacci presented by Lyric Opera of the Philippines/Cultural Center of the Philippines (Manila, 2023), Dottore Bartolo in the opera “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” (Opera studio Molise Teatro Savoia, Italy), Jacques Sincère in the opera “Le Val’Andorre” (Opera d’Andorra, 2022), Alidoro in La Cenerentola (Barcelona, 2018), Sylvio in Pagliacci and Maestro Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi (Hiroshima City Opera, 2019), Schaunard in La Boheme (Hiroshima City Opera, 2017), Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (Hiroshima, Japan 2017), Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Opera excerpt Hiroshima, Japan 2017), Don Pasquale, Dottore Malatesta, Giorgio Germont (Opera scenes Hiroshima Japan 2017), Frederic in Lakme (University of the Philippines 2014), Escamillo in Carmen (Kuala Lumpur City Opera, 2013), Marquis D’Obigny in La Traviata (Daejeon Opera-Cultural Center of the Philippines, 2012), Monsieur Guillot in Eugene Onegin (Cultural Center of the Philippines, 2006).
Other major performances include Baritone Soloist in Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem at the Ayala Museum Manila, Philippines (2019), Baritone Soloist in Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem in Ipoh, Malaysia (2019), Guest Artist at the Hiroshima Green Peace New Year Concert (2017), Bass Soloist in G.F.Handel’s Messiah at St.Cecilia Hall, Hiroshima, Japan (2016), Guest Artist in Sanata Dharma University Concert in Jogjakarta, Indonesia (2016), Soloist in The Canticle Singers Malaysia productions from 2014-2018.
He has performed in Spain, France, Germany, Andorra, Guam, United States, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan. As an educator, he has given workshops and lectures in different countries such as a guest lecturer at the 2022 National Conference of Music Schools (Philippines), 2018 Texas Educational Theater Association National Conference (Dallas, Texas,USA), vocal and choral masterclasses at several universities in the Philippines; University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music, Santa Isabel College of Music, Centro Escolar University Music Department, De la Salle University Chorale, Liceo de Cagayan University Conservatory of Music, Theater and Dance, Pamantasan Lungsod ng Maynila.
He is also active in doing charity work in the Philippines, sending proceeds of his concerts and performances to different charitable organizations in Manila, war-torn Marawi City, Mindanao, and assisting students in their college education through his personal scholarship program.
He was a Guest Program Host for several cultural programs in the Philippines including Earth Hour Philippines (Rizal Park, 2014), Concert at the Park Manila (2017), GSIS Museum of Arts Concert Series (2010-2011), Paco Park Presents (2014).
