This October, the Cultural Section of the Embassy of France to the Philippines and the Alliance Française de Manille will launch a new monthly rendezvous: Les Jeudis culturels (Cultural Thursdays)!
A special cultural event will take place each month to give audiences a taste of France and celebrate the French “art de vivre” through music, theater, dance, poetry, gastronomy, and various other art forms.
The first Cultural Thursday takes off on October 18 at the Alliance Française de Manille with a musical concert featuring South African saxophonist Adam Campbell and Filipina pianist Mariel Ilusorio.
Born in Grahamstown, South Africa, Adam Campbell began his formal studies in saxophone at the Kingswood College. He continued his studies in Strasbourg, France, where Campbell graduated with a Music Degree in Classical Saxophone with distinction at the Conservatoire de Besançonunder the guidance of Cécile Dubois, and later, completing an internationally-recognized saxophone program under Philippe Geiss in 2018. Passionate about chamber music from an early age, Campbell has performed as a soloist and has been awarded in several music competitions and festivals all over the world. He is also a member of the Avena Saxophone Quartet, recognized as one of the most vibrant young European saxophone quartets on the international stage.
Mariel Ilusorio, a first prize winner of the Category A of the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) in the Philippines in 1985, pursued her studies in piano at the Julliard School in New York, where she earned her pre-college diploma, and later, completed her Bachelor of Music Studies from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. She continued her studies in Germany, where she trained under the renowned conductor and piano pedagogue, Arie Vardia, at the Hannover State Academy of Music. Since then, Ilusorio has been performing as a piano soloist in the Philippines, the United States, and Germany, and also performs as the pianist, alongside the clarinet and the cello, of the Pacific Trio.
At the launch of Les Jeudis culturel (Cultural Thursdays), Campbell and Ilusorio will be performing the works of great French composers such as André Jolivet, Paule Maurice, Jules Demersseman, Darius Milhaud, Eugène Bozza, and Jean Matitia.
For more information on Les Jeudis culturels (Cultural Thursdays), visit the official website of the Embassy of France to the Philippines at www.ph.ambafrance.org or its official Facebook page at www.facebook.con/FrenchEmbassyManila.
