On the cusp of world success

An event in Bulacan last week prevented me from enjoying the birthday celebration of violin virtuoso Chino Gutierrez, 28. Not only did I miss the sumptuous spread, I’m told, but I also missed the mesmerizing performance of Chino, of whom I’ve written about previously in this space.

I first knew Joaquin Maria Gutierrez, Chino to friends and family, while he was studying briefly at the Community of Learners, a nontraditional school which my own children attended. Even at a very young age, Chino showed not just talent but, more important, extreme self-confidence. Called upon to perform at school assemblies, he would leave us all awestruck with his classical pieces.

And as we now find out, those school assemblies were but preparations for the emergence of a serious talent.

Beginning his violin studies when he was but 7 years old, Chino studied under Alfonso Bolipata, who has worked with many young artists and described Chino as “unusually gifted, with a natural ability and a sense of music-making that is uncanny for someone his age.”

After only two years under the master’s instruction, he won second prize at the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) grade school division. At 12, Chino won first prize in the high school division, this despite his being the youngest competitor in the category.

Two years before this, Chino made his orchestral debut with the Metro Manila Community Orchestra, under the baton of Josefino “Chino” Toledo at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. From there,
he moved on as a soloist of the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by “Conductor Laureate” Oscar Yatco, as  well as the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Toledo and Francisco Feliciano.

Even as he pursues his violin studies in Europe, Chino is also an avid recitalist, having given his first solo recital at age 10, performing works of Bach, Mozart, Paganini, Sarasate, Wieniawski, and Kreisler to public and critical acclaim. He has collaborated with world-class pianists such as Najib Ismail, Mary Anne Espina, Corazon Kabayao, Greg Zuniega, Johannes Umbreit, Andy Feldbau, Rohan de Silva, Petr Jirikovsky, and Evgeny Sinaiski. The past years have seen Chino giving back-to-back solo recitals in different venues in and outside of Metro Manila, in an effort to bring classical music to more audiences in the country, while performing around the world.

Slowly and steadily, Chino is making a name for himself in the international arena. He is the first Filipino violinist invited to compete at the highly prestigious Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hannover, Germany. Earlier this year, Chino represented the Philippines at the Singapore International Music Festival.

Even more impressive is how Chino has made his mark in other fields. Studying in Germany to train under violin pedagogue Jens Ellermann, he was at the same time attending a regular German high school, where he reaped success in math, science and languages. At 14, he emerged a Landessieger (champion) in the state math competitions in Bavaria. In addition, because of his linguistic abilities, he was handpicked to coauthor a book on etymology in five languages.

Most recently, Chino was accepted into the Universitat Mozarteum Salzburg to study with legendary French violinist and pedagogue Pierre Amoyal, who has a reputation as a “star maker.” It has taken a village—spanning not just the Philippines but the entire world—to bring Chino to the doorstep of global success. Not only has he studied under the best violin teachers in Europe, he has also managed to do so with the help of civic leaders and music lovers, and scholarships from Miriam College Music Center, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Dorian Stiftung in Stuttgart, and the Theodor Rogler Stiftung in Munich. In Manila, among his most avid supporters has been Ching De las Alas Montinola, who leads efforts to find sponsorships for him. As proof, Chino performs on a 1760 Vinaccia on loan from a group of businessmen, a longstanding practice in other parts of the world.