SU hosts Asenso Musika residency, caps training with symphonic band recital
Silliman University (SU), through its College of Performing and Visual Arts (COPVA) and the Culture and Arts Council (CAC), is hosting the Asenso Musika: Symphonic Band Summer Workshop, culminating in a recital on April 17, 2026, at 4:00 PM at the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium.
The recital features the Calamba National Comprehensive High School Symphonic Band, with special participation from the Silliman University Concert Band, and serves as the culminating performance of a 10-day intensive residency held on campus from April 8 to 17.
The Asenso Musika program underscores Silliman’s continuing commitment to arts education, cultural exchange, and community extension. Through COPVA’s faculty and CAC’s institutional support for cultural programming, the University provided both the academic framework and performance platform for the young musicians’ training and artistic development.
The residency brought together 44 student musicians from Calamba, Misamis Occidental, for advanced instruction in symphonic band performance, jazz techniques and improvisation, ensemble cohesion, musical interpretation, and leadership development. Participants engaged in daily rehearsals, masterclasses, and collaborative learning sessions led by music educators from COPVA, headed by Dr. Diomar C. Abrio.
This initiative builds on earlier training workshops conducted in July 2025 by the same COPVA faculty, which laid the foundation for the band’s formation and growth. The Calamba National Comprehensive High School Symphonic Band was established through the initiative of Calamba Mayor Dr. Luisito Villanueva Jr., an SU alumnus, to strengthen the school’s Special Program of the Arts and expand access to quality music education.
Anchored on the theme “Unity in Sound: Cultivating Musicianship in the Symphonic and Jazz Band Ensemble,” the workshop highlights both individual excellence and collective artistry, principles central to SU’s Whole-Person Education.
The program is implemented in partnership with the Local Government Unit of Calamba and the Provincial Government of Misamis Occidental, with support from Governor Atty. Henry S. Oaminal.
The April 17 recital showcases the participants’ artistic growth and reflects Silliman University’s role as a hub for arts training and cultural collaboration, bringing together institutions and communities in nurturing the next generation of Filipino musicians.
