SEA Program Guitar festival Program-Note-2019-ล่าสุด-6 | Page 18

Gonzalo Misa, guitar
(Philippines)
Gonzalo Misa has given concerts in
Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam,
Singapore, Malaysia, and around the
Philippines. He holds a Bachelor of
Music degree from the University of
the Philippines, and a Master of
Music degree from the Philippine
Women's University, where he is
currently taking his PhD in Music
Performance.
In 2016, he served as the chairperson for the Senior Guitar
category of the National Music Competition for Young Artists
(NAMCYA), and in 2017, was festival director of the first ever
Makiling Music Festival.
Currently, he teaches Chamber Music and is the Music
Program Adviser at the Philippine High School for the Arts
(PHSA), a school located on Mt. Makiling, Laguna for the
country's most artistically gifted young scholars.
April Merced-Misa, piano (Philippines)
Born and raised in Cotabato (Southern Philippines), April
Misa has lived and trained solely in the Philippines with the
best local mentors, honing her craft through full scholarships
at the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) and the
University of the Philippines College of Music. She has
performed in several countries in Southeast Asia, where she
has been featured as a soloist with the Philippine
Philharmonic Orchestra, playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto
in C Major under the baton of Maestro Tetsuji Honna at the
Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
April has won several awards, notably the National Music
Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA) and two concerto
competitions, paving the way for her orchestral debut with
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto in B-flat minor. She is
currently taking her PhD in Music Performance at the
Philippine Women’s University. She currently serves as a
piano faculty member at the University of the Philippines
College of Music.