|
The Filipino international pianist, Rudolf Pelaez Golez, started basic piano lessons at age 4 with his mother. As he progressed, he enrolled with Sister Lourdes Allegado, RVM who prepared her for his Premier Piano Recital at the Lourdes College where he played Frédéric Chopin's Heroic Polonaise in A-flat Op. 53, within a year of formal piano lessons with her. At age 11, he performed for then First lady Imelda R. Marcos at the Coconut Palace in Manila. she offered him a scholarship abroad after his impressive performance. The EDSA Revolution of 1986 put an end to this collaboration. He left for New York City at age 13 and studied at the renowned Juilliard School (pre-college) under Seymour Lipkin. In one of his visits home at age 17, he made his orchestral debut with the Manila Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Sergio Esmilla, Jr. playing L.v. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4. Further studies brought him to Graz, Austria, and finally graduated with the degree of Master in Music major in Piano Performance at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City (2002). He has coached with Professor Russell Brandon, musicologist. He is the sole prize-winner at the First ASEAN Chopin International Piano Competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2004).
Rudolf Golez is one of the country’s young piano virtuosi today. He was featured soloist at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Filipino Young Artists Series (2006), playing Franz Liszt's B minor Sonata. Other notable performances that won critical acclaim were performances with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under the great composer/conductor Cristobal Halffter of Madrid (2008), playing Manuel de Falla's masterpiece Noches en los Jardines de España. Furthermore, concerts with the Manila Symphony Orchestra playing Sergei Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 were also well received. Other concerti with other orchestras in the Philippines included Grieg's Piano Concerto. His solo concerts feature a rich and varied repertoire of classical to contemporary periods in piano literature. Recently, he joined the Philippine delegation of artists who performed during the Philippine Independence day celebration at the Philippine pavilion in Shanghai, China.
Rudolf Golez represents Philippines in concerts abroad namely China (2010), Russia (2012) and Australia (2013). Recently, he performed in a Taubman Piano Festival at Montclair State University, New Jersey, USA (June 2015) and at Colburn School Zipper Hall, Los Angeles, USA (July 2015). The most noteworthy were concerts in prestigious venues in the Los Angeles area namely, the Los Angeles Museum of Art (LACMA), the Zipper Hall at the Colburn School and the Cerritos Performing Arts Theater. He regularly performs in the Philippines and USA with colleagues as a collaborative artist and soloist.
At present, Rudolf Golez is the Dean of the College of Music (2013-present) and concurrently the Vice President for Cultural Affairs (2005-present) of Liceo de Cagayan University and a faculty of the Conservatory of the same school, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. He also serves as faculty of Philippine Women’s University (PWU) (2011-present) where he is enrolled in the PhD Performance program of PWU under Professor Reynaldo Reyes. He looks forward to gain exposure in the concert stage of the capitals in Europe even as he carries out his other responsibilities. He also endeavours to record his life's repertoire in a CD which may include instructional material for his students. |
