Filipino String Ensemble regales audiences in Abu Dhabi

Filipinos have been recognised for their musicality. Over in the capital is an emerging ensemble that for now resembles a rondalla, with the hope that one day, it would be. Sextet for now and on the look-out for those who know how to play the coconut-based Philippine versions of the bandurria, laud, octavina, 12-stringed guitar and the bajo de unyas (bass guitar), this is the Filipino String Ensemble.

Led by Lex Von Sumayo on the guitar alongside Randrews Rayan B. Feraer and Thara Astrid Mamaril; Marianne Olga Elloso-Macawili on the violin alongside Sean Emmanuel Tibe; and NIlisa Marie Barredo Victor on the cello, their maiden performance was during the Philippine Embassy-Abu Dhabi/Louvre Abu Dhabi special tribute for the “Una Bulaquena,” the oil-on-canvas 1895 rendition of the adolescent maiden from Bulacan Province, Emiliana Yriarte Trinidad, by the then multi-awarded artist Juan Luna, from Ilocos Norte Province.

Perfect was their formation for the occasion by Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Alfonso Ferdinand Ver. Their adaptations of the “Paru-Parong Bukid” (“Farm Butterfly”) by Felipe de Leon; “Dahil Sa Iyo” (“Because of You”) by lyricist Dominador Santiago and composer Mike Velarde Sr.; and “Tinikling” (the instrumental accompaniment for the Philippines’ national dance) befittingly and elegantly captured that era when the Spanish Medieval-born rondalla had been owned by the Indios (natives) and Insulares (Spanish descent/mestizos y mestizas).

“Ambassador Ver requested for a short but impactful performance; so I arranged these folk songs and kundiman (love song) with a fast-slow-fast tempo to create a dynamic flow. I chose these for their charm and cultural significance,” said Sumayo whose talent was driven by the Beatles music, self-teaching in guitar and the Bachelor of Music in Music Education and a Music Teacher’s Diploma in Classical Guitar Performance at the College of Music of the 1919-founded Philippine Women’s University in Manila.

Sumayo, whose arrangements, through social media platforms, have grossed international following, has been given the free hand to choose the ensemble original and upcoming members.

Nilisa Marie Barredo Victor grew up in a maternal musically-inclined home in Masbate Province where engagements in church and community events were regularly calendared. She is a trained soprano, cellist, keyboardist and pianist at the Conservatory of Music of the 1632-created Santa Isabel College in Manila. In the UAE since 2022, she teaches voice, cello, and piano “to prepare students for the international UK-based exams.” She is a cellist with the UAE Philharmonic Orchestra and a soprano/cellist with the Emirates Youth Symphony Orchestra.

UAE-born Thara Astrid Mamaril, 14, is a Grade 10 student at the Summit International School in Abu Dhabi. Dad prefers the “oldies but goodies” classics. Mom, the contemporary tunes. A piano student, her teacher’s encouragement resulted in voice lessons while she learns on her own the guitar and the drums. She is in the Mawhibaty Talent Development Programme (Mawhibaty) of Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge and the Department of Culture and Tourism, helps cultivate the “artistic giftedness” of children leading to international performances.

The Abu Dhabi Youth Orchestra member had the “memorable experience of sharing the stage” with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra during the “Abu Dhabi Classics Week.” Also UAE-born and in the rolls of the Mawhibaty is Sean Emmanuel Tibe, 15. The Aldar Academies Scholarship Programme for the Performing Arts recipient is the Bateen World Academy for the Whole School Musical Production assistant musical director.

A freelance music instructor in guitar and ukulele since beginning of 2025 is Randrews Ryan B. Feraer from Cavite Province. It was in high school when he found himself not only singing but also buying volumes of song hits for the self-taught guitar.

Formal education began at the   University of Santo Tomas (UST) Conservatory of Music in Manila established in 1945 or 334 years after the educational institution was set up in 1611. In the UAE for 12 years, he earned his associate and licentiate in guitar performance diplomas from the Trinity College of London while he was among the musician instructors, alongside Sumayo and Macawili, at the Jumeirah Music Centre in Dubai. 

Marianne Olga Elloso-Macawili’s maternal upbringing in Laguna Province was filled with enthusiasm towards the piano, church choir and the school drum-and-lyre band. This was farther solidified with her enrollment at College of Music and Performing Arts of the 113-year-old St. Paul University of Manila and her apprenticeship at the Casa San Miguel in Zambales Province of the highly-revered Bolipata Brothers – violinist Coke, pianist Jaime, and cellist Ramon. She used to be a member of the stringed quartets performing in five-star hotels in Metro Manila. She had stints with the Metro Manila Concert Orchestra, Crosswave Symphony Orchestra, Pundaquit Virtuosi, University of the Philippines Diliman Chamber Orchestra, St. Paul University Manila Chamber Orchestra, and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.