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Jovanni-Rey Verceles de Pedro: Outstanding Pinoy Pianist
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THE Isabelle Bond Gold Medal Award is England’s Trinity College of Music’s highest award for excellence in performance. Each year, six outstanding students who have displayed consistent flair, musicianship and professionalism during the course of their studies are chosen by the head of each of Trinity’s performance faculty to compete for this prestigious award. A few days ago, on September 25, after an evening of exceptional performances by the crème de la crème of Trinity College of Music students, Filipino American pianist Jovanni-Rey de Pedro was awarded the Isabelle Bond Gold Medal. Only 26 years old, De Pedro received the award following a moving performance of My foolish heart (Jazz Standard) by Ned Washington and Victor Young and Sonata para Piano, Op 22 by Alberto Ginastera.

An outstanding pianist whose sensitivity and intelligence shine through each of his exceptional performances, Jovanni-Rey has been called a “performer of musical depth and exciting virtuosity.” Since his debut in 1997, Jovanni’s playing has been heard in churches and concert venues throughout the United States, Canada, England, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the Philippines – recently performing Brahms’ First Piano Concerto with the UST Symphony in Manila and Mozart’s Concerto K. 466 with the Vienna Residenz Orchester.

Born in West Covina, California on August 4, 1982 to Remi and Trina Verceles de Pedro, Jovanni-Rey studied at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Baldwin Park and at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. With a scholarship from the ASCAP/Leiber and Stoller Foundations, the gifted pianist studied six years in the Vienna Conservatory of Music from 2001-2007, completing his Artists Diploma in Piano Performance in 2007 with high distinction. He just recently finished his Masters of Music in Piano Performance from the Trinity College of Music in England, where he received the School’s highest award, the Isabelle Bond Gold Medal. Currently, De Pedro is studying for his Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance in a joint program between the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and City University London.

Coming from a family of musicians from Laoag City in the Philippines, Jovanni-Rey studied piano at the age of three with his father, Remy de Pedro, who is a graduate of Centro Escolar Conservatory of Music in Manila and currently the Music Director for the Filipino Choir of St. John (Mahiwaga Singers) in Baldwin Park, CA. His grandfather, Jose L. Pedro and great-grandfather, Nemesio Pedro were both composers.

His younger sister, Jorena-Marie, is a violinist/singer currently studying Music Management at the University of the Pacific.

As a pianist, De Pedro has received scholarships from many distinguished organizations such as the Trinity College of Music Scholarship, England (2007), the Rotary Club Graben Scholarship, Austria (2007), the Hannah Adler Scholarship, American Women’s Association in Vienna (2006) and the Young Musicians Foundation in Los Angeles.    

He has won all the major prizes at the Vienna Conservatory of Music such as the 2003 Boesendorfer Stipendium, the overall prize of the Fidelio Competition given by the City of Vienna’s Cultural Affairs Department, and the 2007 Rotary Club Graben Stipendium.

In most of the national and international competitions that he has participated in, De Pedro has been the top prizewinner; First Place Winner in the 2008 Rodney Davidson Piano Competition in UK; in the 2007 John Longmire Beethoven Competition at the Trinity College of Music, UK; in the 2003 International Pacific Piano Competition in Canada; in the 2003 BNP International Choral Competition, USA; in the 2003 Filipino Association of Anaheim Hills Choral Competition, USA; in the 2001 United States Open Music Competition ; in the 2001 Music Academy of North Carolina Piano Competition; in the 2000 United States Open Music Competition and in the 2000 Missouri Western State College Young Artists Piano Competition. De Pedro was awarded the second place in the 2007 Beethoven Society of Europe Intercollegiate Piano Competition in UK; in the 16th International Ibiza Piano Competition, Spain (2003); and in the 1999 BNP International Choral Competition, USA. He also received a Distinguished Musician Mention at the IBLA Grand Prix, Italy in 2001.

Jovanni-Rey has received invaluable guidance from eminent artists including Igor Kipnis, Robert Lehrbaumer, John Perry, Aries Caces, Pierre Laurent-Aimard, Rudolf Buchbinder, Ronan O’Hora, Martino Tirimo, Bryce Morrison, Boris Berman, Robert Ward and Gerhard Geretschlaeger.

Fluent in German, he has been a piano instructor to a variety of people at all levels in Vienna. From 2003-2007, he was the Music Director of the Followers of the Good Shepherd Music Ministry in Austria. “I basically taught basic music skills to beginning adult singers and oversaw weekly rehearsals and planned repertoire for church services,” he said. From Vienna, Jovanni moved to London for his Masters where he has also been a piano/keyboard instructor at the Music Hall Limited, UK. “I introduce groups of children, ages 5-11 to music in a fun and supportive atmosphere. I prepare pupils for end-of-term concerts,” he said. He is likewise a visiting Piano Clinician at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, providing master classes for intermediate and advanced piano students.

Jovanni’s goal in life is to “continuously explore and discover new opportunities and challenges in the musical world, and to expand my knowledge and experience as I pursue my international career as a professional pianist.”

Being an educator as well as a musician, Jovanni does not only seek to expand his knowledge and expertise for himself and his career; he also does it to share whatever he has learned and experienced with others. “Using the knowledge I have and continue to acquire, I seek to provide the highest quality education for my students, ensuring a creative, informative experience through a diversity of activities,” de Pedro said.

Jovanni maintains close ties to the homeland, sharing his talents with the music world in the Philippines. He related to the Asian Journal how this came about. “One of the members of my choir in Vienna had a son, a priest, visiting from Cebu. He put me in touch with members of the Cebu Youth Orchestra who planned a recital for me there with also the help of Madam Ingrid Sala-Santamaria during my trip to the Phils last March  – where I played with the UST Symphony, directed by Aries Caces –  also Filipino, a very close friend and amazingly talented pianist/conductor from Vienna. When they found out that I also have experienced teaching choirs, they arranged a choral workshop with the Cebu Chamber Singers. This is the only workshop I’ve done in the Philippines so far. I would love to do more, perhaps next time I’m there and upon invitation from institutions or individuals,” he said.

In spite of his busy schedule pursuing his doctorate and teaching in London, the young De Pedro already has future engagements lined up to the first quarter of 2009. Among his future concerts will be the Lunchtime Concert in the Charlton House London in England on January 9, 2009, the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat – Brahms with the Santa Monica Symphony on January 18, 2009 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California, and the Pianists of the World Concert Series at the St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, England on February 27, 2009.

The main concentration of the young pianist, however, is his doctorate studies. “I will be working on my doctorate for the next 4 years here in the UK. My thesis focuses on the piano music of Argentinean composer Luis Gianneo, so at some point (maybe when I have the financial means to do so!) I’ll have to spend some time in Argentina. Many things can happen within that time frame, so I don’t know what I will do after. However, it is my goal to continue playing concerts and teach piano at the university/conservatory level,” he said.

Jovanni believes that so many Pinoys are naturally gifted in music. To those who aspire to be outstanding musicians someday, he advises, “Don’t give up! A career in music can be extremely rewarding. Music is something that lives with us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and how lucky are we to make this our occupation! However, to do this competitively takes emotional stamina (as well as mental and physical, of course). Patience is the most important virtue one must have. Like learning a new language, one must understand that it can’t be done overnight! It takes practice. Lots and lots of practice! But I think the most important piece of advice I can give is for the family and/or parents of the musician: A little support goes a long way. This is something I have been blessed with throughout my life and what I am most grateful for.” (www.asianjournal.com)

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