From left: Opusfest artist-faculty Chong Lim Ng (Malaysia), Richard McIntyre (Australia), Chie Yoshinaka (Japan), Micha Haran (Israel), Martin Soderberg (Spain), Francisca Mendoza (Chile), Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz, First Philippine Holdings chairman Federico R. Lopez, Tinky Cruz, Lopez Group chairman emeritus Oscar M. Lopez and Connie LopezExcitement over the Opusfest music camp hit a high note as the much awaited concert series kicked off May 19 at the Eugenio Lopez Center(ELC) in Antipolo.

This was when the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth (OFY) scholars under the baton of guest conductor Olivier Ochanine, along with the faculty of Sistema for the Filipino Youth, performed in an inaugural concert.

The fourth-generation Lopezes took the opportunity to pitch in. The daughters of Angela Lopez Guingona and Pia Abello were ushers, while Maia Abello and Margarita Bautista acted as annotators. Erica Abello sang the Philippine national anthem and Jay Lopez’s son performed a solo piece. Marty Vargas produced the OFY four-minute video called "Join The Mission"  and Marco Vargas took the lead in ticket sales. The concert raised P88,000.

On May 24, the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Gerard Salonga regaled guests at the Dolphy Theater in ABS-CBN by accompanying the Opusfest international artist faculty roster.

Opusfest is a weeklong classical music camp where renowned artists mentor young classical performers from around the world. This year’s faculty included violinists Francisca Mendoza (Chile) and Chie Yoshinaka (Japan), cellist Micha Haran (Israel), and concert pianists Chong Lim Ng (Malaysia), Martin Soderberg (Spain) and Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz (Philippines). The camp also had its first winds clinic and conducting workshops, under Richard McIntyre (Australia).

The artist faculty trained delegates aged 9 to 19 years old in performing solo, chamber music and orchestra repertoire via one-on-one master classes and performance revues. One of the delegates was another member of the fourth-generation Lopezes, Martina Lopez, who commuted every day to ELC to meet new musician friends and take lessons under the masters.

At the end of the interaction with their mentors, and with their parents in friends in attendance as well as Lopez family members and executives, the young musicians displayed their “new and improved” musicality and techniques in a grand graduation recital at the ELC on May 26.

1.L-R: First Philippine Realty Corp. president Oscar R. Lopez Jr., Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. president Rina Lopez Bautista, Mithi Aquino, US Amb. Harry Thomas and Pia Lopez Abello at the May 19 opening concert; 2. Joachim Navarro playing Chopin’s Minute Waltz; 3. The OFY viola quartet; 4. The first Opusfest wind ensemble under the baton of Richard McIntyre performs Charles Gounod’s Petite Symphonie (Scherzo); 5. The Opusfest nonet; 6. Self-taught violinist and OFY assistant concert master Lerica Rodriguez performs Prokofiev’s Sonata (Scherzo) accompanied by Josiah Samaniego; 7. OFY’s Roi Trawon performs Henri Vieuxtemps’ Yankee Doodle for the finale