The Sound of a New Beginning

The MSO Music Academy opens its new One Ayala home, creating more room for music education, performance, mentorship, and the young musicians shaping tomorrow’s sound.

Words Randolf Maala-Resueño
Photos courtesy of Manila Symphony Orchestra
October 21, 2026

On October 6, the Manila Symphony Orchestra - Music Academy (MSOMA) opened its new home at One Ayala, marking another chapter in the Manila Symphony Orchestra’s commitment to music education—where scales become songs, hesitant first notes become confident phrases, and young musicians begin to understand the possibilities of sound.

The new space was blessed by Fr. Benny Tuazon of Manila Bahay Pari, San Carlos Seminary, followed by a ribbon-cutting led by MSO Foundation President Maan Hontiveros, Standard Insurance representative Marife M. Pineda, and One Ayala General Manager Khen Akot. 

Students, families, teachers, administrators, partners, and members of the MSO community gathered for the occasion.

From lesson to performance

The celebration found its clearest expression in a mini-recital featuring MSOMA students and faculty. The program moved between classical repertoire and contemporary Filipino and international music, from Paganini’s Cantabile and Giordani’s Caro Mio Ben to Willy Cruz’s Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas and Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor.

The recital concluded with From the Start by Spencer Stuart and Laufey, performed by the academy’s string ensemble in celebration of a grant from The Laufey Foundation to the MSO Foundation.

It was a fitting snapshot of what the academy hopes to nurture: technical discipline alongside curiosity, classical foundations alongside contemporary expression, and learning that eventually finds its way into performance.

Making room for music

The One Ayala branch features six regular studios equipped with pianos, offering lessons in voice, piano, violin, viola, cello, guitar, flute, trumpet, saxophone, harp, and other instruments. A larger studio accommodates group lessons, workshops, masterclasses, and small recitals.

Together with its existing Ayala Malls Circuit studio, the new location expands MSOMA’s reach to children, teens, and adults pursuing music for performance, competition, scholarship opportunities, or simply the joy of making music.

With support from Standard Insurance and Ernesto Echauz, and pianos provided by Christopher Varlez of Varlez Pianos, the new academy gives MSOMA more than additional rooms. It gives its students a place to grow.

Because every musician begins somewhere.

At One Ayala, the next first note is already waiting.