Piano
Hailed by The Washington Post for his “poised and imaginative playing,” Filipino-American pianist Victor Santiago Asunción has appeared in concert all over the world as a recitalist and concerto soloist. He played his orchestral debut at the age of 18 with the Manila Chamber Orchestra, and his New York recital debut in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in 1999. In addition, he has worked with conductors including Enrique Batiz, Corrick Brown, Marlon Chen, Mei Ann Chen, Zeev Dorman, Sergio Esmilla, Leon Fleisher, David Loebel, Bobby McFerrin, Kirk Muspratt, Olivier Ochanine, Michael Stern, and Arthur Weisberg.
A chamber music enthusiast, he has performed with artists such as Lynn Harrell, Zuill Bailey, John Henry Crawford, Alex Hersh, Gabriel Martins, Antonio Meneses, Joshua Roman, Giora Schmidt, the Dover, Emerson, Serafin, Sao Paulo, and Vega String Quartets. He was on the chamber music faculty of the Aspen Music Festival, and the Garth Newel Summer Music Festival. He was also the pianist for the Garth Newel Piano Quartet for three seasons, and is a current member of the Delaware-based Serafin Ensemble. Festival appearances include the Amelia Island, Aspen, Highland-Cashiers, Music in the Vineyards, and Santa Fe.
His numerous recordings include the complete Sonatas of L. van Beethoven with cellist Tobias Werner, Sonatas by Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff with cellist Joseph Johnson, the Rachmaninoff Sonata with the cellist Evan Drachman, and the Chopin and Grieg Sonatas, also with cellist Evan Drachman. In addition, Victor has three recordings under the Orchid Classics Label with the acclaimed cellist John Henry Crawford: Dialogo; Corazón; Voice of Rachmaninoff; for Avie Records: A Violin’s Life Volume 3 with violinist Frank Almond; Absinthe with the cellist Alexander Hersh; and two solo piano album entitled “Encores” and “Victor Plays Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and Schumann.” He is featured in the award winning recording “Songs My Father Taught Me” with Lynn Harrell, produced by Louise Frank and WFMT-Chicago.
Victor received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in 2007 from the University of Maryland-College Park under the tutelage of Rita Sloan. In addition, he had the honor of studying with Byron Janis, Avelina Manalo, Rosario Picazo, and Roberta Rust. He is the Artistic Director and Founder of the Evanston Chamber Music Society, and Chamber Music @Lauderdale by the Sea, and is the Founder, and Artistic and Board Director of FilAm Music Foundation, a non-profit foundation that is dedicated to promoting Filipino classical musicians through scholarship, and performance. In 2023, he founded the “American Recital Debut Award” which aims to promote young classical musicians that exhibit the potential and work ethic necessary to develop and sustain a major career. Victor Santiago Asunción is a Steinway artist.
