ABOUT

Teacher Juan Paolo Q. Panagsagan

Paolo started his music venture at the age of six with the piano. Having shown much interest in the instrument, Paolo continued his studies under Prof. Gemma Filipina Malicdem of the UP College of Music Extension Program, and later on with Prof. Carmencita G. Arambulo at the Greenhills Music Studio. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music, Major in Piano, Cum Laude from the UP College of Music under the tutelage of Prof. Carolyn K. Cheng.

Paolo has performed numerous times both locally and internationally in festivals and conferences. Most notable of these are the Piano Teachers’ Guild of the Philippines (PTGP) and Paulinian festivals and Suzuki Conferences held in different countries like Japan, Taiwan and in Bali, Indonesia. Paolo has also participated multiple times in the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) annual Pasinaya cultural festival. He is an active member of music organizations like the PTGP and the Philippine Suzuki Association. Paolo received international training when he  attended the Music Fest 2017 in Perugia, Italy taking masterclasses in Piano from various professors. He also took part and performed in the first Manila International Piano Masterclass Festival last 2019 with professors from all the world as faculty. 

His passion for music has given him several accomplishments and recognition such as 3rd Place in the UP Piano Competition (2008), Honorable Mention in the PTGP Soundscapes Competition (2011), 1st Place in the PTGP Piano Ensemble Competition, along with his brother Miguel (2013), 2nd Prize and Best Interpretation of Contest Piece in the National Music Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA) – Category B (2014),  3rd Prize, PTGP Sonata and Sonatina Competition, Category C, (2017), 2nd Prize, Leonor Kilayko Piano Competition, and 2nd Prize in the NAMCYA – Category C (2017). 

Paolo is now focusing on teaching piano and is also a bass singer in the Male Ensemble Philippines (MEn), which is comprised of the Philippine Madrigal Singers alumni, touring Europe last 2019 covering places like Spain, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Dubai. He is now focused on performing with recent solo performances at the Madz Music Studio, Steinway Manila Gallery, Ayala Museum, and at the CCP main theater, as a featured pianist with the world-renowned Philippines Madrigal Singers. 

He also recorded a concert with Madrigal Singers star Alumni, Tomas Virtucio and Katrina Saga, in Manila Pianos. Paolo was chosen to record the winning piece in the 2020 National Commission for Culture and the Arts Composition Contest (Solo Instrument Category) entitled Piano Sonata no. 1 composed by Okir de Leon. He and the MEn, in partnership with the Philippine Embassy in Russia were able to perform in the Moscow Conservatory for Music and in St. Petersburg early this 2023. His most recent tour was with Philippines Madrigal Singers Choirmaster, Sir Mark Anthony Carpio where they toured Taiwan bringing both classical and Filipino music to the Taiwanese audience. 

Paolo continues to passionately teach his students who come from all over the globe including many from the Philippines, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Singapore. One of his first online students was also accepted into the Philippines High School for the Arts, a high school scholarship program reserved for gifted young artists. His main goal for his students is to instill the love for music in them the way it has grown all these past years.