Filipino trombone player gets scholarship at Peabody Conservatory of Music

Photo courtesy of the Peabody Institute

MANILA — An outstanding sophomore trombone player of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) has been granted a full scholarship at the famous John Hopkins University’s Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland, USA this year.

The musically-gifted, 25-year old Ricson Poonin will take up a free two-year Masters Program in Trombone Performance starting August 22 at the green campus.

Poonin graduated from the University of Santo Tomas’ Conservatory of Music in 2009 with the degree of Bachelor of Music, Major in Trombone.

He was the 2009 first prize winner for national youth music and a former member of the Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) as well as the Southeast Asian Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble (SAYOWE).

Poonin said he hopes to come back and teach his craft to younger musicians who should appreciate the beauty and magical properties of trombone in combination with other musical instruments in orchestras or bands.

“It should never be a lost art; it is a part of true music that touches the sensitivities of the senses, particularly the soul,” said Poonin who hies off often at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and PPO.