PINOY BARITONE NUMERO UNO

FROM MANILA TO BARCELONA WITH LOVE

By Tom Choy

Vancouver, British Columbia

“You hit a homerun not by chance but through preparation.”   Roger Maris

ZIP Mercado De Guzman  is now living and studying in Barcelona Spain. Not content with his already deep and wide academic achievements, Zip is currently taking Postgraduate studies at Conservatori Liceu in Spain, majoring in Operas. Just like millennials who are no longer happy with their undergraduate diplomas and take up further studies, Zip does it for a different reason though. He wants to be the #FILIPINO Baritone “Numero Uno.”

Zip , the Philippines’ up and coming, debonair Baritone par excellence has won the First Prize of the 2016 and 2017 American Protégé International Vocal Competition at the Carnegie Hall( Weill) in New York City.

 “ Zip has the ‘it’ factor in the classical opera genre,” quips Cliff Belgica of the classy Company Tribu Productions. “ Zip is not only a baritone singer/performer but is also a voice coach for the Manila Chamber Choir (MCC),” adds Cliff.

Cliff met Zip De Guzman in Victoria, BC where the MCC under Zip’s baton won in the KATHAUMIXW International Chorale Competition. Tribu has the reputation and appetite for targeting  “diamonds in the rough.” Zip is definitely sharpening and brightening to be a 101 carat diamond performer as a baritone.

Zip headlined the Vancouver  Christmas Special Offering of Tribu Productions dubbed “Pamaskong Handog (Christmas Offering).”  It was  a charity concert to benefit the Marawi conflict victims. It was held at the St. Michael Multicultural Anglican Church last December. The St. Mary’s Choir and Hannah Han also performed  in the concert.

Zip’s musical foundation is solid as a rock. He finished his Master of Music in Vocal Performance with the highest distinction at Elizabeth University of Music under Baritone Hiroharu Orikawa with full scholarship grant through the Loyola Memorial Foundation and Japan Association of Catholic Universities.

He is also the first Filipino to get accepted at the prestigious Wales International Academy of Voice-University of Wales St. David Summer Program under the Wales famous tenor Dennis O’ Neill.

Zip graduated with academic distinction in three Bachelor’s degrees: Major in Communication Arts as an academic scholar from the University of the East (Manila); Bachelor in Music Education Voice Emphasis minor in Piano(Cum Laude) and Bachelor’s Degree n Music Major in Vocal Performance minor in Choral Conducting at the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Maestra Irma Ponce-Enrile Potentiano and Jun Francis Jaranilla. He trained for choral conducting under Professor Fidel Calalang Jr.

Zip is already a multi-awarded artist  garnering  numerous awards and accolades namely: 2^nd Prize (Vocal Category) at the 10^th Yokohama International Music Competition(2016); 2^nd Prize (Vocal Category) at the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition in London, UK.

His resume also includes Bass Soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the Elizabeth University of Music Christmas Concert in 2016 and also performed with the Hiroshima City Opera’s Production of La Boheme, playing the role of Schaunard in March 2017.

Zip’s other operatic credits include: Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor(Hatsukaichi Sakura Pia Hall (2017); Papageni in Die Zauberflote (2017); and Silvio in Pagliacci (2017). He had other gigs that fully cement his operatic profile in the international opera scene.

Zip De Guzman, because of his talents, music educational preparation with music masters and charm, has been harvesting  honors and awards lately.And he is in Barcelona for a special reason: to get even better as an opera  baritone performer. This young man’s musical stars are brightly shining. His upside seems to have no limit. For this Filipino handsome Baritone Opera Prince,  NYC’s Broadway and London’s West End may just be waiting for his eventual coming.