The violinist Emanuel John “EJ” Villarin would have just turned 21 when he is featured in the Manila Symphony Orchestra’s first concert for the season, “Music for Peace,” on May 24. He is the soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 61. Nevertheless, EJ is still that child, that boy, to his mother, Margarita Villarin, and his second mother and first teacher, Sara Maria Gonzales, the MSO’s associate concertmaster.

Margarita remembered calming EJ when he was still in her womb by singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” He was restless and kept turning, and was soothed by the sound of her voice. After he was born, she said, the same song would make him stop crying and fall sleep.

EJ was eight when his parents, Margarita and Manolo, realized that he had a sharp ear for music. For example, his siblings would play a note or two on the piano and ask him to identify it. His answer was always precise.

“He’s good in both melodic and rhythmic dictation, quick in memorizing pieces, and can play correctly the tunes he hears on the radio or TV,” Margarita said. “We saw his full potential during his preparation for and performance at his first NAMCYA (National Music Competition for Young Artists) participation in 2013. He won second prize for strings (violin), Category A2.”

Family project

The mother also recalled how the family scrimped and saved to make EJ’s enrolment in music lessons possible, how their determination made up for the lack of extra money: “Tipid-tipid at lakasan lang ng loob kahit wala gaanong hawak na pera.”

She continued: “At that time, EJ’s siblings were still in college. Only my husband was working. It was an expensive commute to get to his music classes because we lived far from Manila. We are thankful that he received certain lessons for free or at a discount because the teachers saw how good he is.”

There was stress in the long commute, with the heavy traffic thrown in. “But it was a happy time at the school because I met a lot of other parents, and we shared with one another each child’s development,” she said. “When EJ started, I would observe his lessons so I would know how to assist him and supervise his practice. At home we would practice together.”

The Villarins have four children; EJ is the youngest. The eldest is Gringo, a music education graduate and a master US tax professional. He works as a piano teacher. The second, Margarette Kean, is a music education graduate and works as a high school teacher Gringo and Margarette are secondary teachers licensed by the Professional Regulatory Commission. The third child is Arvin, a mechanical engineer who plays piano and guitar

Margarita—who gives truth to the adage “Your greatest contribution to the universe may not be something you do but someone you raise”—let all her children study piano “because they all like music,” she said. “They played piano in church when they were in grade school.”

Before he retired, Manolo fit his salary to pay for the basic necessities so his children could study at the same time. Gringo, Margarette and Arvin became college scholars—a financial boon that allowed EJ to continue his music lessons. When EJ reached secondary school, he, too, became a scholar at the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA).

In Margarita’s opinion, if the government increases its support for music education by putting up more high schools for the arts nationwide, more talents will be discovered among the youth. As important is the training of teachers who will shape the students’ skills and gifts. “In other countries, they put a big value on classical music and music education,” she pointed out.

No missed lesson

Teacher Sara Maria Gonzales met EJ through his sister Margarette, her college classmate and good friend. She said of that first meeting: “I wouldn’t say there were immediate signs of high musical ability. Each child has a potential. Dr. Shinichi Suzuki taught us that talent is not inborn–it is nurtured. When children are brought to me, they are all the same to me although they will progress in different ways, depending on several factors such as environment, dedication and perseverance.”

EJ started lessons with Sara after the summer of 2007 when he was four. “He was always clad in his white sando and shorts, pawis-pawis (sweaty),” she recalled. “He was playful but never disruptive. When it was lesson time, he was well-behaved, attentive, and followed instructions well. We did not go through the Suzuki books in a rush because we needed to establish a good foundation. I’m grateful for his family’s trust. They were very supportive, especially the mother, who would accompany him to lessons most of the time. They never missed a lesson.”

The turning point for teacher and student was in 2013, when she decided to let him join the NAMCYA. He was the youngest finalist for that year and won second prize.

EJ was then just finishing his Suzuki Book 3 and had yet to play a concerto. “For the competition, I assigned him pieces that were well above his current level,” Sara said. “I am glad that I now see the effect of years of careful and unhurried training. Marinating his skills paid off. He was very focused.”

Today, EJ is a pioneer member of the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra (MSJO) and an incoming sophomore at Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, Germany. He was awarded the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Ani ng Dangal in 2022 – a recognition he received as one of the concertmasters of the 2023 Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO), where he led the orchestra in a concert tour of 11 cities in Europe and Asia. He is a scholar of the Standard Insurance Co.’s “In Pursuit of Excellence” program and the CCP Scholarship Program.

Sara recalled: “There was Handel’s Sonata in A major, not a simple piece for kids. I had marked all the necessary corrections or suggestions in his paper. By the next lesson, EJ was performing the piece flawlessly, with all of my notes applied. That was when I realized that EJ can do much more. In the years to come, I would consistently assign him pieces that would challenge him and that would push him to the next level. And he always delivered. Never a complaint, never a whine, always complying, disciplined and mature, even at a young age.”

In 2016, Ej was selected to perform Mozart’s Violin Concerto in D major in the Asia Suzuki Conference in Bali. He performed the same concerto for his audition to PHSA, where he was accepted and continued to be under Sara’s care.

Exemplary student

Asked what fulfillment she has derived from her student’s many accomplishments, including the scholarship in Europe and his being a part of the AYO, Sara said: “Nurturing a student takes a prolonged time of dedication. Getting EJ from ‘Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star’ to where he is now [required] lots of hard work. We celebrate small wins every lesson. I am glad that he grew up fine. I was able to share the beauty of music and everything good that comes with studying and performing music. I myself was once a member of the AYO; I joined the NAMCYA several times. Those years were among the best in my life. With his success, I am more encouraged and inspired to teach more students to achieve as much as he did. He is an exemplary student of mine, in music and in character.”

“Ultimately,” Sara said, “I hope EJ will share in my mission of helping more Filipino students achieve more in music, if not as much as he has. We need all the help we can get—Filipino children deserve to experience the power of music and its ability to transform lives. I hope EJ can someday help other young musicians reach even greater heights and enrich the classical music scene in the Philippines.”

The teacher claimed full knowledge of “all the stages” of her student’s life. “I’m like his second mother while he was growing up,” she said, and laughingly described him as “always very candid,” reporting his first time to commute on his own or his first time to shave.

She also recalled that EJ always wore slippers until one day, after a not-so-good recital, she told him that the reason he sounded humdrum had to do with the way he walked in his slippers. From that time on, she said, he always wore shoes.

The MSO is the oldest orchestra in Asia but “government support is virtually nonexistent,” according to Sara. She said the MSO Foundation is doing its best to contribute to classical music education through the MSO Music Academy, outreach workshops and youth orchestra projects.

Videos are uploaded almost weekly on the MSJO page, Sara said, adding: “We see a growing appreciation from our audiences. I believe we’re helping build that awareness. The audience is learning. In this age of AI, music remains irreplaceable—it will always be enriching for both children and adults.”

MSO’s “Music for Peace” also includes Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 (from The New World). Marlon Chen conducts.

Tickets for the concert that starts at 7.30 p.m. at the Aliw Theater, Cultural Center of the Philippines grounds, in Pasay City are available at Ticketworld here. Email [email protected] or call 0917-550-6997 or 0999-954-5922. Students with a valid ID on the day of the concert get a 50% discount.