A BEDAN PIANIST, Ralph Joshua Mendoza, represented the Philippines in the World Championship International Competition after notching the first prize of the China Shanghai International Piano Competition (CSIPC) held last October 24, 2022 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The freshman Legal Management student from 1-CLM expressed that his desire to see how far his skills would carry on urged him to join the said competition.
The CSIPC is a two-part event which consists of a music competition and arts festival. Various artists from all over the world were invited to perform a piece for the public and were featured during the arts festival.
Although there were other categories and instruments available, Mendoza decided to compete in the piano category.
“I wanted to use my skills to travel the world and attend these competitions for the sake of bringing my family with me to travel as well as earning an award from it,” he shared.
To make sure all adhered to the safety and health precautions, all of them were required to submit to an antigen test. It was favorable for Mendoza but other players incurred results indicated were positive, were only permitted to compete online hence did not take part in the competition in person.
Almost a thousand contestants graced the competition although the approximate number of individuals that physically attended the event would be a hundred, taking into account other categories.
During the aforementioned competition, there were both physical and online auditions, and approximately 15 contestants were chosen for the physical final round of the preliminary stage.
Mendoza recalled some difficulties he experienced throughout the competition which included the use of flash of some photographers. However, the event was nonetheless a success.
Considering that the tournament was done during the pandemic, the event’s organizer sought to guarantee the safety of both the attendees and the participants before making travel arrangements.
Mendoza also recalled some highlights from the competition which included meeting accomplished pianists and getting to see other pianists his age play such intricate and mechanically challenging compositions.
Heading into the turnout, Mendoza shared that he was highly satisfied with the result because initially he had a hard time playing his piece before the actual competition.
“Luckily, I executed the piece properly and according to my teacher, I did not make a single mistake. In line with this, I also realized that you need to be dedicated to your piece—meaning that you must love your piece through and through despite the difficulty, only then you will be able to perform the piece with perfect execution,” he remarked.
Just this April, the young music enthusiast was selected as part of the Philippine National Team, and once again represented the country during the finals contested event at Bangkok, Thailand.
Mendoza had honed his talents and added items to his collection in preparation for the fierce competition abroad, which allowed him to win another distinction award following his performance in the grand finals.
Mendoza then gave out a message to all the aspiring Bedan musicians saying that practicing and dedicating yourself goes a long way as it also teaches discipline and effort.
“Find a piece that you truly like, not just a piece that is fast to please the audience or a popular piece. When you play a piece that you truly resonate with and connect with, emotions and execution would naturally come out as if you are being possessed by the composer. As long as you are interested in music and you are also able to, then nothing is impossible,” he encouraged.
Photo courtesy of Ralph Mendoza
