Biography
Pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion has collaborated extensively with prominent chamber musicians both live and on disc. He established the FilAm Music Foundation as a vehicle for advancing Filipino classical performers throughout the United States.
Born in the Philippines around 1973—he reported being 45 during a 2018 conversation with The FilAm magazine—Asuncion (a Filipino surname without any accent mark) attended the Philippine High School for the Arts, an institution founded by former First Lady Imelda Marcos. One of five musical siblings, he pursued his interests despite his father’s objections while working abroad in the Middle East; his mother, by contrast, encouraged his goals. After excelling academically and completing his studies, he quickly became sought after as an accompanist for Philippine vocalists and ensembles, making his classical debut at age 18 with the Manila Chamber Orchestra. In 1993 he joined the Philippine Madrigal Singers for a United States tour; director Andrea Veneracion urged him to leave the Philippines to avoid creative stagnation, prompting his enrollment at the Manhattan School of Music, where he earned a master’s degree in piano performance in 1999. That same year he performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, aided by the Filipino-American Jongco family, who actively promoted his appearances and handled ticket sales. He later completed a doctorate at the University of Maryland under principal teacher Rita Sloan, receiving the degree in 2007.
Asuncion gained particular recognition as an accompanist, a role he first documented on disc in 2012 when he supported cellist Joseph Johnson in sonatas by Rachmaninov and Shostakovich. His chamber-music partnerships have included cellists Lynn Harrell, Antonio Meneses, and Zuill Bailey as well as violinist Cho-Liang Lin. For three seasons he belonged to the Garth Newel Piano Quartet and joined the chamber-music faculties of both its summer festival and the Aspen Music Festival. As a soloist he has performed in multiple countries under conductors such as Mei-Ann Chen, Zeev Dorman, and crossover vocalist Bobby McFerrin. Festival engagements have taken him to the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival in Florida, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Music in the Vineyards in northern California. In 2021 he accompanied cellist John-Henry Crawford on the Orchid Classics release Dialogo, and the pair reunited in 2023 for Voice of Rachmaninoff on the same label.
Born in the Philippines around 1973—he reported being 45 during a 2018 conversation with The FilAm magazine—Asuncion (a Filipino surname without any accent mark) attended the Philippine High School for the Arts, an institution founded by former First Lady Imelda Marcos. One of five musical siblings, he pursued his interests despite his father’s objections while working abroad in the Middle East; his mother, by contrast, encouraged his goals. After excelling academically and completing his studies, he quickly became sought after as an accompanist for Philippine vocalists and ensembles, making his classical debut at age 18 with the Manila Chamber Orchestra. In 1993 he joined the Philippine Madrigal Singers for a United States tour; director Andrea Veneracion urged him to leave the Philippines to avoid creative stagnation, prompting his enrollment at the Manhattan School of Music, where he earned a master’s degree in piano performance in 1999. That same year he performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, aided by the Filipino-American Jongco family, who actively promoted his appearances and handled ticket sales. He later completed a doctorate at the University of Maryland under principal teacher Rita Sloan, receiving the degree in 2007.
Asuncion gained particular recognition as an accompanist, a role he first documented on disc in 2012 when he supported cellist Joseph Johnson in sonatas by Rachmaninov and Shostakovich. His chamber-music partnerships have included cellists Lynn Harrell, Antonio Meneses, and Zuill Bailey as well as violinist Cho-Liang Lin. For three seasons he belonged to the Garth Newel Piano Quartet and joined the chamber-music faculties of both its summer festival and the Aspen Music Festival. As a soloist he has performed in multiple countries under conductors such as Mei-Ann Chen, Zeev Dorman, and crossover vocalist Bobby McFerrin. Festival engagements have taken him to the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival in Florida, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Music in the Vineyards in northern California. In 2021 he accompanied cellist John-Henry Crawford on the Orchid Classics release Dialogo, and the pair reunited in 2023 for Voice of Rachmaninoff on the same label.
Albums
