Saint Cecilia's Hall is a concert hall in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Opened in 1932, it is attached to St. Scholastica's College, Manila and is a noted example of

Art Deco architecture Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s, ...

History

The Conservatory of Music of St. Scholastica's College was founded in 1907 by Sister Baptista Battig OSB, herself a noted concert pianist. In 1932 with the growing popularity of concert music in

Manila, Philippines Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is ...

, St. Scholastica's College built a concert hall and named it St. Cecilia's Hall. It was built under the supervision of the renowned engineering firm Pedro Siochi and Company. The hall was named after

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia (), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman Christian virgin martyr, who is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the ...

, the patron saint of music and musicians, and soon become the venue of numerous recitals and concerts featuring pianists from St. Scholastica's College-Manila. St. Cecilia's Hall host not only their student's performance venue needs but also Manila's growing social calendar. The forerunner to the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) established to preserve, develop and promote Arts in the Philippines, arts and Culture of the Philippines, culture in the Philippines.Presid ...

, St. Cecilia's Hall was designed by a notable Filipino architect, Andres Luna de San Pedro in the Egyptian Art Deco style. In 1945, St. Cecilia's Hall was almost completely damaged by the American forces during the Liberation of Manila. Nine years later, reconstruction started under the supervision of architect Roberto Novenario and Engineer Ramon del Rosario. In 1955, St. Cecilia's Hall reopened and soon assumed the premier concert venue in Manila, with famous musician both Filipino and foreign performers performing on its stage. With the emergence of performing arts on St. Scholastica's campus, it was also the setting of many concerts, plays, pageants and oratorical contests. In the latter years, with the opening of bigger performing arts venue, soon St. Cecilia's Hall become confined purely to school affairs. In 1998, St. Cecilia's Hall again underwent extensive renovation and reopened on July 16, 2000. The interior went into a complete modern restructuring and design led by architect Joel Lopez and architect Obi Mapua. A year into its renovation, the National Historical Institute (today

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management ...

) declared the St. Cecilia's Hall as a National Cultural Landmark, underscoring its importance and contributions in the cultural development of the country.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Saint Cecilia's Hall, St. Scholastica's College Art Deco architecture in the Philippines Educational structures in Metro Manila Theaters in Manila Buildings and structures in Malate, Manila Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila Theatres completed in 1932