NEWS

Lyric had the privilege of having renowned piano virtuoso Vidalito "Tito Bong" Infante play live at the Lyric Piano Gallery on Sept 23, 2021. If you missed it, you can watch the performance here.

The 72 year old Infante is widely known, notorious even, for his passionate playing. From private functions to mall performances, Tito Bong  (as he prefers to be called) easily commands the attention of audiences. His repertoire encompasses everything from classical pieces and kundimans to current pop hits with performances that are dynamic yet energetic; he even arranges his own medleys. His fingers dance all over the keyboard in dazzling displays of technique, sheer joy expressed in his smiles and sways of his torso  with seemingly boundless energy.  

He started playing the piano at 6 years old but insists he was not a child prodigy: he simply loved practicing and playing. 

For his two sets at Lyric Piano Gallery, Tito Bong played on two instruments: a refurbished Lyric and a K Kawai baby grand. If there were any tonal or tactile differences between the two instruments, they were made superfluous by Infante’s command of the piano. He also kept the crew laughing between sets through bawdy remarks and musical jokes.

Like many working musicians however, Tito Bong’s gigs have been greatly curtailed by the ongoing pandemic restrictions. Currently he accepts “tokens of appreciation” via live online performances on his official Facebook page. You may contribute a token via his GCash account which is ticker-taped on the screen during his Lyric Piano Gallery live performance.

He divided his set into two sections and he played Christmas classics, kundimans, Pinoy pop hits, and even an Ed Sheeran number he sight reads; in truth, he could have played an entire afternoon non-stop. Behind the scenes, Lyric’s Cindy Jones commented halfway through Infante’s second exhilarating set: “Kuya, paumpisa pa lang sha.”