SAN CARLOS CITY–Applause, applause for Andrew Bryan Nelmida Sapigao, a son of this town.

Nelmida won the top prize in the recently-held piano competition of the National Music Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA), considered the most prestigious music competition in the country.

Sapigao, a junior student of the University of the Philippines College of Music in Diliman, was the youngest among the contestants in the 20-27 years old category where most of the contestants were professionals.

Twenty-year old Sapigao, the son of San Carlos City Information Officer Noemi Rachel Nelmida Sapigao, started playing the piano at age five.

His first teacher was Miss Elvira Lambino from Dagupan City, also a graduate of the U.P. Conservatory of Music.

When Andrew was eight years old, the UP College of Music Extension Program made him a child prodigy under the tutelage of Professor Avelina Manalo.

Shortly after, the UP President’s Committee for Culture and the Arts launched him in a concert with accompanying orchestra.

The second prize winner in the competition was Darren Matthias from the University of Sto . Tomas. Third placer was Stephanie Cruz, a certified public accountant from the De La Salle University.

The competition was handled by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Department of Education, and sponsored by national carrier Philippine Airlines.#