MAESTRO FILIPINO 25 1213 | Zero to Debussy: John Daniel Rotap

MAESTRO FILIPINO 25 1213 | Zero to Debussy: John Daniel Rotap

From 98.7 DZFE | The Master's Touch by 98.7 DZFE

January 7, 2026 · 57 min

About this episode

John Daniel Rotap shares his unexpected journey from having no knowledge of classical music to performing Debussy preludes.

When John Daniel Rotap went in to audition as a piano performance major at the UST Conservatory, he came armed only with a piece of Christian contemporary music he had learned to play by ear. His extant knowledge of and exposure to (or love of!) classical music? Zero. Note reading skills? Also zero. In fact, he had no idea that his life was about to take a completely unexpected turn. In the wake of his doctoral recital comprising the complete Debussy preludes, he recounts his journey in this MAESTRO FILIPINO excerpt with DZFE's Tiffany.

People in this episode

Host: Tiffany

Guest: John Daniel Rotap

Topics covered

  • piano performance
  • classical music
  • musical journey
  • audition experience
  • personal growth

Keywords

  • John Daniel Rotap
  • UST Conservatory
  • classical music
  • Debussy
  • piano performance
  • musical journey

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UST Conservatory

Books & works: Debussy preludes

More episodes of 98.7 DZFE | The Master's Touch

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the 98.7 DZFE | The Master's Touch podcast page.