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Before Jong became known as a flutist and an actor, he was back-up singer of good friend Randy Santiago in the 80's. Many people do not know that Jong wanted to become a singer before he decided to make a career out of playing the flute. Jong's talent in singing supported him while he was taking up music at the University of the Philippines.
Not that his Dad, the late Ernani J. Cuenco, National Artist for Music, was not helping in his youngest son's education. Father and son had a falling out after Jong defied the older Cuenco who wanted him to enroll at the UST instead of UP. Jong's father was then a professor at the UST College of Music, and his mother Magdalena, was a piano major, also from UST.
But Jong was determined to escape his father's shadow. He was sure he couldn't do this by going to UST. Ironically, he felt the same pressure when people at UP learned he was the famous composer's son. When Ernani saw his son's unwavering desire to succeed on his own, he decided to make peace with Jong. Soon after, Jong won a scholarship at UP.
MUSICIAN Jong easily memorized complicated pieces and had a sense of rhythm beyond his years. When he became proficient at the piano, his father decided to introduce him to another musical instrument. He took Jong, then 11 years old, to the Cultural Center of the Philippines, to choose an instrument. The boy instantly liked the flute, and at 12, he was taking flute lessons and was practicing two to three hours a day.
Upon graduating from high school at the Lourdes School of Mandaluyong in 1982, going against the wishes of his father, Jong decided to take up music, enrolling at the UP College of Music, further adding to the ire of his father who expected Jong to enroll at the UST Conservatory of Music where his father is a professor.
Jong admits that even the once-dreaded piano lessons have helped him in composing songs and commercial jingles. Playing the flute may look glamorous, but composing commercial jingles is still Jong's bread and butter. He provided music to the TV ads of such products as Milo, Jollibee, Enervon C and Tanduay Rum. Like his father, Jong also tried musical scoring for the movie industry. He provided the music for "Aswang", a horror film by Peque Gallaga, and for another film, released in 1999, the controversial 'Sutla.' He also composed a number of songs for his previous albums.
Jong scored with his first gold album, "Nightwind," his second of five albums under OctoArts EMI International, which sold more than 20,000 copies. He also released an album under BMG Records Pilipinas, his sixth commercial release entitled "Imagine" in July 2000. Jong's exposure to advertising and concerts has prompted him to form his own production outfit, Sound Advice Manila Production, (now known as Ernani M. Cuenco, Jr. Event Management and Consultancy) an events management and artist coordination company that caters to the needs of commercial and corporate clients. Clients like Smart Communications, Unilab, Globe telecoms, San Miguel Corporations and Pagcor has entrusted Jong for their events.
Jong's music has given the opportunity to perform both locally and abroad, interpreting his brand of music, through the sound of his flute. Before turning professional, he won at the national Music Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA) at the CCP in 1980. As a professional, Jong was nominated twice for "Best Instrumental Performance," by both the AWIT and ALIW Awards and was then awarded "Best Instrumentalist" by the ALIW awards in 2002. He was also given a Gold Record Achievement for his 2nd album under OctoArts International.
He was a member of the Philippine Youth Orchestra, Philippine Youth Symphonic Band, several retro and jazz bands and is the Chairman and President of the Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino or AMP, the country's recognized association of professional musicians.
ACTOR With the music industry slowing down due to issues on piracy, Jong reinvented himself and tried his hand out in acting. He got his break when his childhood friend, Gabby Concepcion came home from the United States to attend to his ailing father and restarted his showbiz career. In one of Gabby's taping days, he asked Jong to visit him on the set. While chatting, the executive producer of the show told Gabby that they needed to introduce a new character on the show who will act as Gabby's best friend. Immediately Gabby introduced and recommended Jong and was "hired" on the spot.
Jong has appeared in numerous "teleseryes" and shows for ABS-CBN. From his humble beginnings as Nikos, Gabby's best friend in "Dahil May Isang Ikaw," to the feisty lawyer, Atty. Fidel Santos, sending Jericho Rosales' character to the gallows in "Green Rose", Jong has proven his acting ability landing him roles in Maalala Mo Kaya (MMK), Growing Up, Mundo Man Ay Magunaw and Hiyas. His recent works include "Sana Bukas Pa Ang Kahapon" as Anton Abueva, Princess and I, (as Edward dela Rosa, Daniel Padilla's father), Apoy sa Dagat as Miguel Del Sol, "You're My Home" as JC de Veyra's lawyer, Atty. Manglapuz and "And I Love You So". Jong has added to his list of acting accomplishments for movies and television with guestings on GMA7 but mostly for ABS-CBN, his "unofficial" home station.
HOST Jong was given the opportunity to host a TV show when his good friend, John Lesaca said goodbye as one of the hosts of "A Little Night of Music" for GMA-7. He also hosted his own radio program called "Tuesday Night Flight" for Wave 89.1 featuring cool and soft instrumental music for the pop station.
His knack for hosting was then put to the test when Pagcor asked him to host and handle their Bingo games including the much talked about "Shower of Millions" nationwide linked game. To date, Jong has given away more than 50 Million in prizes in handling these games. He has also hosted for corporate launches and tournaments.
