Filipino musician makes it to CBC Manitoba’s Future 40 list

Educator and musician Paul Ong is on CBC’s Future 40 list of outstanding individuals under the age of 40. (CBC website)

A Filipino educator and renowned musician made it to CBC Manitoba’s Future 40—a list of 10 outstanding young Manitobans under the age of 40 who are making a difference in their communities.

Out of more than a hundred nominees for the list, only ten were chosen by CBC News. Among them was Paul Ong, who has been doing annual concerts for a cause since 2016. He is an internationally trained educator who started his career in the First Nations Education system.

The other winners contributed to the improvement of the lives of the people of Manitoba in the fields of science and community service, among others.

Founded in 1941, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is Canada’s publicly owned news and information service and has journalists all over the country.

Ong is currently a vice-principal with the Winnipeg School District 1 and holds a Master’s degree in Education for Sustainable Well-Being from the University of Manitoba.

Ong believes in the power of performing arts to build community and spark social change. It is his firm belief that performing arts are a platform to make communities better. This is the driving force behind his Annual Concerts for a Cause, which have raised close to $100,000 in donations to local charities.

According to CBC, each year, Ong engages the youth and provides them the opportunity to share their gifts, hoping that this empowers them to  keep pursuing theirs talents.

“As a teacher, I’m seeing that there’s so much talent, and yet they’re not really given a platform,” Ong pointed out.

 “Concert for a Cause” will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2024, and Ong hopes this will raise enough funds so they can build homes for poor communities in the Philippines.

Ong is also known for representing Canada twice internationally in 2017 (Watercube Cup in Beijing) and 2015 (World Championship of Performing Arts in Los Angeles), and won in all categories he competed in.

In 2012, he joined “Canada’s Got Talent” and was selected as the Hometown Hero for Manitoba featured in a Tim Hortons television commercial.

In 2019, Ong was the first local Filipino Chinese artist to be accompanied by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for a full concert. He and WSO are currently working on his Annual Concert for a Cause 2023 scheduled for April 29^th for Sistema Winnipeg.