JAY CYRUS V. VILLANUEVA

“I have played a lot of saxophones and it seems that there is always something missing. They say that the saxophone is an imperfect instrument, but ever since I had a Weissenberg I can say it ticks everything that I have been searching for. Weissenberg will be my forever saxophone. Perfect from all the rest! ”

-Jay Cyrus V. Villanueva

Jay Cyrus V. Villanueva was born in 1985 in Bonifacio, a small town in Mindanao, Philippines. He is the eldest among two siblings and was raised by his grandparents. Growing up with a firm and strict grandfather, Jay is who he is today because of him.

    Early on, Music wasn’t really Jay’s first choice. He thought of taking Accountancy in College but since his father, who was then a traveling musician, really pushed him to take the same career path, Jay, being a respectful son, agreed to pursue Music instead. He only started formally studying music when he was 16 years old which is considered quite late by some standards but that did not faze him.  He graduated with a degree in Music major in Piano and minor in Saxophone in Silliman University, Dumaguete City.

    He started to play the saxophone when he was 18 years old. It was about that time that he played for the Silliman University Jazz Band. Since he did not own a saxophone, he kept on borrowing around until he finally owned one when he was 29 years old. Since then, Jay Cyrus has been a solo saxophone player since 2010 until the present. In 2012, Jay established his own Music School named after him. Jay Cyrus Creative Studios has grown to become one of the premiere music tutorial centers in Negros Oriental, Philippines.

    Apart from running his Music School, Jay Cyrus had been the Music Director of Foundation University from 2010 to 2017.  During the said stint, he led his band of musicians to break records and consistently win in band competitions around the province.

    Today, Jay is  a musical gem of Dumaguete City where he is currently based together with his wife and three children.   A true visionary and a man of grit and integrity, Jay continues to be a jazz advocate in the Philippines and, most of all, a follower and servant of Jesus Christ.