Rafael Ronquillo is a Filipino classical guitarist and an active concert artist based in Manila. Since 2009, he has held various concerts in Spain, the United States, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

In the Philippines, Rafael has performed in multiple concerts, such as in the Manila Guitar Festival 2016, where he performed all the guitar works of Joaquín Turina and “Una Noche de Cuerdas” in 2017, where he performed Ferdinando Carulli’s “Concerto in A Major” with the Silangan Chamber Guitar Ensemble.

Overseas, he has performed in Spain, most notable being the 2015 Spanish premiere of the “Batang Laro Suite for Guitar” by Bayani Mendoza de Leon and “Guitarristas de Filipinas” (2025) at the Fundación Casa Museo Andrés Segovia. In Asia, Rafael has consistently been invited to give concerts and masterclasses at “The Arts of The Guitars” music festival in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

Rafael has also been featured as a guest at events and radio programs such as the Philippine Psychiatric Association Presidential Gala Night in 2018 and 2024, the opening concert of the “International Scientific Congress of Private Law of the Philippines & Spain” in 2016, the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) as an adjudicator, “En Versió Original” by UMH Radio and “Utopía Bohemia” by Radio Mutant 99.9 FM in Spain, and the “Maestro Filipino” by 98.7 DZFE-FM The Master’s Touch.

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Rafael Ronquillo completed his bachelor’s degree at the UST Conservatory of Music in Manila in 2014 and received guitar instructions under the late Professor Ruben Reyes, a mentor whom he considers his major influence in music.

In 2015, he completed his master’s degree, Máster Oficial en Enseñanzas Artísticas: Interpretación e Investigación de la Música, at the Conservatorio Superior de Música “Óscar Esplá” in Alicante, Spain where he studied under Professor Ignacio Rodes. In the same year, he was also a student at the Música en Compostela in Santiago de Compostela in Spain where he was taught by Professor Jose Luis Rodrigo.

To date, Rafael is a former college secretary and one of the pioneering faculty members of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) Department of Music, where he leads the PLM Guitar Ensemble. He aims to further build his career as a concert artist and promote Philippine music in different countries in the coming years, continue to develop high standards at the guitar and music program of PLM that will allow students to achieve a level of artistry higher than he has ever had.