PPO’s Out of the Box features a thematic selection of orchestral music, veering away from the usual coat-and-tie repertoire they play at the CCP’s Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo. Not only that, each concert is a collaboration between the PPO and several university arts organizations. The venue for this absolutely FREE concerts is the Rizal Park Open Auditorium.
They have this at Rizal Park! Have not visited the park for quite a while.
Their season concerts started last November, featuring Andres Bonifacio who celebrated his sesquicentennial birth anniversary. For December, they did a Christmas-themed program.
I took my mom and my daughter to their most recent offering, last January 18. We came in early, so we took her around first.
We took her to a horsey ride! (a bit of a tip: make sure you only pay around P200-P250 for the trip, and NOT P150 PER person. MAKE IT CLEAR! We almost got cheated.).
We also chanced upon the lights and sounds show. It goes all night long (hmmm I wonder how much the local government spends on this; it can be quite expensive).The FEU Bamboo Band served as front act for the PPO. They did really well!
It’s showtime! Good thing the theme for the concert was about nature. Aria was familiar with most of the music there (which come from Grieg’s Peer Gynt, Tchaikowsky’s Nutcracker Suite, Saint-Saen’s Carnival of the Animals, among others).
With the FEU Dancers. They also had numbers with the FEU Chorale and the FEU Drum and Bugle Band.
With the receptive audience, all 1,300+ of us!Final photo from the other side of the amphitheater with their enthusiastic conductor, Olivier Ochanine.
What a wonderful show, especially that it was cause-oriented. The FEU, being the Tamaraw as their school mascot, supports the Tams 2 program of the WWF-Philippines, which aims to double the number of the wild tamaraws by 2020.
Congratulations to the PPO and the FEU for this wonderful collaboration!
Want to catch the next show? Then head to the Rizal Park Open Auditorium on FEBRUARY 27, Thursday, 6:00 PM. Check out their Facebook Page for more details.
So, we’re back to Singapore and had nothing exactly planned out for the day. Good thing our dear cousin lives there, so it was pretty much family day!
Here’s my cousin, Mark, with my mom. He has been in Singapore for quite some time already. Thanks for bringing us around, Kuya!
Unfortunately, our camera kinda conked out (battery is always kaputt, so not much photos). I will be using some photos from my mom and sister, with their permission.
Incidentally, my mom, sister, and her boyfriend are set to go back to Manila that same night, so we had to go around to as much places as we can. Goals for the day were:
1. Go to a church and give thanks – CHECK! At the nearby Cathedral of Good Shepherd.
2. Stroll in a mall – CHECK! Not only one, but several interconnected malls at Orchard. We took the MRT like crazy and we even had a stroller in tow!
At Ion Orchard Mall.
3. Buy pasalubong (gifts to bring home) – CHECK! We went to Chinatown and got more than pasalubong.
THIS was a bonus: we got to go around this Buddhist Temple, all four floors of it! There was a museum and orchidarium, too. There was a room full of gold but we can’t take photos. We also got to see them praying in this hall at one point.
4. Eat Chili Crab – CHECK! We saw it on Kris TV before the trip. It was a worthwhile try, but heck it was smoking hot in your mouth!
Chili Crab. Right at ‘ya!
5. Take a picture with the Merlion – CHECK! Just before they took the trip back to the hotel then to airport.
Touringkitty in action!
We met with another friend for coffee then headed back to the hotel to send off my family. The enjoyed the trip, though there were inconveniences which were out of our hands. But we all definitely will go back to Singapore. I still plan to raid the Great Singapore Sale once in my life.
Watch our for our last day in Singapore here at the blog!
“I met my colleagues here [in the Philippines] and I told them how exciting it is to do this musical experiment,” Dr. Petra Raymund, director of Goethe-Institut Philippines said.
She was talking about a similar project she did back in 2012 at the Jazz Fest Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where jazz guitarist Nguyen Le of France and jazz singer Michael Schiefel of Germany performed with two Bosnian jazz artists, Edvin Hadžić on doublebass, and Dr. Amar Češljar on drums. And since the German and French players know the jazz scene both in Europe and globally, they suggested to collaborate with Italian double bassist Furio di Castri, Spanish percussionist Tino di Geraldo, and Filipino saxophonist Tots Tolentino, who they handpicked for this event.
Thus, the Euro-Pinoy Jazz Concerts came to be.
Five jazz masters are coming together for a week of music-making. Not only do they collaborate as musicians, but also as composers, as they are set to create new and original music. The culmination of which will be presented in a two-night concert on February 21 at the Arts in the City, Bonifacio Global City, and on February 22 at the historic Maestranza Plaza in Intramuros.
Concert is FREE! BUT you must RSVP! Click the photo or copy this address to your browser for more details: https://www.facebook.com/europinoyjazzconcerts
How will they do it? They have been communicating the past months online, and will gather together for a four-day collaborative workshop starting February 17, Monday, as they work toward a fresh repertoire for the concerts. Sounds interesting, especially that the five musicians are masters of their own instruments who will bring in a fusion of music, creative minds, and culture. Take, for instance, Nguyen Le, who will meld together traditional Vietnamese and Western music and, Tino di Geraldo, one of Spain’s leading percussionists, who will bring together classical, jazz, and flamenco styles.
The Euro-Pinoy Jazz Concerts is presented by the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Philippines together with the European Union Delegation to the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Intramuros Administration, and Arts in the City.
EUNIC Philippines is composed of the Alliance Française de Manille, the Goethe-Institut Philippinen, the Instituto Cervantes, the Philippine Italian Association. The event is their first collaborative project.
Julian Vasallo, Political Counsellor of the European Delegation, said that they aim to attract lovers of this kind of music, and that they look forward to expanding this event in the future. He invites us to witness this “Jazz blind date” with these outstanding musicians.
Members of EUNIC Philippines with Adelina Suemith of NCCA.
(Admission to the Euro-Pinoy Jazz Concerts is FREE but RSVP is required. For inquiries, call Sabrina Durand, Alliance Française Cultural Coordinator at (02) 895-7585, or visit the Euro-Pinoy Jazz Concerts Facebook page.)
While picking up the customised shirts for my kids at Maestro Rio Shop before the holidays last year, I found my friend, Nadia, packing some custom-made mugs and saw a familiar face. A very familiar face, in fact.
“Sumi Jo? In Manila? No way!!!”
“Yes way,” she said, “and it’s on February 1st next year.”
I would not miss it for the world! I know I could save up some money by that date, and I am so happy I did, and chose orchestra seats.
Fast forward to that date, my husband and I had events around BGC as well before the concert, so it was indeed a day well spent. However, he went home to our daughter ahead and I watched alone. Good thing we had so many friends watching as well.
I have been a fan of Korean soprano Sumi Jo even before I entered the College of Music. She was my instant favourite because of the Queen of the Night aria, Der Holle Rache.
I was looking forward to it, but unfortunately, it was not part of her repertoire.
Her program was a variety of opera arias, art songs, even musicals. The program seemed simple, yet her interpretation of each song was fabulous, riveting, and brought tears to my eyes (and I am sure to most audiences, too).
Despite the early difficulty of having the noisy airconditioning turned on, Sumi Jo displayed her virtuosity and professionalism, really deserving to be called diva. She then asked to have it switched off, and so even the Samsung Hall got a little warm, the audience did not protest and just enjoyed the diva’s voice and quirkiness.
I almost cried after her first song, Lo, Hear the Gentle Lark. It was so beautiful, her notes precise. Her interpretation of Lascia Ch’io Pianga still rings in my ears. The modern arrangement of Ari Arirang, the signature Korean song was powerful. What impressed us the most was her beautiful dimunuendos. She does it naturally!
Donning this red gown on the first part.
What’s even more laudable are the collaborating artists, Najib Ismail on piano and fellow collegemate, Raymond Sarreal on flute. The three made wonderful music together, and the instrumentalists were going beyond being mere assisting artists.
Ismail, Sarreal, and Jo working hard to make wonderful music together.
For the second part, Ms. Jo wore a white gown, but since it was unfitted, she threw in her funny side to still carry it well.
The sleeve falls off from time to time, good thing it was during the lighter songs.
We found out she donated her honorarium for UNICEF Philippines, especially for the relief operations of the typhoon victims. She also visited the beneficiaries of the concert, Tanging Yaman Foundation, a few days before the concert. Such a great act of charity!
She did not end the concert with her program, but with three more songs — Verdi’s O mio Babbino Caro, a Korean popular song especially for the Korean community in attendance (she was even the one who played on piano), and Schubert’s Ave Maria.
But wait, there’s more! She also conducted a voice masterclass the following day. I really would have wanted to sing for it; unfortunately I found out slots were already filled.
With Myramae Meneses, a masterclass participant and Farley Asuncion on piano.
It’s always a learning experience to attend masterclasses even if you’re just observing. This is a good venue to find out more about the singer’s performing and teaching styles.
To all who made it possible, thank you for bringing Sumi Jo here! Kamsahamnida!
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