David D'Or: Truly amazing

I got an invitation from the Israel Embassy to attend a private dinner for Israeli singer David D’Or at Ambassador and Mrs. Zvi Vapni’s residence last week. David is a famous singer, composer and songwriter in Israel. He is also a much awarded artist and a hit maker with nine of his albums reaching the platinum mark.

Called the most acclaimed singer in Israel, David is a multi-faceted artist who can perform rock, pop, dance, folk, klezmer, Yemenite prayers, holy prayers, ancient chants, classical, opera, baroque arias among others.

David has performed for diplomats — Israeli president Shimon Perez, Italian president Giorgio Napolitano, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the King and Queen of Sweden, Nelson Mandela and US president Bill Clinton and for the Holy Father Pope John Paul II.

He has also performed around the world with several orchestras including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Rome Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic, New York Symphony Orchestra, Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

David also sang before an audience of 55,000 people in Trafalgar Square in London and 40,000 people in Paris.

A few days ago, David performed at the Araneta Coliseum.

Bravo David! And welcome to the Philippines.

I appreciate the Israeli government’s support for their artists. Years ago, I interviewed one of Israel’s young film directors Tomer Heymann whose award-winning documentary Paper Dolls featured Filipinos on its cast. Paper Dolls tells the story of five transsexual Filipino migrant workers who moonlight as drag queens in their spare time. It’s a heart wrenching story of people, of Filipinos trying to survive while groping for their happiness. Grab a copy of Paper Dolls.

Let me also praise Israeli Ambassador Zvi Vapni for being so generous and amiable to people who want to know more about his beloved Israel.

The Essential Limited Edition 3.0 Series

Every time I hear songs of the ‘70s and ‘80s I become insanely sentimental. Who can ever forget Barbra Streisand’s haunting and flawless rendition of Evergreen? Barbra together with Michael Jackson, Yo-yo Ma, Billy Joel, Elvis Presley, Journey, Earth Wind and Fire, John Denver, Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennet, Hall and Oates are featured in Sony Music’s classic collection The Essential Limited Edition 3.0 Series.

Some of the materials have been expanded into three CDs that include songs that have not been released before.

The Essential Elvis Presley features eight of the King of Rock and Roll’s original tracks like Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear, Guitar Man, etc.

Essential Barbra CD includes seven additional tracks like Funny Girl, It’s Gonna Be A Great Day. The Michael Jackson Essential Collection series includes a duet with Paul McCartney in Say Say Say and the King of Pop’s Can’t Get Outta the Rain plus eight more of Michael’s recordings. Tony Bennett, on the other hand, croons Funny Valentine and Quiet Nights For Quiet Stars (Corcovado) in his Essential Tony Bennet album.

Bringing back the oral tradition of Filipino poetry

Oral tradition, protest poetry and lesbian-gay-bisexual-transvestite (LGBT) works topbill the WordJam!, a Spoken Word Festival of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). WordJam! is scheduled on June 10, June 24 and July 1, 6 p.m., at the Barbariba Grill & Bar in Trellis 2, CCP Complex with a P100 entrance fee inclusive of a free drink. A storytelling session for children will also be held on July 8, 8 a.m. at the CCP Main Theater Lobby. The storytelling session is open to the public. 

“WordJam! fuses tradition with the contemporary. It brings back the pre-Hispanic, oral tradition of Filipino poetry which is spoken or recited in front of an audience. The WordJam! poet-performers will create new works on love, which connect with the Brave New Works focus for the June-July events to celebrate the Center’s 40th anniversary,” says Ed Cabagnot, officer-in-charge of the CCP Visual, Literary and Media Arts (VLMA) Department.