Peninsula Manila plays beautiful music for Yolanda relief

MANILA, Philippines - For Filipinos nationwide, Christmas 2013 will be played out to the backdrop of the heart-wrenching images and stories, which continue to unfold on TV screens and the print media highlighting the unimaginable scale of destruction and misery brought upon Filipinos in the Visayas region by typhoon Yolanda. 

The annual joyous prelude to the holiday season, “Celebrations: 30 Years of Christmas Concert at the Pen” in the cathedral-like lobby of The Peninsula Manila  will be held on Dec. 8, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with The Peninsula Manila ensuring that the victims of the typhoon will benefit from the concert proceeds that will go to The Peninsula Hotels “Hope for the Philippines” awareness and fundraising campaign.

The Peninsula Manila believes that the true spirit of giving is best felt in a generous heart. Concertgoers are asked to contribute a P975 fee (exclusive of taxes and consumable with selections from a special merienda menu), with 25 percent of the proceeds going to the “Hope for the Philippines” fund.

“Thousands of our kababayans have been affected by Typhoon Yolanda and all Peninsula Hotels in Asia and the USA have banded together to help with a groupwide effort called “Hope for the Philippines,” says The Peninsula Manila general manager Sonja Vodusek.

All proceeds raised will be donated to the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation Inc. with the stipulation that funds go directly to their mission  — rebuilding homes and communities in the affected areas of Eastern Visayas.

“Ongoing until Jan. 31, 2014, we will be driving a four-pronged initiative called ‘Hope for the Philippines.’ All Peninsula hotels will make a donation of $5 for each guest stay. A special Philippine Tea of Hope and Halo-Halo of Hope will be served in our hotel lobbies, with “Hope for the Philippines” receiving 100 percent of the retail price.  Guests staying in our hotels are invited to purchase a ‘Trees of Hope’ SnowPage ornament where all the of the funds raised will benefit “Hope for the Philippines,” notes Vodusek.

“In Manila, guests will receive a yellow sun designed by a member of The Peninsula Manila team for every SnowPage purchased for P500. They can hang these on our ‘Tree of 1,000 Suns’ that represents healing, hope and new beginnings,” she adds.

Proceeds from “Celebrations: 30 Years of Christmas Concert at the Pen” will be added to the funds raised through the group-wide campaign.

To ensure a landmark anniversary fundraising concert, The Peninsula Manila and its principal sponsors — Stores Specialists Inc., Citibank, Philippine Tatler and Delta Airlines, together with the cooperation of the Cultural Center of the Philippines — has assembled a stellar cast and put together a memorable musical repertoire that is sure to get festive spirits rightly tuned for the days of celebration ahead.

Flying in from Italy is former Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra musical director and principal conductor maestro Ruggero Barbieri who will be teaming up with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), which he has led on its triumphant world tours. Also gracing the stage are Lani Misalucha, Jose Mari Chan, Rachelle Gerodias, a 50-voice choir composed of the UP Madrigal Singers and UST Singers as well as PPO associate concertmaster Dino Akira K. Decena on violin.

Directing “Celebrations 30 Years of Christmas Concert at the Pen” is Freddie Santos, a four-time Aliw Awardee for best stage director who this year was elevated into the Aliw Awards Hall of Fame.

The program repertoire offers an array of great classics and traditional Yuletide musical favorites, from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, 1st movement from Winter to O Holy Night and Joy to the World to Jingle Bells and the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah.