Foreign engagements

Foreign engagements elevate the stature of performers and inevitably bring honor to their country. Apparently, the most travelled musical artists are the members of choral ensembles which consistently win prizes in prestigious international festivals. Among these are the UST Singers – it won the title "Choir of the World" in Wales – the UP Concert Chorus, the Madrigal Singers, the Ateneo Glee Club and the UP Singing Ambassadors, among others.

Composer Jeffrey Ching just had his latest symphony performed in Shanghai to critical acclaim. Based in Berlin, he and his wife, soprano Andion Fernandez – a leading member of Berlin’s Deutsche Opera – consistently bring honor to our country.

Aime Labra Makk, a stellar pianist in Vienna, is a constant performer in its environs; Albert Tiu frequently plays in Hongkong and environs.

Dramatic tenor Otoniel Gonzaga is comparatively less known in his own country than his confreres because, through the years, he has been singing major roles – and earn accolades in more than 45 German and other European houses as well as in the US under such redoubtable conductors as Pablo Casals, Herbert von Karajan, Eugene Ormandy, Max Rudolf, Sir John Pritchard, to name a few.

Cecile Licad is our busiest pianist abroad, playing with some of the most reputable major orchestras and conductors, primarily in the US. Raul Sunico divides his time between being UST Conservatory dean and performing pianist in foreign climes. Cristine Coyuito and Ingrid Sta. Maria have their share of tours abroad.

Our orchestras have travelled less frequently than our musical artists. In 2001, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under Italian Conductor Ruggero Barbieri performed in Austria, the Czech Republic and Spain. The PPO was one of only five foreign orchestras invited to participate in Tokyo’s Asia Overseas Week in 2002. In September of 2004, the PPO rendered Angel Peña’s "Igorot Rhapsody", Tchaikovsky’s "Rococco Variations" and "Fifth Symphony" in Thailand where the ensemble caught the attention of H.R.H. Princess Galyani Vadhana, sister of the Thai King.

In May of 2007, the PPO under the baton of Eugene Castillo, its music director and principal conductor, will undertake its first ever US concert tour. Entitled "Bridges across the Pacific", the tour will culminate with the Centennial Celebration of the Filipino Migration to the US, and the festivities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Philippine-American relations through performances in major concert halls in Hawaii and San Francisco.

Our singers continue to fulfill foreign engagements. Camille Lopez has concertized abroad and performed with the Hong Kong Performing Arts Orchestra and the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien Orchestra in Vienna where she studied.

Rachelle Gerodias has assumed lead roles in more than 20 different productions in the US, Japan and the Asia Pacific. More recently, she was a lustily applauded Susanna in "The Marriage of Figaro" as staged by the Singapore Lyric Opera. She has worked with the great Italian diva Mirella Freni.

Tenor Frankie Aseniero is the latest singer to have gone on a European tour. His earlier concerts were well received in New York, Chicago, S.F., Texas, Salzburg, Seoul, China, France, Germany and Hong Kong. He has sung lead operatic roles in Asia, Europe and America. His most recent European tour, under the auspices of the Klassiko Filipino, Inc., was with pianist Reynaldo Reyes as assisting artist, and covered Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam; Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki with pianist Jessie Z. Ruutu; Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam with soprano Ana Guillen Feleo, and pianist Karen Francisco in Berlin.

The Aseniero-Reyes concert in The Hague commemorated Philippine National Heroes’ Day, and was held in the beautiful old church of De Duif located along the popular Prinsengracht St. in Amsterdam. It was attended by almost 300 guests consisting of members from the diplomatic and consular corps, the Dutch business sector and the Dutch-Filipino community in the Netherlands.

The Dutch audience specially enjoyed the ‘singers’ rendition of its well-loved song Tulpen van Amsterdam.

A most pleasant surprise was the participation of Ambassador Romeo Arguelles who joined the duo onstage and played the piano for the Filipino ballad Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal. The unexpected performance showed the Ambassador’s musical talent to the delight of the listeners.

The heartily applauded concert received a standing ovation for the rendition of international and Filipino classics.

Reynaldo Reyes, who was Aseniero’s assisting artist in Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam, has won awards in several international competitions, among them the Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, the Busoni in Italy, and the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud in Paris wherein he garnered the coveted Premier Prix.

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The St. Paul University Manila Chorale fulfilled engagements in China from Oct. 23 to Nov. 3. It performed in various schools/colleges in Jiangnan and Zhaoquing in venues filled to capacity.

The primary reason the St. Paul U. Manila Chorale went to China was to accept the invitation of the Zhaoquing Business and Technology College to its 10th anniversary celebration. The grand event had a stage expressly built on the outdoor basketball courts. There were fireworks, dances, songs and dramatic interpretations staged with a beautiful play of lights. The grounds were teeming with more than 3,000 people who enjoyed a mixture of Chinese and Filipino musical numbers. The Zhaoquing Television Network covered the entire show live.