A FABULOUS EVENING WAS ENJOYED BY ALL AT PANGGUNG DBKL OPPOSITE DATARAN MERDEKA AND SELANGOR CLUB LAST NIGHT.
Princess Dr Becky Leogardo and the Philippines ambassador HE Eduardo Malaya
Organised by the Philippines Embassy of Kuala Lumpur and sponsored by DBKL or Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur City Hall), the concert was a runaway success as the 30-strong troupe from Manila wowed the audience with a superb rendition of western classical and Filipino songs.
Hits included Sing Me to Heaven, De Profundis and Time to Say Goodbye and the UP Concert Chorus brought the house down with their rendition of Broadway legendary hits like Dreamgirls, Man in the Mirror, One World One Voice and a medley of Michael Jackson hits.
Guest of honour was Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Datin Seri Rosmah was gracious enough to spend time to meet and chat with the performers after the show.
The University of the Philippines Concert Chorus is one of the best in the world and has a string of awards to prove it. Created in 1962, it has morphed from a simple university choral group into a musical force of national and world stature.
Apart from belting out Filipino folk songs, pop and Broadway genres, the Concert Chorus is recognised as the pioneer of choreographed songs for a choir! In other words, they not only sing but dance in unison and do everything else Anita Sarawak, Beyonce and Madonna do on stage---from banging on pots and pans to jumping on chairs and dancing replete with facial expressions! So they are not just a bunch of dancers standing still like statues but are a choreograped sensation that brought the staid Malaysians to their feet at the conclusion!
The Malaysian gig was their 20th international concert tours that have taken them to USA, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. The Concert Chorus was chosen as 'one of the world's best choirs' in 2006 and was invited four times for command performances for Queen Elizabeth II. It won 2 major prizes in Spain in July and Hungary in August so we were really treated to the best of the best last night.
Usually such tours last a few weeks to 7 months but the choir's stay in Malaysia must have also broken a record as it was only 3 days! Once at DBKL, once at Experimental Theatre tonight at Universiti Malaya and the final show on 25 October at Kuching, Sarawak!
Due to the response, I am sure they will be back! Mabuhay!
Red Filipinas; Princess Dr Becky Leogardo who donated RM 2,000 to the event and Dr Rena Christina, wife of the Philippines ambassador Eduardo Malaya
By coincidence, both wore the national costume of Philippines called Maria Clara
Dato Princess Zainab, wife of the former Malaysian ambassador to Philippines Datuk Seri Syed Ibrahim and Princess Dr Becky Leogardo. Both hold the same title from Lanao del Sur and Lanao Del Norte in southern Philippines!
Called A Celebration of Peace, the concert was held to commemorate the recent signing of the Framework Agreement between the Philippines Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) at Panggung Bandaraya
Speech by the Lord Mayor of Kuala Lumpur Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib wearing the Filipino costume for men Barong Tagalog
Speech by HE Eduardo Malaya the Filipino ambassador to Malaysia
A Celebration of Peace through music!
The evening opened with Malaysian cultural dances from DBKL Dance Troupe
Conductor and Artistic Director Professor Janet Sabas-Aracama led the Concert Chorus
This is a famous Filipino folk song about having all the 10 digits of your fingers, 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 mouth and 1 nose!
A standing ovation!
Evryone rose to their feet to clap at the end of the concert by University of the Philippines Concert Chorus as it was truly a world class performance.
the end
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