Songs of ‘HOPE for the Philippines’
MANILA, Philippines - The Peninsula Manila continues to play beautiful music for the Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan relief effort with “Celebrations: 31 Years of Christmas Concert at the Pen.”
For most Filipinos, Christmas last year was played out against the backdrop of the images and stories of destruction brought upon them by Super Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan. A year has passed and slowly life is going back to normal, but there is still so much to be done to help build a better future for the families affected by the typhoon in Eastern Visayas.
This year, The Peninsula Manila and its partners Stores Specialists Inc., Citibank and Philippine Tatler – with the cooperation of the Cultural Center of the Philippines – is ringing in a holiday season filled with hope. This annual, joyous prelude to the holiday season will take place tomorrow, Dec. 13, from 5 to 7 pm at The Lobby with The Peninsula Manila ensuring that part of the concert proceeds will benefit The Peninsula Hotels’ “HOPE for the Philippines” fund.
Last Sept. 10, The Peninsula Manila broke ground to mark the start of the construction of the future “HOPE for the Philippines” The Peninsula-Gawad Kalinga Village in Maribi, Tanauan, Leyte. The village will house 100 families from the coastal town of San Roque who were displaced when Yolanda barreled into the coastal provinces of Leyte and Samar.
The construction will be funded using the $900,000 raised from The Peninsula Hotels’ “HOPE for the Philippines” campaign.
The village will include 100 brand-new housing units, a health center, a community playground and multi-purpose hall covering nearly 10,000 square meters of land.
“We are committed to the long-term recovery of the communities devastated by Yolanda/Haiyan,” says The Peninsula Manila general manager Sonja Vodusek. “A year after the typhoon hit our shores, we have started developing our build site, but we intend to go beyond just building homes – we want to give the people of our chosen community a better future. We will assist in the schooling of the community’s children as well as share the collective knowledge of our engineering, finance, food and beverage and housekeeping teams in skills training and livelihood seminars. We will also establish cooperatives and other long-term income-generating projects. But sustaining these efforts requires additional funding.”
Since Christmas is a time of giving, The Peninsula Manila believes that the true spirit of giving is best felt in a generous heart. Concertgoers at this year’s concert are asked to contribute a P1,500 consumable fee (exclusive of taxes and with selections from a special merienda menu), with 25 percent of the proceeds going to the “HOPE for the Philippines” fund.
To ensure a landmark Yolanda fundraising concert, The Peninsula Manila and its principal sponsors have assembled a stellar cast and put together a memorable musical repertoire that will “ring in the common love of good.”
Maestro Ruggero Barbieri will team up once again with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.
Joining them on stage is Asia’s Nightingale Lani Misalucha, mezzo soprano Camile Lopez-Molina, soprano Ena Maria Aldecoa and a 50-voice choir composed of the internationally-renowned Philippine Madrigal Singers and the University of Santo Tomas Singers. Freddie Santos is the concert’s director.
The concert repertoire includes musical classics like Gounod’s “Jewel Song” from Faust, Dvorak’s “Slavonic Dance” and Verdi’s “Va Pensiero” from Nabucco to popular, all-time Christmas hits such as “Joy to the World” and Ryan Cayabyab’s “Isang Taong Lumipas,” all of which guarantee a truly enjoyable musical experience.
“In the aftermath of something so terrible and devastating, your generosity will go a long way in helping our kababayans in the Visayas. It’s important to warm people’s hearts, to inspire them and get them to dream again,” says Vodusek.
No reservations will be accepted. For more information, call The Peninsula Manila at 887-2888, ext 6671 or 6694.
