Making beautiful music at the malls

The World of Music (TWM) opened this year’s concert season with the launch of its new baby, the Special series with a bang! The first part of the concert was in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Tissot Swiss Watches since 1853, one of the major forces behind TWM. The second part featured the launch of two new albums from Universal Records: Beyond Words: The Music of Gary Valenciano and Gary V at the Movies.

TWM is one of the longest-running concerts at the malls. Although it traces its roots to performances at exclusive venues, TWM in the format that is known today opened in July 1998 to huge fanfare at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall. It featured the Manila Youth Orchestra with Angelique Lazo and UP College of Music Dean, Prof. Johnny Ramos as hosts. TWM’s first season consisted of several concerts held on weekends at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall. It was a major component of Shangri-La’s year-long centennial celebrations for which the mall won an Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of the Philippines. (PRSP). Some have tried to copy the event, but none so far has been able to attain the level of performance TWM has been known for.

Through the years, TWM has exposed followers to various musical forms and genres. It produced performances of classical music, mainstream jazz, big band, movie themes, Broadway, and many others people would ordinarily see at big and very expensive venues.

TWM has also been a showcase of many artists and musical groups rarely seen at public venues like malls; the Manila Youth Symphony Orchestra, UP Chamber Orchestra, Metro Jazz Orchestra, among others. It has featured name conductors and instrumentalists renowned in the classical and jazz world.

One of the features of TWM that makes it unique is its educational component. An integral part of its events is the painstaking effort done to provide "liner" notes to their performances. Each number of the program is explained.

For 150 years now, Tissot Swiss Watches since 1853 has been one of the world’s leading and most respected brands of watches and chronometers. The brand has made a name for itself because of its commitment to excellence, quality and style. Tissot Watches are among the most innovative in the world. It was the first brand to introduce touch screen watch.

TWM was originally known as Tissot World of Music. But as the franchise grew and established itself as a versatile purveyor of art and music, TWM has developed to stand on its own as The World of Music.

Catch the TWM special featuring The CompanY: Live and A Cappella at the Podium, on July 25 at the Second Level Grand Atrium, 6 p.m., presented by TWM, Rado Switzerland, and the Podium.

The World of Music Special at the Shangri-La scheduled on Aug. 1 at the Grand Atrium 6 p.m., is presented by TWM, Tissot Swiss Watches, and Shangri-La Plaza Mall in cooperation with Panasonic GD88 Tri-band "The Ultra Compact Digital Camera Phone," Discovery Suites, Montre (for the Podium) and No Curfew (for Shangri-La Plaza Mall) and in part by media partners Joey 92.3, Crossover 105.1, Manila Bulletin, The Philippine STAR, and the Foreign Post. For inquiries, call Montre at the Podium at 687-3077 and No Curfew at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall at 643-2160.