A toast to music and friendship

On July 15 at the Music Museum, Filipino artists from diverse genres and different eras will share the stage for a night celebrating music, power of charity and the many pleasures of good old camaraderie.

The event titled Musikaibigan will feature two of today’s most noteworthy talents — Geoff Taylor and Laarni Lozada. Both are talent show competition alumni from the two major television networks.

Geoff and Laarni will join the ranks of Pinky Marquez, Gino Padilla and Wency Cornejo in Musikaibigan. Other artists are Jojo Alejar, Rufa Mi, Fatima Soriano, Trez Marias, The Monteroso Twins and The Seed Band.

Three years after winning GMA 7’s Are You the Next Big Star, Geoff has already made his presence felt in showbiz. From primetime soap operas to a Sunday variety show, out-of-town gigs and product endorsements, Geoff’s star is now shining bright.

Now that he’s already enjoying the fruits of his hard work, he is, in his own little way, giving back and paying it forward.

The Pinoy Dream Academy proved to be rather demanding, but with the ingenious mix of innate talent and acquired tenacity, Laarni managed to get the highest grade thus emerging as PDA Season 2’s grand champion.

Since her remarkable graduation from the Academy, Laarni has immersed herself in television appearances as well as gigs both here and abroad. She doesn’t let little successes affect her enthusiasm for work and instead she uses these to push herself to be better as an artist and as a person.

Both Geoff and Laarni decided to use the power of their music to make this world a better place. It may sound cliché, but for these two, a dose of optimism mixed with talents will go a long, long way.

Through the show Musikaibigan, these two young artists hope to further grow not only as performers, but also as human beings who share what has been given them.

Musikaibigan is in honor of the Philippine SVD (Society of the Divine Word) Mission Phils. Inc., spearheaded by Fr. Agerico Orbos. SVD is continually in need of financial aid in order to carry out its mission of spreading the Good News worldwide. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to the foundation.

Philippine Navy’s indie film tilt

The Philippine Navy (PN), in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, recently launched its first-ever Independent Film Competition in commemoration of its 113th anniversary.

Open to all Filipino filmmakers, the competition highlights this year’s PN anniversary theme: Philippine Navy: A Vital Partner for Peace, Security, and Development of our Maritime Nation. It is considered a new concept in the list of Philippine Navy community relations activities following the previous annual essay-writing contest participated in by PN personnel and their dependents. With the thought of enhancing PN efforts to harness the spirit of competition among Navy affairs enthusiasts, the competition hopes to feature the Philippine Navy as a partner in nation building, and at the same time increase the awareness of the Navy to all stakeholders interested in upholding peace, security and development.

The competition is also open to writers, both professional and amateurs, from schools and other independent organizations. The first, second and third prizes are P40,000, P25,000 and P15,000, respectively.