Ryker, Coyuito in concerts/Cocoy in original musical

Music lovers will be torn between the concert of American Robert Ryker who will conduct the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at the CCP main theater, and the concert of Cristine Coyuito at the F. Santiago Hall. Both events fall on Jan. 14 at 8 p.m.

Ryker’s program: Alfred Reed’s “Symphonic Suite Hamlet”, Moussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and Elgar’s Enigma Variations”.

Ryker has performed some 2,000 concerts under luminaries Abaddo, Oistrakh, Ozawa, Sargent, Munch, Shostakovich, Bohm. He won first prize in two US Conducting Competitions, and has appeared in over 50 cities in four continents.

A renaissance man of music, Ryker founded orchestras in Canada, India and Japan, and has written over 300 arrangements, compositions and orchestrations.

Eminent pianist Coyuito will interpret Saint-Saens’ Concerto No. 4, with the Metro Manila Concert Orchestra assisting under conductor Josefino “Chino” Toledo. The MMCO will further render Dvorak’s “Carnival Overture”, San Pedro’s “Sa Dalampasigan” and Rodriguez’s “Hot Buttered Rumba”.

Also performing: baritone Lawrence Jatayna, the Novo Concertante and Neo Nocturne Choirs.

Coyuito studied under Jacob Lateiner, the late world-renowned pianist who rivalled Gary Graffman and Eugene Istomin — both have played in Manila — and taught at NY’s Juilliard School and Mannes College.

Lateiner described Coyuito thus: “Instinctively extremely musical, she is an accomplished pianist and gifted performer. Her dedication to music is total, and one of the most exciting things about her is her ever-continuing growth and deepening maturity.”

Coyuito has garnered the highest praise from foreign and local critics.

Cocoy Laurel, the total artist who gained overwhelming success as The Engineer in the Sydney production of “Miss Saigon”, has performed as actor, singer-dancer with Repertory Philippines, and continues to sing in concerts.

He will star in “Simon’s Way” by Bicol’s famed composer, writer and film-maker Ferdinand Dimadura whose “Chicken ala Carte” has been shown worldwide. Cocoy will play the lead, Simon Vale.

The musical will be staged in far-away Naga, and Cocoy’s admirers ask: “What made Cocoy agree to star in the musical?” Cocoy replies, “It was the music, the very beautiful score. I love every song. But most of all, it’s a musical for Our Lady. That truly won me over”.

Caceres Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi is happy that the musical honors Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the object of 300 years of devotion, and in whose name the concert will raise funds for Caceres’ poor priests.

Performance dates are Jan. 29 and 30, 2011, in Naga, with Cocoy and Jenine Desiderio; Feb. 28 in Iriga City with Cocoy and Cris Villonco, and tentatively at Meralco Theater in April with Cocoy and Cris Villonco.

In “Simon’s Way”, Franciscan brother Simon Vela is chosen by Our Lady to search for her missing image. For five long years, Simon searches every mountain and cave in Western France.

Simon suffers incredible hardships in his search: villages are surrounded by huge forests and traveling is fraught with dangers from bandits and robbers. Only his faith in Our Lady’s “voice” keeps him going. “Go to where the sun sets, and you will find a statue in a mountain called Peña de Francia. This statue will be the object of great veneration around the world,” Our Lady tells Simon, then asks him to bring five people with him to the mountain as witnesses.

When he finds the statue in a cave, his head wound instantly heals, the deaf persons hears, the man with a crooked finger finds it straightened.

Earlier, during his search, Simon chances upon a village called Pau where he meets and falls in love with Eliza. After he finds Our Lady’s image, he tries to return to Pau only to be told the village has never existed. Simon collapses to the ground, crying for Eliza.