Demented and Deranged Vincent De Jesus Delights in Triple Threats at CCP

Press Announcement:

MULTI-AWARDED lyricist-composer-musical director Vincent De Jesus is the second featured artist in Triple Threats: The Composerson September 24, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) at 8:00pm.

Billed as “Demented. Delightful. Deranged. De Jesus.”, the event is an intimate concert featuring the dark, melancholic and whimsical music of Vincent De Jesus. Highlights of the show are songs from his 32-year career in theater, television and film to be performed by some of today's finest theater actors/singers.

Critics rave Vincent De Jesus for his music and lyrics which “paint the poetry of passion and the prose of persistence, carve the pangs of unreciprocated pining, engrave the dangers of desire for power, and sanctify ordinary lives,” for “churning out world-class material” wherein “a long-running original Pilipino musical would no longer be the stuff of fantasy.” Others praise his every lyric which has an emotional resonance that affects, moves, making the heart remember personal experiences, and his music which “is something that music majors would want to write a thesis someday.”

Joining Vincent onstage are Kalila Aguilos, Jed Balsamo, May Bayot, Raflesia Bravo, Nar Cabico, Joshua Cabiladas, Natasha Cabrera, Buddy Caramat, Ricci Chan, Red Concepcion, Erick Dizon, KL Dizon, Frenchie Dy, Bituin Escalante, Hans Eckstein, Topper Fabregas, Neomi Gonzales, Reuben Laurente, Melvin Lee, Kim Molina, Mikoy Morales, Red Nuestro, Giannina Ocampo, PJ Rebullida, Victor Robinson, Nino Royeca, Myke Salomon, Ali Santos, Markki Stroem, Kakki Teodoro, Sweet Plantado-Tiongson, Dudz Terana, Eula Valdes, Cris Villonco, Ejay Yatco, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and The CompanY. The concert is directed by Rem Zamora.

Triple Threats: The Composers is presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Individual concert tickets are Php1200, Php1000 and Php800.

For details, contact the CCP Box Office at 832-3704.

Sunset Seranades at the CCP begin March 11

Listen to music of yesteryears in operatic vocals, or through the plucking of guitar strings.  Relax, de-stress, and reminisce as the sun sets and the day winds down.  What a wonderful experience as CCP takes us back in time, decades ago, to a world of youth, romance and tranquility .  Dress up, put on your barong and saya if you wish, the world is yours to re-create for at least 2 hours.  Invite your friends or special someone to join you in this special moment.  Share with the world what it was like in the Philippines during this period of harana or love songs.  This moment will be yours.  Occasional contemporary Filipino music will be played as well.  So young and old will be a part of this special sunset experience which is open to the public.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines and Tribung Pilipino Foundation headed by Danny Dolor, presents Harana sa Dapit Hapon on March 11, 2015 at the Bulwagang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater Lobby) at 4:30pm.

Featured artists are sopranos Gloria Coronel and Liza Cabahug, and tenor Lemuel dela Cruz for the first part of the program, and violinist Gilopez Kabayao and pianist Corazon Kabayao together with their daughters, violinists Sicilienne and Farida Kabayao for the second part. 

Harana sa Dapit Hapon is an afternoon musicale featuring immortal kundimans, harana, balitaw, danza and unforgettable love songs by great Filipino composers. Noted classical singers and performers have been invited.

Succeeding shows of said event will be held on April 8, 2015 featuring the Kabataang Gitarista, June 10 (performing artists Miguel Castro, Fame Flores and Los Lipeños), as well as performances on July 8, September 9, October 7, and December 9 this year.

The event is free to the public. Senior citizens, students and the general public are cordially invited.

For details, contact the CCP Artist Training Division at 832-1125 local 1604.

William Elvin Launches Debut CD Album

 

Press Release:

Theater actor - director, musical director and composer William Elvin has finally launched his debut CD album --- DisConTechNoThisContent: The Musicalienation of William Elvin.

In 2005, William decided to stop writing songs and playing music. His friends in the UST band/rock scene were being signed by major record labels. EMI Philippines was starting to position Hale to be one of the biggest rock acts of the 2000s. Sony BMG followed suit with the signing of Callalily. The two bands spearheaded the 'pogi-rock' movement (a term used with both marketing and derogatory intentions, as William remembers it) in mainstream Pinoy pop in the mid-2000s.

A few months later, rock bands were ruling the airwaves while WilIiam and his band The Barpins, was stuck playing in the now-defunct 'Mayric's', a small rock and roll bar along Espana, Manila. Frustrated, he promised to himself not to go back to that scene, and pursue a different artistic medium. That decision led William to the Theatre Arts program in the University of the Philippines.

In UP, William honed his skills in acting and eventually gained experience in writing and directing for the stage. While he was (and always will be) artistically fulfilled with work in the theater, he always felt the urge to write songs.

For the following years, William have shrugged off this urge, as he totally ignored the rock/band scene and focused all his attention to theater work.  

In 2009, William went back to songwriting and formed Happy Days Ahead and recorded ‘Home Recordings @ The Marilyn Mansion’. With some copies sold and more given away for free, the attention the album received within the theater circle eventually led to William’s two important works: a musical adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac for UP Dulaang Laboratoryo in late 2010, and Dulaang UP’s Rizal X in 2011.

William’s recent reconciliation with the art of songwriting have inspired him to record 12 of the most special songs he has written ---- Sinubukan, On My  Way To Calvary, Alisbayan Box, But I Love No One But You, Bubblegum Blues, Winter Went Away For A While, Walang Kalaban-Laban, Ang Sabi Nila, How’s The Bed, Sandy ?, On Their Way To St. Jane, and 10/23.                                                                                 

“ DisConTechNoThisContent: The Musicalienation of William Elvin ” presents these songs as William have always intended them to be heard: rough, unpolished, free of heavy production values (if there is any), as sincere as possible.

Recorded entirely in William’s room somewhere in a suburban neighborhood in Quezon City, the songs are meant to sound as the anti-thesis of the pop sound that is dominating the mainstream airwaves in this day and age.

This is an album that is meant to be enjoyed in a quiet corner as the words and the melodies serve as your blanket and, at least for about 45 minutes, keeps you away from the noise of today’s world.

DisConTechNoThisContent: The Musicalienation of William Elvin is released  by Happy Mousey Records and John Carlo Santos. Album Art by Manu Respall. Produced by W.E. Manzano.

For further inquiries, please  go to  www.facebook.com/williamelvinmusic or call/text Happy Mousey Records at 09173450310.         
 

National Rondalla Workshop on April at the CCP

Press Announcement:
The Cultural Center of the Philippines announces that it shall be holding the CCP National Rondalla Workshop on April 8-12, 2014 (Tuesday to Saturday) from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM at various venues of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The Workshop is open to rondalla groups all over the country who have been in existence for at least two (2) years and who wish to further hone their skills in rondalla technique and performance.


The workshop modules include sectional rehearsals per rondalla instrument, note reading sessions, individual rondalla ensemble cliniquing sessions, conducting sessions for conductors, and plenary sessions wherein all the participants gather together to learn a common piece.


Rondalla ensembles who have the complete rondalla instruments which include the banduria, octavina/laud, guitar and bass may apply for the Workshop. A minimum of six participants will be accepted for the Workshop. This will culminate in a performance at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater) on Saturday, April 12, 2014 at 4:00 PM.



For more information, please contact the CCP Artist Training Division at 832-1125 loc. 1604/1605 or emailccp.artist.training@gmail.com

The Dans: "The Way I Remember You"

Philpop 2012 Album Collection: Dulo ng Dila by Noah Zuniga

3 AM by Keiko Necessario from the PhilPop 2012 album collection

Ang Bagong Harana Serenades Mother Nature

The Philippine Opera Company’s (POC) critically-acclaimed Filipino musical production “ ANG BAGONG HARANA ” goes on its third re-run from October 18 until October 28 at 8 p.m. with a new theme  “An Ode to Mother Nature”.  With the increasing concern over the health of our planet,  POC has decided to focus  efforts on bringing attention to the plight of Mother Earth. There will be matinees at 3:30 p.m. on October 20, 21, 27 and 28 at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater, RCBC Plaza, Makati City. 

For the October show, audiences will be treated to a brand new suite in the repertoire -- An Ode to Mother Nature. Over the past months, our country has been beset by calamities and disasters of magnifying proportions. And with these comes a clarion call for Filipinos to open their hearts and minds by seriously helping in the various preservation programs geared towards our Mother Nature before its too late. Quite a serious note, yet, translated into a song, it is very meaningful and heart-wrenching.

Two OPM compositions will be interpreted with a fresher mood and tone. Both songs shall also symbolize Philippine Opera Company’s advocacy to help preserve our Mother Nature.

The company of ten singers is made up of theater actors and singers Karla Gutierrez, Aizel Prietos, Charley Magalit, Janine Santos, Marian Santiago, Arlynne Tecson, Lawrence Jatayna, Noel Rayos, Nazer Salcedo, Marvin Gayramon and Al Gatmaitan with the special participation of the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group. Most have appeared in plays and musicals. None of them are what you would call " mainstream ". And that is precisely what makes their performances all the more poignant and powerful.

“It is a difficult effort to try and do something truly Filipino nowadays still bearing in mind the continuing influx of ‘ foreign acts and shows ’ until December 2012,” points out Karla Guiterrez, head of POC.

Originally conceived and directed by award-winning writer/director Floy Quintos, “ Ang Bagong Harana ” shall still carry the original repertoire which showcases the best works of noted Filipino composers from different music genres --- Nicanor Abelardo, Ryan Cayabyab, Willy Cruz, Francisco Santiago, Antonio Molina, Resti Umali, George Canseco, Ernani Cuenco, Levi Celerio, Jose Estrella, Constancio De Guzman and Felipe de Leon, to name a few.

For ticket sales, please call Philippine Opera Company at 822-9609 or 0917-5272880 or TicketWorld at 891-9999 or Like Philippine Opera Company on Facebook.

Enhance the Travel Experience with Noel Cabangon’s Music

I love to travel, but more often than not, travelling means spending a lot of time on the road or air (or sea). So unless I travel at night and fall asleep, I love listening to music as I take in the sights. Whether I view some amazing vistas or simply observe people as they go about their daily life, I like to listen to background music as f I am viewing a silent film of life. The choice of music may vary according to my moods: sometimes I like upbeat, catchy melodies, sometimes I like to look back and listen to old songs, and sometimes I just like to relax with sounds of soul and jazz.

When you combine old familiar songs with a soul and jazz melody, there is a reminiscing mood added minus the melancholic feeling. That is how I would sum up Noel Cabangon’s latest album “Tuloy ang Biyahe”, music that makes your mind wander to the past but keep you feeling light and breezy.

“Tuloy ang Biyahe” is singer-songwriter Noel Cabangon’s follow up album to his highly successful “Biyahe” album which got him a Double Platinum Record Award and a sweep during the 2010 Awit Awards. His “Biyahe” album also topped the music charts for 20 weeks.

Now after two years comes “Tuloy ang Biyahe”, which was recently released June 2012. The new collection of OPM’s finest tunes includes songs from icons Basil Valdez, APO Hiking Society, Freddie Aguilar, Hotdog, Rey Valera, VST & Company, Zsa zsa Padilla, Leah Navarro, Dulce,, Florante, and Smokey Mountain among others.

Before being the multi-platinum recording artist that he is right now, Noel started of as part of the group Buklod (Bukluran Ng Mapagpalayang Musiko) more than two decades ago. His music speak of the many artistic, social and political advocacies he carries as a member of PETA, Dakila, Akbayan, Amnesty International and Greenpeace.

Noel doesn’t just sing for entertainment. He believes that his talent is a tool to generate awareness on just about any issue, be it political, environmental, or social. Respected by his peers and revered by the new generation of rock musicians, Noel is recognized as one of the most influential figures in the Pinoy music scene.

Tuloy ang Biyahe Tracklist:

1. Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka (originally sung by Basil Valdez)
2. Anak (originally sung by Freddie Aguilar)
3. Kahit na (originally sung by Zsa Zsa Padilla)
4. Kailan (originally sung by Smokey Mountain)
5. Malayo Pa Ang Umaga (originally sung by Rey Valera)
6. Ikaw Lang Ang Aking Mahal (originally sung by VST & Company)
7. Usahay (Visayan Folk Song)
8. Huwag Mong Sabihin
9. Sika Laeng Iti Biag
10. Paano (originally sung by Dulce)
11. Lagi Na Lang (originally sung by Leah Navarro)
12. Iduyan Mo (originally sung by Basil Valdez)
13. Pumapatak and Ulan (originally sung by APO Hiking Society)
14. Manila with Gloc-9 (originally sung by Hotdog)
15. Joey’s Theme / Umaga Na Naman (originally sung by Christopher De Leon from the movie “Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising)
16. Handog (originally sung by Florante)

You can follow Noel Cabangon: twitter.com/noelcabangon, www.facebook.com/pages/Noel-Cabangon