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| The Thomasian Choir with conductor Nobel Gabasan |
A mini-concert last Friday, Dec 6, featuring the Thomasian Chamber Choir of the University of Santo Tomas, brought memories of a traditional Filipino Christmas celebration to many of the 100-odd people in attendance.
The choir sang a
medley of well-loved Filipino Christmas songs like “Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit,” “Sa May Bahay,” “Pasko Na Naman”
and “Mano Po Ninong,” causing a wave of nostalgia to sweep through the mainly
Filipino audience.
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The group, which
came all the way from Manila for the performance, also sang Filipino all-time
favorites like “Rosas Pandan”, “Ti Ayat ti Maysa Nga Ubing” and “Mariposa,” as
well as more contemporary tunes like “Manila”
and “Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin.”
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| The open-air amphitheater setting provided the best backdrop for the concert |
The concert at the Lippo Amphitheater of the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre, as well as the cocktail reception that followd, was hosted by the Philippine Consulate General and was called “Pamaskong Handog ng Konsulado”.
Consul General
Germinia Aguilar-Usudan led in welcoming the guests, who included members of
the the diplomatic corps, Consulate staff, members of their partner-organizations,
and Filipino community leaders.
Congen Usudan told
the gathering that this is the last Christmas she’ll be spending in Hong Kong,
as she will be recalled to the Head Office of the Philippine Department of
Foreign Affairs in March next year.
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| Congen Usudan who is a UST alumna herself, joins the choir in a photo after the concert |
She paid special thanks to UST alumnus and musical conductor Nobel Gabasan, who spent a number of weekends flying to Manila from his Hong Kong homebase, to practice with the choir before their performance.
The Thomasian
also entertained overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong when they sang at the
celebration of Migrants Day on Chater
Road the next day, Sunday.
