JEDDAH, 8 March 2004 — A gathering of 'glittering' and promising 'stars' amused, delighted and fascinated the audience as they rendered their carefully prepared piano pieces at the recently concluded piano recital held at the Saudia's Saudi Arabia International School (SAIS).

"I am so nervous. With the huge crowd in front of me, I feel I'm a celebrity that night," 9-year-old Eunice Gavieres said after her rendition of "Prelude No. 1 from Well-tempered Clavichord" by J.S. Bach. Gavieres admitted that her performance that night was something special compared to the previous recitals. "I feel I've gained some mileage in my piano studies."

"I feel not just a star but a superstar," Camille Arianne Martin jokingly remarked after her rendition of "Ballade Pour Adeline" by Richard Clayderman.

"My son Jeremy is a precious gift we have ever had. He is talented enough to become a star someday," was how parent and program emcee Ahjid Sayas described his fast learner 7-year-old son Jeremy Van Gogh Sayas. His rendition of "The Baseball Game" by Willard Palmer was well applauded.

Asked to name one of the performers who could be considered in the advanced stage of learning, music instructor and event organizer Sylvia delos Santos cited 16-year-old Diane Jasmine Cristino, who plays the clarinet in the SAIS band.

"Diane is a fast learner and at her young age, she can play piano at grade 5 level," Mrs. delos Santos said.

Diane mesmerized the audience with her splendid interpretation of the original arrangement of "Waltz in E flat major, op. 18," also known as "Grande valse brillante" by Frederic Chopin, a romantic composer during the 18th century.

To 10-year old Dannica Espera, who performed Ludwig Van Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5," "the real star was our teacher Sylvia delos Santos."

Twelve-year-old Deema, the daughter of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Sharbatly, also said her teacher was the "star for all reasons."

"I personally thank her for that enduring dedication and great encouragement," said Deema, who delighted the audience with her resounding rendition of "Musetta's Waltz," popularized by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Musetta's Waltz is a tragic story about love and is a perennial favorite among opera fans.

The event was the seventh piano recital organized by Mrs. delos Santos, who had trained hundreds of young musicians in the past years that she had been teaching in Jeddah.

"This piano recital was meant to lead and challenge my students to aim high ... and become world-class performers," she said. "My vision is to build the children's self-esteem as I bring music into their lives. This simple beginning can lead to something bigger, greener and glittering future."

A graduate of the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music, delos Santos herself has one reason to be proud during that night. The youngest among the recitalists was her son, 5-year-old Miguel Adrian, who seemed unmindful of the big crowd as he played "Around the Totem Pole" and "Alouette (Medley)."

The list of stars seemed endless.

There was Beige Zue Manguba, 12 years old, who performed the "Sonatina Op. 36, No.3, 1st Movement" by Muzio Clemente; Stan Lee Young interpreted the "Hungarian Rhapsody" by Liszt; Aina Munder, daughter of Labor AttachŽ Nasser Munder, played "Romeo and Juliet" by Nino Rota; and Faysaleyyah Abdullah performed Aragonaise from the Opera "Le Cid" by Jules Massenet.

Not to be outdone was Nadia Dandachi, a pupil of Jeddah Private School, who, at 10, played her own composition the "Storm." Still another Saudi was Bader Waleed Al-Tunisi, who played the "Souvenirs D' Andalouise (Caprice de Concert) by L.M. Gottschalk.

The event was sponsored by SAID, Tess Dineros, Mr. and Mrs. Catacutan, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick de Silva, Mr. and Mrs. Ahjid Sayas, Ireneo delos Santos, Efren Ona and Leonila de Silva.