JEDDAH, 1 March 2006 — After nearly seven months of rigorous training — Serenata, the first children’s choir in Jeddah — is now ready to sing for the public.
Under the direction of music teacher Sylvia de los Santos, the 45-member choir will have its breakout concert on Friday, starting at 7 p.m., at the conference hall of the Saudi German Hospital Auditorium.
During the 2-hour concert, titled “Serenata...Songs from the Heart,” the choir will interpret a variety of songs, including English and foreign songs, Filipino folksongs, as well as traditional and OPM (original Pilipino music) songs.
A special ballet number and a piano presentation, featuring three of the most promising piano students in Jeddah, will spice up the concert.
“This concert will surely make every Filipino proud to be Filipino because of the quality of the performance of the choir. They have been thoroughly trained in choral singing, been given training in leadership and discipline. And, with the many hours we spent rehearsing, I can say that this concert will be a quality concert,” Mrs. delos Santos told Arab News.
The main beneficiary of their concert will be the victims of the Southern Leyte mudslide. The choir will donate at least 100,000 pesos of the proceeds of their concert through the Sagip Kapamilya Foundation of ABS-CBN.
“Originally, the choir intended to raise funds for Balbalasang Elementary School in Kalinga province. However, we learned that the proposed project had already been funded by the local government, so the community urged Serenata to look for another beneficiary. That’s why, Serenata’s working committee decided to send donations to the victims of the Southern Leyte landslide instead,” explained Desil Manapat, chair of Serenata.
Last Christmas, the choir serenaded and gave gifts to the wards of the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) at the Philippine Consulate.