Thankful Thursday: Of Gratitude + Miracles

This week, I am grateful for:

  • spending time with my love :heart:
  • goofing around with my little man 🙂
  • catching up with my cousin {who is actually more of a brother!} over frozen teas
  • more opportunities through the blogs
  • new postcards
  • numerous surprises in the mail
  • yummy oatmeal cookies
  • catching up with mum blogger friends
  • opportunities to secure the future
  • a set of Frixion Color Pens from a friend
  • renewing this domain in the nick of time {I was doing online stuff through mobile and have not opened my laptop in over a week, I was panicked when I read an email from godaddy.com that this domain has expired! A blogger’s nightmare, right? Relieved that I was able to renew it just in time and got the blog up and running again after a couple of hours. Whew!}

No matter what life throws at us, if we have gratitude in our hearts always, everything is indeed a miracle! What are you thankful for today?

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Music: Young Virtuosos Entice New Audience Into Classical Music With Timeless Oeuvres

concerts, events, announcement, concerts in PH, music

For Filipinos, classical music may not have a cult-like following like that of Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift. But young and accomplished performers of classical music are showing that classical music can be appealing, too.

On September 24, winners of the National Music Competitions for Young Artists {NAMCYA}, the country’s most prestigious music competition for the youth for more than 40 years, will be performing with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra {PPO} to give a sampling of great works of some of the most prodigious composers who ever lived.

Titled “Konsyerto: Unang Hakbang,” this concert of NAMCYA winners together with the PPO introduces the audience to snippets of longer musical works that have defined musical genres throughout history.

“We called it ‘unang hakbang,’ or first step, because we hope the audience will take that first step to appreciate the beauty of classical music. It is also the first step for some of our young musicians on the stage as professional musicians,” says NAMCYA Secretary General Renato Lucas. “It will be a night of magnificent music-making by NAMCYA’s young virtuosos.”

Lucas adds that NAMCYA has chosen five of its most recent winners to help bring their music to younger audiences.

Andrew Constantino, 1st prize & Special Prize winner for Woodwind {Clarinet} in 2015, will explore the leaps and limits of the clarinet range with Allegro from Clarinet Concerto No. 2, Op. 74, of Carl Maria von Weber {1786 – 1826}. Andrew is a 20-year-old clarinetist who was taught by his grandfather to play the clarinet at age 9. He was also a scholar of the Philippine High School for the Arts {PHSA}.

Aaron Rafael Aguila III, 1st prize & Best Interpretation winner in the 2016 Senior Guitar Category, will bring to life a classic guitar piece by performing Adagio from Concerto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo {1901 – 1999}. Aaron started playing classical guitar at the age of 9 under Ivar Fojas. He earned his music degree under the tutelage of Lester Demetillo and has trained with other well-known classical guitarists.

Nikki Zen Obmasca, 1st prize winner in the 2016 Solo Rondalla Category, will delight the audience with her rendition of Moto Perpetuo by Nicolo Paganini {1782-1840}. This piece of Paganini was made for violin but Nikki will play it with her bandurria and infuse her own virtuosic way of playing. She started playing the bandurria when she was only 5 years old and is now a scholar of the PHSA under the tutelage of Nelson Espejo.

Mishael Romano, 1st prize winner in the 2016 Junior Strings {Violin} Category, will attempt to show the innovativeness of Felix Mendelssohn {1809 – 1847} with Allegro molto appassionato from the composer’s Violin Concerto, Op. 64. Mishael is 17-years-old and hails from Dipolog in Mindanao. He started playing the violin when he was only 5-years-old, and because he is homeschooled, he has more time to focus on his music.

Gabriel Allan Paguirigan, a two-time winner of NAMCYA, having won the grand prize in 2011 {Category B} and in 2015 {Senior Category}, will display his artistry and mastery by performing a Hungarian work, Adagio religioso-Allegro vivace from Piano Concerto No. 3, Sz. 119 of Bela Bartok {1881-1945}. Gabriel started his piano lessons at the age of 8 and has finished his Diploma in Creative and Performing Music Arts {DCPMA} Major in Piano, under the tutelage of Prof. Luci Magalit and Prof. Nita Abrogar-Quinto.

The country’s leading orchestra and resident company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the PPO will also perform Der Freischuetz Overture by Carl Maria von Weber and L’italiana in Algeri Overture by Gioacchino Rossini. The orchestra will be under the baton of Maestro Herminigildo Ranera.

“We are trying to open up new opportunities for our youth today to explore music from the great composers of the past. We hope NAMCYA’s young artists will help us with that,” says Lucas.

NAMCYA’s Konsyerto: Unang Hakbang is happening this Sunday, 24 September 5pm, at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo {CCP Main Theater}. Tickets are at Php800, Php400, and Php300.  Special discounts apply. To purchase you may call 836.4928 and 0917.750.0107 or buy online at bit.ly/NAMCYAKonsyertoCCP

For more information, please email namcya@gmail.com.

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5 Tips To Help Make The Most Of Your Manila International Book Fair 2017 Visit

Booklovers everywhere are excited for the much-awaited event of the year, The 38th Manila International Book Fair 2017. I for one cannot wait to drop by and check out the amazing things in-store for bookworms who will troop to the fair this weekend!

Before  going to the SMX Convention Center, consider these 5 tips to help you make the most of your MIBF2017 visit:

Print Your Free Tickets

Especially if you are going with the entire family, or your booklover friends, it is best to come prepared and print your free tickets to save on $$$. Here’s a rundown of the places where you can get your free MIBF2017 tickets:

  1. National Book Development Board – Philippines
  2. Adarna House
  3. Visprint
  4. Omf Literature
  5. National Bookstore
  6. CSM Publishing

Check Event Schedule

If you are eyeing to participate in activities or have your books signed by your favorite authors, it is best to check the event schedule prior to your visit. A detailed schedule for each day of the exhibit can be found at the manilabookfair.com website. You can also check out the hashtag, #MIBF2017 on your social media pages, for updates about the event or to check out what others are getting from the fair.

Make Your Books-to-Buy List

It will be a challenge to sort through each booth at the fair in search of books to complete your collection or for that title your little one’s been bugging you to buy for him. Making a list will make your job a lot easier. If you can, it is also wise to do a quick inventory of the titles you already have at home to make sure you won’t be getting duplicates.

Make A Budget And Stick To It!

The sight of way too many books on sale can be very overwhelming for a bibliophile, so to make sure you won’t be spending the rest of your monthly allowance or the money that you reserved for something else, it is best to make a budget for your book shopping at the fair. Make sure to stick to it as best you can, too!

Bring An Ecobag

If you plan to splurge on books at the fair, better bring your own ecobags as it is a lot easier to dump every book or stationery item in there instead of lugging multiple paper or plastic bags. Plus, you are also helping save the environment by recycling ecobags you have at home, a win-win! 🙂

Since it is the weekend, and a payday, at that, expect a throng of people with plans to check out the book fair just like you. Going early might just give you a chance to browse around without wading through a crowd of overexcited readers also on a mission to find the best book bargain. Bringing your child might not be too ideal, but if you are also going for the first time and would love for your little one to experience the book fair, make sure your little explorer sticks with you at all times.

I hope you find these tips and tricks helpful. See you at the MIBF this weekend, mums! Do not forget to say hi when you see me. Have a happy weekend! :heart:

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