Last night was a blast! The 'Serenata' concert which was held at the American International School of Jeddah, (Friday, January 5, 2010) was so successful. It was a bit disappointing though because Ms. Tina Monzon Palma, the Program Director of Bantay Bata 163 and Sagip Kapamilya of ABS-CBN foundation, didn't make it to the show due to immigration lapses at the Jeddah International Airport. But then before the show started, Ms. Palma made a call via phone patch from Doha, Qatar, and lamented at her disappointment for her not being on the event.
The show started with an invocation from a little girl singing a heart-warming piece. Then, the Serenata Children's Choir sang their first three consecutive songs, they were in Latin (The Music of Life, Jubilate Deo and Panis Angelicus). The choir's voices were like angels.
Then, they sang a couple of more songs, but when they get to the part when they sang "Seasons of Love", I really got excited, because it's one of my favorite songs. It's the soundtrack of the Broadway musical "RENT". I can't help but to sing along quietly with the choir. And who can forget that thunder and rain effect made by the choir and the guest performers in the song, "Listen to the Rain", the audience were perplexed and amused at the same time.
During the intermission, most of the people went outside to buy some food and drinks. There were a lot of food stalls outside from the sponsors of the event. It was a cold night, I was trembling while sipping my chocolate frappuccino.
The second part of the concert was equally amazing. I love the part when they sang the Disney soundtrack from the movie " Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin" and The Little Mermaid". The "Blue suede Shoes" was also great.
Then it was the Serenata String Chamber Orchestra's turn during the third part of the concert. Their APO Hiking Society medley and the Beatles medley rendered me feeling nostalgic. I also love "My Favorite Things" from the musical, "Sound of Music".
In general, it was a great concert. When it was over, the sponsors of the event, Toyo and Indomie gave some giveaways to the concert-goers on exit. I just felt bad because I didn't get any photos. I didn't bring my camera because we were forewarned outside the gate not to bring any camera. To my disappointment, I saw a lot of people taking photos inside the concert hall. I thought I should have brought mine.
(This photo was courtesy of Mr. Nereus Jethro Abad. Proceeds of the Serenata concert will go to the four Filipino high school students for their college education through Bantay Edukasyon Program of Bantay Bata 163.)
After the concert...
After the concert, my fellow blogger Mr. Nereus Jethro Abad with four of his friends, invited me and my colleague for a dinner at Casper & Gambini's, we had a great time there.
The dinner was sumptuous, most of us preferred their popular bestseller, the Beef Tenderloin Steak with mashed potato, and myself opting for a glass of Carrot juice. The dessert was fabulous too, courtesy of our friend working at Casper & Gambini's, Mr. Jojo Borlaza. Though I was on a diet, who could resist Brownies, Raspberry Cheese Cake and Chocolate Cake? Damn it! It was really good.
