UNDER one banner, choirs from all over the University shared the stage in this year’s UST Christmas concert held at the Santissimo Rosario Parish Church on Dec. 4.
“It was the first time we did it [the collaboration] and I think it worked very well… hopefully, we can make it into a tradition,” Conservatory of Music Dean Antonio Africa said.
The flurry of choirs, which included Coro Tomasino, the Liturgikon Vocal Ensemble, UST Cantemus Chorale, UST Chorus of the Nightingales, UST One Voice Engineering Club, UST Pharmacy Glee Club, UST Accountancy Chamber Singers, UST Chorus of Arts and Letters, UST College of Science Glee Club, UST Senior High School Virtuoso and UST Junior High School Glee Club, sang an arrangement of an “all-Filipino Christmas” medley arranged by conductor Hermingildo Ranera.
The medley included well-loved tunes such as “Simbang Gabi,” “Sa Paskong Darating” and “Pasko na Naman.”
“I think the choirs really picked up a lot from this collaboration,” said Ryan Jao, a performer from UST Cantemus Chorale.
For the opening number, a stunning set was littered with dim, dancing lights of red, blue and white as the Conservatory’s Francisco de Guzman Jr. and Cloie Daphne Sugano, tenor and soprano soloists, kicked off the night with French composer Adolphe Adam’s “O Holy Night.”
The soloists were accompanied by a massive chorus from Coro Tomasino and Liturgikon Vocal Ensemble, as well as the UST Symphony Orchestra with Ranera at the helm.
This was followed by grand orchestral renditions of classic carols by English composer John Rutter such as “Star Carol,” “Angels We Have Heard On High” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
Opera veteran Irma Potenciano performed the aria “Vissi d’ arte” from Italian composer Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Tosca.”
The Christmas concert was held in the church, the usual venue, instead of Plaza Mayor where it was held last year.
“There are two reasons for bringing the Christmas concert back to the chapel: the first is the unpredictable weather and the second is the acoustics,” Africa said.
“The acoustics is also very important, it sounds much better in the chapel,” he added. Beatrice H. Crucillo
