The Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen successfully staged a musical concert, “2019 Xiamen International Friendship Concert”, featuring the international debut performance of the Manila Piano Trio, with special participation of the Symphony Orchestra of Xiamen Opera and Dance Drama Theater held at the Hongtai Concert Hall, Xiamen City on 13 June 2019.
The concert forms part of the Consulate General’s commemoration of the 121st Anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence and mainstreaming activity of Sentro Rizal (SR) - Xiamen/cultural diplomacy thrusts for 2019 and is a joint collaboration of the Consulate General, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Foreign Affairs Office of Xiamen Municipal People’s Government (Xiamen FAO) and Xiamen People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
The Trio serenaded and awed the crowd with a standout performance and rendition of timeless suites of Filipino music, western classic and Chinese love songs followed by Xiamen Symphony Orchestra’s rendition of “Serenade in C and G Majors by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky”.
The concert was well received by close to 800 guests in attendance which included high level Chinese Government officials, business sector, academe, members of the Filipino community, media and the general public.
The Trio is a brainchild of Berlin-based virtuoso concert pianist, Dr. Abelardo G. Galang, II formed in late 2017, with internationally trained artists, Denise Michelle Santos-Huang, violinist and Antoni Josef R. Inacay, cellist. The Trio is a resident chamber ensemble of the School of Music of the Philippine Women’s University. Both Santos-Huang and Inacay are US-trained, while pianist Galang was trained in Japan and Germany.
The Symphony Orchestra of Xiamen Opera and Dance Drama Theater, believed to be one of the best ensembles of its kind in China, was founded in 1996. As a municipal state-owned ensemble, it performs in major cultural, artistic and foreign affairs activities in Xiamen led by its multi-awarded conductor Zhou Ke and concert master Li Lei.
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