Baritone Noel Azcoña, flutist John Raymond Sarreal and pianist Najib Ismail will open the 2013 Music News Intimate Concert Series on April 20, 7 p.m., at the UP Abelardo Hall in Dilimin, Quezon City.
The assistant music director of the multi-awarded and internationally acclaimed University of Santo Tomas Singers, Azcoña has been a featured soloist of the Las Piñas International Bamboo Organ Festival and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. He joined the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ productions of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Rossini’s “Barber of Seville.” At the St. Cecilia’s Hall, he performed Escamillo in the production of Carmen by Bizet.
Music critic Rosalinda L. Orosa has written of Azcoña and Ismail thus: “Baritone Noel Azcoña showed the most assurance, flair and aplomb. His voice was lush, intensely powerful and resonant in Mozart’s aria Hai gia vinta la causa, his animated interpretation vividly reflecting the spirit of The Marriage of Figaro… Pianist Najib Ismail, an excellent assisting artist, anticipated every note, every pause unerringly and uncannily.”
Azcoña’s April 20 program includes Bach’s Bist du bei Mir, Carissimi’s Vittoria mio core, Jacques Ibert’s Four Songs, Liszt’s Benedetto Sia il Giorno, Schoenberg’s Stars (from “Les Miserables”); Abelardo’s “Magbalik Ka Hirang”; Mozart’s Hai Gia vinta la causa Vedro M’entrio sospiro (from Le nozze di Figaro); Tchaikovsky’s 9. Ja vas lyub lyu (from Pique Dame); and the Toreador Song from Carmen by Bizet.
The same program will be presented at the Kemji Resort Hall in Virac, Catanduanes on April 27, 7 p.m., as part of the 2013 Catanduanes Summer Music Festival.
The concerts are presented by Music News, UP College of Music, Manila Chamber Orchestra Foundation, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Philipine Amusement and Gaming Corporation. Tickets are at P500 and P300. Call 5763132 or 0906-5104270.
