“CELEBRATIONS: 30 Years of Christmas Concert at The Pen” will be held today, 5-7 p.m., at The Peninsula Manila. Proceeds will benefit survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” under The Peninsula Hotels’ “Hope for the Philippines” awareness and fundraising campaign.

The audience will be asked to each contribute P975 (exclusive of taxes and consumable with selections from a special merienda menu), 25 percent of which will go to the “Hope for the Philippines” fund.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), more than 10 million people have been affected by Yolanda.

All Peninsula Hotels in Asia and the US have banded together to help the survivors with “Hope for the Philippines” campaign. All proceeds will be donated to Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation Inc. with the stipulation that funds go directly to rebuilding homes and communities in the affected areas of Eastern Visayas.

Peninsula Manila general manager Sonja Vodusek said the ongoing “Hope” campaign will run until Jan. 31. “All Peninsula hotels will make a donation of $5 for each guest stay. Also, a special Philippine Tea of Hope and Halo Halo of Hope will be served in our hotel lobbies, with ‘Hope’ receiving 100 percent of the retail price. Lastly, guests staying in our hotels are invited to purchase a Trees of Hope SnowPage ornament where 100 percent of the funds raised will benefit ‘Hope.’ In Manila, guests will receive a yellow sun designed by a member of The Peninsula Manila team for every SnowPage purchased for P500. They can hang these on our Tree of 1,000 Suns which represents healing, hope and new beginnings.”

To ensure a landmark anniversary fundraising concert, The Peninsula Manila and its principal sponsors—Stores Specialists Inc., Citibank, Philippine Tatler and Delta Airlines, in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines—have gathered a stellar cast of performers:

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), to be conducted by its former musical director, maestro Ruggero Barbieri, who is flying in from Italy;

The University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers, one of the world’s best, specializing in the madrigal idiom which has inspired their unique setup of singing while seated in a semicircle, without a conductor;

The University of Santo Tomas Singers, which has achieved the rare distinction of winning the highly coveted Choir of the World Grand Prize-Luciano Pavarotti Grand Prize twice (1995 and 2010) at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddofod in Wales;

José Mari Chan, one of the country’s most prolific singer-songwriters whose 1989 album “Constant Change” is considered as the first Filipino record to reach the Diamond status (400,000 copies sold), and is currently the second biggest-selling album in the Philippines with sales of over 800,000 units;

Lani Misalucha, born to a Filipino family of musicians and the first female Asian singer to headline a show in Las Vegas;

Rachelle Gerodias, one of the Philippines’ most-awarded sopranos.

Performing a violin solo is Dino Akira K. Decena, associate concertmaster of the PPO.

Directing the show is theater veteran and award-winning performer Freddie Santos.

The show’s repertoire has an array of classics and traditional Yuletide favorites, from Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons, 1st Movement from Winter” to “O Holy Night” and “Joy to the World” to “Jingle Bells,” the “Hallelujah Chorus” and Handel’s “Messiah.”

Said Vodusek, “Rest assured that your generosity will go a long way in helping the Visayas. Also, come early! Seats are on a first-come, first-served basis!”