UP Symphony Orchestra debuts in Davao City
Hundreds of Dabawenyos came to hear the University of the Philippines Symphony Orchestra in “Pasko at Musika ng UP Symphony Orchestra,” its first concert in Davao City, sponsored by the UP Office of the President. Youths, couples, the elderly, and family groups were seen arriving despite a sudden rainfall that coincided with the concert start time on December 20, 2022, at the USEP Sports and Cultural Center.
In return, the 65 musicians and conductor, Professor Josefino “Chino” Toledo, gave the audience more than two hours of music using violins and cellos, oboes and clarinets, horns and trumpets, basses, and percussion. Antonio Buenaventura’s “Mindanao Sketches” and Krogstad’s “Bells of Christmas” opened the show. Then, soprano Anya Evangelista and tenor Malvin Macasaet sang “Mga Kantang Bisaya” and "Minggoy" Lopez’s “Rosas Pandan,” respectively, followed by “O Soave Fanciulla,” a duet from Giacomo Puccini’s opera “La bohème.”