PPO CONCERT WITH ARIEL DECHOSA

Eminent Filipino pianist Ariel Dechosa returns to the CCP stage in a concert with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) in its 4^th concert series slated on December 16, 2011, Friday, 8:00 p.m. at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater). Maestro Olivier Ochanine conducts.

            Dechosa will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. Program also includes  Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2.

            Dechosa is a National Music Competition for Young Artists awardee. He also won the 1996 Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition (3^rd prize), 1994 Santa Barbara Symphony International Piano Competition (3^rd prize), the 1993 Five Towns Competition (1^st prize), and the 1991 Great Neck Symphony Young Artists Competition (1^st prize).

            Dechosa won a scholarship to study at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, where he subsequently earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees under the tutelage of Prof. Arkady Aronov. Upon graduation, he was given the prestigious Harold Sauer-Award, the highest prize bestowed to a graduating pianist. He also studied at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore where he earned a Graduate Performing Diploma as a student of Boris Slutsky. He has taken regular master classes with Leon Fleisher, Paul Badura-Skoda, Vladimir Feltsman, and Ruth Laredo.

            An active soloist and chamber musician, Dechosa has performed in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, and Corcoran Gallery of Art, among others. He has played with the Northwest Sinfonietta in Seattle and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra performing Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto. He has also been invited to perform at music festivals in the La Schola Cantorum Piano Series in Paris, Merano Festival in Italy, and the Lasker Music Festival in North Carolina.

            Ariel Dechosa resides in Inwood, West Virginia with his wife Vivian, and teaches at Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland. He is currently the Music Director of Inter-Atlantic Music Foundation based in the USA and Bulgaria.

Ticket prices: P1000/800/500/P350/200, with discounts available to students, senior citizens and groups. Subscription packages are also available for eight (8) or four (4) shows. For inquiries and subscriptions, please call the CCP Marketing Department (832-1125 loc. 1806), the CCP Box Office (832-3704) or Ticketworld at National Bookstore (891-9999).

SPEND CHRISTMAS WITH RICHARD POON

Album cover

Celebrate the Holiday season with the country’s multi-platinum crooner Richard Poon as he releases “Christmas with Richard Poon.” This is his very first Christmas album.

“I’m so thankful to MCA Music for giving me a chance to finally do a Christmas album. This is my gift to all my fans who supported me through the years,” said Richard Poon.

Richard, who will be sharing the stage with legendary singer/songwriter Jose Mari Chan in a concert entitled “The Songwriter and the Crooner” on December 2 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), sings yuletide favorites like “Last Christmas”, “Christmas Song”, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, “Merry Christmas Darling” and “Grown Up Christmas List”. It also includes the carrier single, the well-loved Christmas track “Jingle Bells” which features talented jazz vocal trio Baihana (composed of Mel Torre, Krina Cayabyab and Anna Achacoso).

“Collaborating with Baihana was such a blast,” said Richard Poon. “It’s amazing to work and record with these three talented and lovely ladies and hear such great results on record.”

Richard can also be seen regularly at ASAP Rocks as part of the popular ASAP Sessionistas. His previous albums “I’ll Take Care of You” and “For You” are muilti-platinum success in the Philippines. Richard’s current full album “I’ll Be Seeing You (Deluxe Edition)” which features his collaborations with top singers Nina, Sitti and Ms. Lea Salonga, is also doing well as evidenced in the retail charts.

With a great line-up of Christmas songs coupled with Richard’s cool vocals, this album is definitely a must this season.

Catch Richard Poon as he performs tracks of his Christmas album on December 14 (Wednesday) at SM North EDSA The Block and December 15 (Thursday) at SM San Lazaro. All shows start at 5pm. Buy a copy of “Christmas with Richard Poon” and have it signed by the crooner himself right after the show.

“Christmas with Richard Poon” is now out in record stores under MCA Music. To download Richard Poon’s music on your mobile phones, text RP to 3456. Or if you want to download “Jingle Bells” as your ringback tone, just text KL572 and send to 2332 for Globe/ TM subscribers, JINGBELS and send to 2728 for Smart and Talk N Text or text 5493191 and send to 2300 for Sun Cellular subscribers. Visit www.facebook.com/mcamusic for more updates on Richard Poon.

Pink goes Hollywood

ALECIA MOORE (AKA P!NK) LENDS VOICE TO GLORIA IN “HAPPY FEET 2”

Alecia "Pink" Moore as Gloria

            When Warner Bros.' highly anticipated sequel “Happy Feet 2” begins, “It’s party time,” says director George Miller, “and at the center of everything are Mumble and Gloria. Gloria is singing, Mumble is dancing, and everyone is inspired by the rhythm and chemistry between the two.”

            Mumble has grown up to be a respected leader within the Emperor penguin community. And if Mumble is the undisputed dance champ of Emperor Land, his mate Gloria is the undeniable diva. For the role of this powerhouse songstress, the filmmakers turned to Alecia Moore, also known as triple Grammy-winning recording artist P!nk. “P!nk was a natural for the role, and has been really superb,” says director Miller. “She had sung in the opening of the first movie and wanted to be involved again because she’s compassionate and a great animal lover. So for this one, in addition to voicing Gloria, she wrote the wonderful lullaby called ‘Bridge of Light,’ with Billy Mann.”

            No stranger to a recording booth, Moore was nonetheless a little nervous about making her voice acting debut. Watching other cast members helped to change that. She recounts, “I got to watch Brad [Pitt] and Matt [Damon] not only record some of their dialogue, but they also had to sing. They just went for it, and I thought, ‘Wow, I really have nothing to fear in there.’”

            Producer Doug Mitchell says, “When it came to Alecia’s turn to record, of course, she totally nailed it. She’s a great professional and a lovely person. Her song, ‘Bridge of Light,’ is wonderful and touches on one of the great themes in the movie.”

            Alecia Moore (P!nk) has sold over 40 million albums and 65 million singles worldwide, winning three Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards, and one World Music Award. P!nk has cemented her spot as one of the biggest female artists of the past decade, and the top five touring artist in the world with her record-breaking Funhouse World Tour, which elevated her from an arena performer to a global stadium act.

            In 2010, “Raise Your Glass,” the lead single on her compilation album celebrating a decade of success, Greatest Hits…So Far!!!, became P!nk’s tenth Top 10 hit. It was her second solo number one hit, following 2008’s "So What" from the album Funhouse, which also notched an additional three Top 20 hits.

            P!nk’s previous albums include the 2000 debut Can't Take Me Home; 2001’s  worldwide success Missundaztood;  2003’s Try This, which earned her a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal performance for the single “Trouble”; and 2006’s I'm Not Dead, which generated five hit singles, including “U + Ur Hand” and “Who Knew,” which both went on to number one on the pop chart.  Rated number 13 on Billboard’s 2000-2009 list of Artists of the Decade and number one Pop Song Artist of the Decade, she was also voted Best Recording Artist in 2009. 

“Happy Feet 2” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.