The Orchestra of the Filipino Youth performs in the Katara Opera House (Doha PE photo)
DOHA 05 November 2018 – The Orchestra of the Filipino Youth (OFY), under the baton of young Venezuelan composer Joshua Dos Santos, performed to a capacity crowd composed of members of the diplomatic corps, business sectors, members of the Filipino Community, and local audiences at the Katara Opera House in Doha, Qatar on 26 October 2018.
The concert is a cultural diplomacy initiative of the Department of Foreign Affairs under the Office of the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, in cooperation with Ang Misyon Inc. (AMI) and the Philippine Embassy in Doha.
Composed of 69 young music scholars from the Philippines aged 11 to 24 years, orchestra members came mostly from underprivileged families.
“The Orchestra of the Filipino Youth is the main performing arm of Ang Misyon or The Mission, a non-profit organization based in the Philippines which believes in the transformative power of music in bringing about social change. Ang Misyon helps talented young musicians, especially those who come from underprivileged families, to hone their potential through the pursuit of classical music,” Ambassador to Doha Alan L. Timbayan said.
The Manila-based orchestra captivated the audience with their astounding performance of the 35-minute Symphony No. 12 “The Year 1917” by Dmitri Shostakovich, Nabucco Overture by Giuseppe Verdi, Batuque by Oscar Lorenzo Fernández, Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Márquez, Mambos by Eugenio Toussaint and a wonderful rendition of the Filipino classic “Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko” by Rey Valera.
The Katara Opera House, which has a 430-seating capacity concert, reverberated with resounding applause for the outstanding performance of the youth orchestra who indulged the audience with three encore performances after extended applauses. END
Conductor Joshua Dos Santos leads the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth’s stellar performance (Leo Bautista photo)
Ambassador to Qatar Alan L. Timbayan welcomes concert goers. (Leo Bautista photo)
he 430-seating capacity Katara Opera House in Doha is filled to capacity during the concert. (Leo Bautista photo)
For more information, visit www.dohape.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinQatar.
