THE HAGUE– The Philippine Embassy in The Hague held a special Independence Day Piano Recital on 02 June 2022, as part of its series of activities in commemoration of the 124th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence.
The event was well-attended by the members of the diplomatic corps, key officials from the Dutch Government and other international organizations based in The Hague, as well as Filipino-Dutch community leaders, entrepreneurs and artists, among others.
In his welcome remarks, Philippine Ambassador to The Netherlands J. Eduardo Malaya said that “The Filipinos are renowned as a musically inclined people. Through this event, we are pleased to introduce to our Dutch and other friends Filipino music, which also reflects the various traditions that have enriched our Southeast Asian culture, notably Muslim, Spanish, and American.”
The piano recital featured Dr. Victor Santiago Asunción, a renowned Filipino-American pianist based in Chicago, who has performed in concert halls in Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, US, Brussels, and the Philippines.
Dr. Asuncion played well-loved Filipino and Dutch compositions as well as a number of popular pieces from both classical and contemporary repertoires.
In his playing of the Filipino compositions, Dr. Asuncion was joined in by Mr. Mikko Pablo, a very gifted young Filipino cellist based in Belgium.
Sponsors of the event were the Knights of Rizal-The Hague Chapter, the United Filipino-Dutch Association, and the Andre Kerstens, distributor of the Philippines’ Don Papa Rum and Santa Ana Gin.
Attended by a hundred guests, the event is the inaugural cultural performance at the Chancery after its first comprehensive renovation work since the property was acquired by the Philippine Government in 1968. The event was also streamed live on the Embassy’s facebook page, facebook.com/PHinTheNetherlands.
The theme of this year’s Philippine Independence Day celebration is “Kalayaan 2022: Pagsuong sa Hamon ng Panibagong Bukas” (Rise Towards the Challenge of a New Beginning).
More information on Dr. Asunción can be viewed at victorsantiagoasuncion.com, while those on Mr. Pablo’s are available at https://mikkopablo.com/.
Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs