August 2018 – For almost two hours, Filipinos enjoyed Filipino and classical music rendered by no less than Filipino renowned pianist Dr. Raul Sunico, who was flown in from Manila to Beirut by the Embassy of the Philippines for a series of concerts in Beirut, Byblos and Hadat.

An audience comprising mostly of members of the Filipino working community had a taste of truly world-class performance by Sunico who has held solo concerts in major world cities, most recently in Ottawa, Lisbon and Oslo this year.

Held on Sunday, August 19, in the church at College du Sacre-Coeur, Gemmayze, the audience savored and were moved by each Filipino musical piece carefully chosen by Sunico as his gift to his countrymen.

Sunico, the virtuoso pianist that he is, played every composition with his heart, mind and soul. For this special event, he played Filipino classics such as “Buhat” (Ever Since), “Bayan Ko” (My Native Land), “Hanggang sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan” (Till the ends of the earth), and Visayan love songs “Matud Nila” (What They Say) and “Usahay” (Sometimes). All these pieces together with Philippine folk songs he played were given fresh and exciting arrangements by Sunico himself.

But the Filipino crowd was not deprived of great musical pieces either. Sunico also played classics by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Claude Debussy, Frederic Chopin, and Franz Lizst. He ended his concert with a powerful performance of “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin.

Reactions were overwhelmingly positive. Filipino priest, Fr. Henry Ponce, and worker Nenibeth Boncales were proud, happy and thankful the Embassy organized a cultural event that uplifted the Filipino spirit. Fr. Henry marveled over Sunico’s unique arrangements that breathed life into folk and classical Filipino songs.

Celso de los Santos, a Filipino community leader, said the concert provided an occasion to raise the profile of the Filipino diaspora in Lebanon. For Norhana Samad and Sally Regala, the concert was very comforting, easing their homesickness and longing for home. Purita Meadun and her friends from Catholic group El Shaddai, loved the beautiful pieces as they lauded Sunico’s awesome musicality.

Sunico’s concert series in Lebanon titled “Music and Love From the Philippines” is organized by the Embassy of the Philippines in Beirut and National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines in partnership with College du Sacre Coeur, and the municipalities of Hadat and Jbail, Byblos.