Paco Park Presents is a public service project of the National Parks Development Committee, under Acting Executive Director Salome T. Habal, the National Broadcasting Network, and for the whole month of February, in partnership with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. Mr. Freddie Edos is the Executive In Charge of the concert project. Gie V. Arnold writes the script.
Philippine-German Month is celebrated yearly in Paco Park Presents during the entire month of February. It started out as a special concert, conceived by Dr. Christoph Jessen, then Press & Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, in honor of out-going German Ambassador Wolfgang Eger. With the help of the late Teodoro F. Valencia of the National Parks Development Committee, Dr. Jessen’s idea became a reality on February 29, 1980. Its tremendous success paved the way for the mounting of regular Friday concerts, which became known as Paco Park Presents.
The Kasilag Guitar Trio is named in honor of Philippine composer, National Artist for Music and a very good friend of Paco Park Presents – the late Dr. Lucrecia “Tita King” Kasilag, whose significant contributions to Philippine music are now part of the country’s pride and treasures. The group, formerly known as the Kasilag Guitar Quartet, had their inaugural concert in July 2004, the same year their debut compact disc featuring standard classical pieces as well as modern works of Kasilag, Morten Lauridsen and Jose Valdez was released. The trio, who are all prizewinners of the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA), active soloists and music educators, has become one of the most active guitar groups in Manila today.
For their concert on Friday, the Kasilag Guitar Trio has prepared the following program: THREE RENAISSANCE DANCES (Michael Praetorius); LULLABY and PRELUDE ETNIKA (National Artist Lucrecia Kasilag); FRENCH SUITE NO. 5 BWV 816 (Bach); DALAGANG PILIPINA (Jose Santos); HOMEWARD STRETCH fr. “Mountain Sketches” (National Artist Antonino Buenaventura); HUNGARIAN DANCE NO. 5 (Brahms); and SKETCHES FOR 3 GUITARS (Angel Peña).
