Hong Kong, 12 December 2024 - The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong and Sentro Rizal Hong Kong marked the start of the Christmas season in the city through a festive holiday concert on 6 December 2024 at the Lippo Amphitheater of the Asia Society Hong Kong Center dubbed “A Filipino Yuletide Serenade: Pamaskong Handog ng Konsulado.”
The mini-concert filled the evening with the joy and spirit of the holiday season as the Thomasian Chamber Choir (TCC) of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) serenaded the audience with traditional Christmas carols, Filipino folk songs, Broadway classics, and Original Pilipino Music (OPM.) The set list included all-time favorites – “Mariposa,” “Ti Ayat ti Maysa Nga Ubing,” “Manila,” “Limang-Dipang Tao,” “Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin,” “One Day More,” “Seasons of Love,” “Carol of the Bells,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “Kumukutikutitap.”
Founded in 2016, the TCC emerged from the former UST Action Singers and is being ran under the direction of Maestro Nobel Gabasan, an Overseas Filipino working and living in Hong Kong. TCC takes pride in sharing their talents for noble and altruistic causes. Such notable performances include outreach programs and benefit shows for the National Children’s Hospital’s cancer patients and Camp V. Luna Hospital’s injured soldiers, policemen and military personnel. TCC was successfully commissioned to record a corporate hymn for the Philippine Society of Hypertension at the St. Lukes Medical Center, one of the biggest medical centers in the Philippines.
The Philippine Consulate General officials and staff, headed by Consul General Germinia V. Aguilar-Usudan, welcomed over 100 guests from the Hong Kong Government, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (OCMFA) of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong SAR, the Consular Corps, members of the Hong Kong and Philippine business communities, non-government organizations (NGOs), the media and Filipino Community leaders.
In her welcome remarks, Consul General Aguilar-Usudan noted that the Filipinos celebrate the Christmas season from September to December, considered the longest in the world. This is a testament on the Filipino’s love for family gatherings and merriment. Filipinos everywhere have turned Christmas into a great holiday full of lights, music and celebrations. She likewise expressed her gratitude to the guests for their support to the Philippine Consulate and for making 2024 another successful year for PCG-HK. “Each one of you here had been instrumental to our successes,” she said. “This year, the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, through this Yuletide Serenade, wishes to share with everyone present here, our “pamasko” at “pasasalamat”,” she added.
The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong and Sentro Rizal Hong Kong regularly put together cultural events and activities, including concerts, to promote Philippine arts, culture, and language in Hong Kong. END
