Community Celebration
*Please silence your phone & turn down the brightness*
Daniel Raiskin, conductor
Jim Agapito, co-host
Chelsea Kutyn, soprano
Anica Warkentine, piano
The Sound of Love Women’s Choir
WithUs, community ensemble
Musica Singers of Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba (PCCM), choir
Paolo Camus, violin
Jett Russel Panganiban, piano
Midway March, John Williams (1932 – )
Quel Guardo il Cavaliere, Gaetano Donizetti (1797 – 1848)
Don Pasquale
Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika, Ryan Cayabyab
Red River, Sid Robinovitch
Enterprise
Concerto in A minor, Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907)
III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato
Jasmine Flower, Claude Lapalme
Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Antonin Dvorák (1841 – 1904)
Vienna, My City of Dreams, Rudolf Sieczynski
Star Trek Through the Years, Calvin Custer
Theme from Star Trek
Deep Space Nine
Inner Light
Generations
Voyager
The Motion Picture
In the Hall of the Mountain King, Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907)
Peer Gynt
KAY GANDA NG ATING MUSIKA (HOW BEAUTFUL OUR MUSIC IS)
Lyrics
Magmula na’ng ako’y natutong umawit
Ever since I learned how to sing
Naging makulay ang aking munting daigdig
My little world took on a bright new meaning
Tila pala ilog ang paghimig
How a river flows is like singing
Kung malalim damdami’y pag-ibig
When it runs deep, one signs of the depth of love
Kung umapaw, ang kaluluwa’t tinig
When overflowing, one’s spirit gushes out through his voice
Ay sadyang nanginginig.
Reaching out to people.
Magmula na’ng ako’y natutong umawit
Ever since I learned how to sing
Bawa’t sandali’y aking pilit mabatid
I’ve tried to capture and understand
Ang awit na maituturing na atin
The song that can be called ours
Mapupuri pagka’t bukod-tangi
Can be glorified because it is distinct and unique
Di marami ang di-magsasabing
Not a few will say
Heto na’t inyong dinggin!
Here it is, listen to it!
KORO (CHORUS):
Kay ganda ng ating musika (kay ganda)
How beautiful our music is (how beautiful)
Kay ganda ng ating musika (kay ganda)
How beautiful our music is (how beautiful)
Ito ay atin sariling atin
This is ours, our very own
At sa habang buhay, awitin natin
And forever, let us sing it.
Magmula na’ng ako’y natutong umawit
Ever since I learned to sing
Nagkabuhay muli ang aking paligid
Everything around me is alive again
Ngayong batid ko na ang umibig
I realize now what it is to be in love
Sa sariling tugtugtin o himig
With our own music and song
Sa isang makata’y maririnig
And hear from a poet
Mga titik (nagsasabing)
Words, that say:
KORO (CHORUS):
Kay ganda ng ating musika (kay ganda)
How beautiful our music is (how beautiful)
Kay ganda ng ating musika (kay ganda)
How beautiful our music is (how beautiful)
Ito ay atin sariling atin
This is ours, our very own
At sa habang buhay, awitin natin
And forever, let us sing it.
Kay ganda ng ating musika (kay ganda)
How beautiful our music is (how beautiful)
Kay ganda ng ating musika (kay ganda)
How beautiful our music is (how beautiful)
Ito ay atin sariling atin
This is ours, our very own
At sa habang buhay, awitin natin
And forever, let us sing it.
Kay ganda ng ating musika, ating musika!
How beautiful our music is, our music!
Jasmine Flower
Beautiful jasmine flower
Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds
Fragrant and white, everyone praises
Let me pluck you down to give to someone
Jasmine flower, jasmine flower
Daniel Raiskin, conductor
Known for cultivating a broad repertoire and looking beyond the mainstream for his strikingly conceived programmes, Daniel Raiskin has been the music director for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra since the 2018/19 season.
Daniel grew up in St. Petersburg, the son of a prominent musicologist, where he attended the celebrated conservatory in his native city. He continued his studies in Amsterdam and Freiburg, first focusing on the viola but was later inspired to take up the conductor’s baton. He studied with maestri such as Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, Milan Horvat, Woldemar Nelson und Jorma Panula.
Along with the WSO, Daniel was appointed Chief Conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in 2020/21, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016/17.
During the 2021/22 season, Daniel took the Slovak Philharmonic and participated in a successful residency at at InClassica Festival in Dubai where they shared the stage with Rudolf Buchbinder, Gil Shaham, Daniel Hope and Andreas Ottensamer. The Philharmonic also toured Germany and Austria this past spring (2022) under Daniel’s leadership.
Jim Agapito, host
Jim Agapito hosts Recovering Filipino, a podcast from CBC Manitoba featured on CBC Radio One, in which he reconnects to his Filipino heritage through a journey of self-discovery. Jim is a Filipino writer, producer, filmmaker from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Jim’s passion is storytelling, and his specialties include producing, screenwriting and directing documentaries, short films and music videos. He has worked in the Canadian film and television industry and with a number of independent production houses since obtaining diplomas in Journalism from Durham College and Digital Film Production from Red River College.
Most recently, Jim’s short film, Bakla! was awarded the Jury’s Choice for Top Manitoba Short Film in 2021, and was screened at the FascinAsian Film Festival. The documentary video short, which was commissioned for CBC Arts, explored what it means to be “BAKLA” for queer Filipinx people.
When Jim isn’t working on his multi-media projects, he writes, does boxing, takes photos and sings in a punk band.
Chelsea Kutyn, soprano
Despite the turbulent last few years, Canadian soprano Chelsea Kutyn is charging full steam ahead; winning the Rose Bowl, George H. Price Memorial Scholarship, and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Community Concert Performance Award from the Winnipeg Music Festival (April 2022). This season, Chelsea also debuts as “Magda” from Menotti’s The Consul with Opera NUOVA (July 2022) and as “Susannah” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro with Manitoba Underground Opera (Aug 2022).
This fall, Chelsea will complete her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance with Monica Huisman at the University of Manitoba and audition for young artist programs.
Recent performances include “Poppea” in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Desautels Faculty of Music Chamber Opera) and musical theatre scenes in the roles of “Sergeant Sarah” from Guys and Dolls, “Velma Kelly” from Chicago, “Catherine Parr” from Six, and “Beth” from Merrily We Roll Along (Desautels Faculty of Music Theatre Ensemble).
Following the advice of mentor Ben Butterfield who said, “Don’t bore me!” Chelsea plans to use her skills from business (BCom 2016) and performing (BMus 2020, MMus 2022) to explore opportunities in classical music and music theatre.
Anica Warkentine, piano
Anica Warkentine is a Winnipeg-born pianist and the winner of the 2022 Aikin’s Memorial Trophy from the Winnipeg Music Festival. Anica enjoys performing in a variety of contexts as both a solo and collaborative artist. Most recently, the 22-year-old pianist appeared as a soloist with the University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble. In 2022, Anica received first place in the MRMTA Advanced Scholarship Competition, University of Manitoba Lawrence Genser Competition and U of M Concerto Competition. She received an honourable mention for the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg Scholarships in 2021. Anica studied at Domaine Forget during the summer of 2020 and was awarded a merit scholarship for her outstanding performance in the collaborative piano session. Her love for collaborative piano also led her to participate in the 2020 Dream Big Collaborative Piano Conference, where she played in masterclasses for Margo Garrett and Jean Barr. Recently, Anica studied duo playing during the duo526 Sonata Seminar at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. She is also passionate about teaching piano and has a growing private studio in Winnipeg. In 2022, Anica graduated with a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba and now plans to pursue a Masters in collaborative piano.
Musica Singers of the Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba, choir
Musica Singers arose from the cast of “Musica, An Evening of Kundiman and Philippine Art Songs,” a vocal anthology originally presented in Winnipeg in 2019. The show’s repertoire traces the development of the kundiman from its folk music roots to its modern art song form, and highlights its western music influences and its use in wartime propaganda.
In its restaging this year by the Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba, “Musica” was warmly received by a full house, which rewarded the cast with a standing ovation. Plans are now underway for an annual production as part of the Filipino Heritage Month every June with the Musica Singers as the core group of performing artists. The singers are currently PCCM volunteers helping promote the kundiman and Philippine music with guest performances around Manitoba throughout the year.
Members of the Musica Singers are music enthusiasts, students, performers, and teachers who specialize in various genres such as classical, jazz, musical theatre, pop, and opera. This diverse ensemble is composed of professionals in dentistry, information technology, marketing, music performance and education, and real estate, but their deep love and appreciation for Philippine music has brought them together as the Musica Singers. Tonight, the artists declare their shared passion in their debut performance with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as they sing “Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika” (How Beautiful Our Music Is).
WithUs Musicians
Conducted by WSO Music Director, Daniel Raiskin, local musicians of all ages form a variety of musical backgrounds will join the WSO in an exciting concert finale. Music student of all ages, band teachers, grandparents, and others will have rehearsed with the orchestra in preparation for their big performance of Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt.
