WELCOME 2012!!!



Cheers to a healthy and blessed Year 2012!

This year, I hope there'll be more stories to share with you.  I'm sorry for being MIA here - I have been focused on my craft blog:  http://www.cabbycraft.blogspot.com/.

Come and join me there.  It's a lot of fun!

Blessings!

♥ Michelle ♥

CARE at the Navy Pier

The C.A.R.E. or Chicago Angklung and Rondalla Ensemble performed at the

Navy Pier Winter Wonderfest last December 3, 2011.  This was part of the presentation of the group representing the Philippines that showcased traditional folk dances as well.

 

You may read more about our CARE's previous performance by clicking HERE.

The group is headed by Ms. Esperanze Magno.

Our repertoire included English Christmas songs and several Tagalog songs including: 

Mabuhay

Pasko Na, Sinta Ko

Pasko'y Sumapit Na

Pamaskong Awit.

Catch us in our future performances!

Merry Christmas!

C.A.R.E. at The Museum of Science and Industry

Have you heard of the words Angklung and Rondalla?

The angklung is a musical instrument that is made of tow bamboo tubes that is anchored to a bamboo base.

Each angklung produces one note and collectively, they form an octave.  It takes several people to play a piece but in some instances, it can be arranged in such a way that a single person can play it.

The instrument originates in the Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia. 

The Philippines have several Angklung ensembles one of which is CARE.

CARE stands for Chicago Angklung and Rondalla Ensemble of which I am the newest member. 
The group is headed by Ms. Esperanza Magno, a dedicated and wonderful teacher, directress and arranger.

The Rondalla is composed of several stringed instruments including the banduria, laud, octavina, double bass and guitar.  It may also include the mandolin.  The rondalla originated in Spain and was brought to other countries over time.  It means "rhonda" or serenade in Spanish.

There are several rondalla groups in the Philippines.  I learned how to play the banduria and octavina in elementary and high school at De La Salle Santiago Zobel School under Mr. Roman Niefes.

My interest in playing was rekindled 2 months ago when a friend of mine invited me to CARE.  Since then, I have never stopped playing.  We played at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry as part of their Christmas Around the World program.  In addition to CARE, there were children who
performed several Philippine Folk dances  

Catch us in our future performances!

A Day in the Museum

We had a fun day at The Field Museum last weekend. As a first timer, I was awed by their collection.

There were so many interesting things to see and learn.

Upon entering the museum, you will be welcomed by SUE - the world's largest, most complete and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex.  It measures 42 feet long, 13 feet tall at the hip, and weighs 7 tons when alive.  Sue is believed to be around 65-67 million years  and was discovered in Hell Creek Formation of western South Dakota in August 12, 1990.  it was really huge!

There was also Lucy, once of the earliest hominids, Mfuwe - the largest man-eating lion on record that terrorized the residents of Zambia's Luangwa River valley in 1991, and Bushman - the nation's premier primate.  You will also see the tomb of Unis Ankh and other mummys from Egypt.  It was mind boggling to think how they built pyramids with their bare hands, taking them 20 years to build one.

It was interesting to see a feature on Abaca or Manila Hemp.

It was a great day at the museum!

Gone to Space [Adler Planetarium]

'When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"

Psalm 8

There is so much to learn no matter how old we are. 

The past weekend, my husband and I visited the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois.

It was my second visit but I could hardly remember my first visit - incidentally with his siblings - in 2005.

It was sunny, cold and windy by the lakefront that day but we had fun!

We had a leisurely tour of the exhibits and learned a lot about earth science once again.

The show was great though we got kinda dizzy and figured that it could be age-related, hehe.

If you are planning to visit Chicago, plan a trip to Adler Planetarium - one of Chicago's go-to place.

Shoot the moon and reach for the stars!

Driving with Charlie

I have been blessed to work in the city for 2 weeks. 

It was my first time to ride the Metra to and from work.

My sister-in-law brings me to the station in the morning and my brother-in-law fetched me in the afternoon.

Today was extra special.  It was my first time to be fetched by hubby and Charlie.

Oh... I was wondering from afar who it was sitting on the back of the car with blonde hair.

Aha!  It was my bestfriend, Charlie.

Here we are enjoying the ride and the cool breeze.

A Night with the Madz

There is something about listening to beautiful music that soothes and calms our nerves.

Tonight, we watched The Philippine Madrigal Singers perform at the Copernicus Theater in Chicago, Illinois.  The concert was a fund raising activity by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Greater Chicago (UPAAGC) for scholars in the Philippines.

The Madz as they are called is the country's top chorale group, having won in numerous international competitions.  They have also been honored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as artists for Peace in July 2009 and were given the Guidoneum Award in Sept. 2010 by the Concorso Polifonico Guido d'Arezzo Foundation for the "artistic and choral promotion activitiy."

Their repertoire included pieces from the renaissance music, classical songs, traditional Filipino songs to contemporary and pop.  Oh, their voices were angelic; each voice blended with the another. 

It was fun that they added comic twist to their performance - it made the audience appreciate the versatility and quality of their singing.

I love all their songs but being far from the Philippines, I loved their medley of patriotic songs "Isang Bansang Mapayapa" (A Peaceful Country).  They had encore (4  wonderful songs) because the audience just couldn't get enough of them.

They were gracious to allow the audience to have a photo taken with all of them during which I met one of The Madz' singers who was my sisters choirmate.

The group will continue with their Great American Tour until October so if you get the chance to see them in your area, do so.  You won't regret it.