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Date Posted: 13:38:30 11/28/04 Sun
Author: The Philippine Star 11/29/2004
Subject: More Pinoys making waves abroad

More Pinoys making waves abroad
FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo
The Philippine Star 11/29/2004

More and more Pinoys are making waves abroad, reaffirming the reputation of the Filipino as world-class talent.

Here are profiles of some of them, sent to Funfare by friends:

• From journalist Mon Datol who publishes The Philippine Courier in Toronto, a monthly tabloid with a 10,000 circulation given free to some 150,000 Pinoys in the Greater Toronto area:

Filipino violinist Carmen Flores made a grand debut on the Toronto music scene when she performed with acclaimed American pianist Claude Frank in a Mooredale Concerts presentation last Sunday, Nov. 28, at the Walter Hall, University of Toronto, Queen’s Park Crescent.

Carmen, the featured Young Artist, performed Robert Schumann’s Marchenbilder (Fairy Tales).

Carmen was born in San Diego, California, and studied at the University of Michigan under Yizhak Shotten. She was the principal violinist of the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra and the Flint Symphony Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, she has studied with members of the Concord and Mendelssohn String Quartets. She has received fellowships from the US Fullbright program and the Virtu Foundation, and has participated in the Tanglewood Festival and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. She’s a student of Steven Dann at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto and plays on a 2001 viola made by Canadian Raymond Schryer.

• From Rod Cantiveros (a Philets graduate from UST):

Last year, I presented my play, Comfort Women, at the Winnipeg International Fringe Theater Festival. I plan to do a film based on that play. The film begins in Winnipeg when Anita, a caregiver, sponsors her mother to come to Canada without knowing that Isabel, the mother, is a survivor of the most unforgiven abuse of women during World War II.

Right now, I’m busy with my film study and filmmaking, and playwriting. I finished a play about a Canadian who is illiterate and whose mentor is a Filipino friend. To tell you frankly, there are two million Canadians who are illiterate and according to some experts, they are called "persons with low literacy."

Meanwhile, my son Johnny is doing well as an actor in Vancouver. He has just finished Da Vince Inquest, one of the award-winning Canadian TV series, which was shown last Nov. 16. Johnny was also in Christmas Rush, with Dean Cain, shot in Winnipeg like Shall We Dance; and the US TV series Jake 2 and the Canadian TV series The Collector.

He’d love to be in the cast of Wrinkles, the made-in-Hollywood movie with Lou Diamond Phillips as lead actor and with Filipino actors as members of the cast.

• From Renato Perdon:

Filipino-Australians haven’t successfully bagged the Australian Idol crown, all right, but two Pinoys are figuring prominently in another national contest called The National Karaoke Challenge which will have its grand finals on Dec. 4 in Sydney.

They are Jun Yagong and Ana Townsend.

Pint-sized Yagong holds three karaoke championship titles. He won the contest in Northern Territory with his powerful rendition of Unchained Melody; while Townsend, 36, won in the state of Tasmania with her heart-and-soul version of The Greatest Love of All.

Both Yagong and Townsend have been singing at Filipino community functions, including charity events all the way from Launceston to Wyngard. Asked about her singing experience, Townsend said, "During my younger years in the Philippines, I had the opportunity to sing karaoke at home with my family; there was a TV channel that featured karaoke."

The National Karaoke Challenge is a weekly half-hour state-by-state search for Australia’s Karaoke Champion. Karaoke is very popular in Australia, with an estimated 800 venues around the country regularly running karaoke sessions every night.

• From STAR columnist Domini Torrevillas:

My Fil-Am niece, Abigail McDonald, is doing well in the US. She’s the daughter of George McDonald, an American engineer and former US Peace Corps Volunteer to Africa, and Chona Maristela McDonald who hails from Cawayan, Masbate.

Only 13, she has been a consistent honor student since grade school. She dances ballet, sings, plays the piano and publishes a newsletter for young people. I have a feeling that Abigail will end up in showbiz.

Abigail recently joined 200 middle school students from throughout the United States at the Junior National Young Leaders Conference (JrNYLC) in Boston, Massachusetts. Abigail was a student at Pleasant High School in Inverness, Florida.

Themed The Legacy of American Leadership, the conference introduced young people to the rich tradition of leadership throughout American history, while helping them develop their own leadership skills. Abigail participated in educational activities and presentations led by individuals in high-level positions as well as young people who exercise leadership skills within their communities. She and the other 199 participants also visited historic national landmarks, including Plymouth Plantation from which the United States took shape.

"By participating in the Junior National Young Leaders Conference, students like Abigail will be able to develop a personal perspective on the leaders and events that shaped our country from its infancy," said Mike Lasday, executive director of the Congressional Youth Leadership Council, the organization that sponsors JrNYLC. "Through such experience, JrNYLC strives to encourage students to build their own leadership skills through active involvement within their communities."

In addition to examining notable US leaders and historic figures, students on the program study the impact of leadership throughout the formation of America’s history in Colonial America and during the American Revolution. Upon completion of JrNYLC, students take home a greater sense of understanding of the role of individuals in American democracy, as well as the responsibilities of being a leader.

CYLC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization. Founded in 1985, the Council is committed to fostering and inspiring young people to achieve their full leadership potential. More than 400 members of the US Congress join this commitment by serving on the CYLC Honorary Congressional Board of Advisors. In addition, more than 40 embassies participate in the Council’s Honorary Board of Embassies.

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