MARTIN NIEVERA HEADLINES CHRISTMAS CONCERT WITH MS. GENEVA CRUZ AND THE PCS-LA CHOIR
Los Angeles, CA. (December, 2007) - Continuing with the celebration of his 25th anniversary in show business and in giving back to his “kababayans”, Philippine “Concert King” Martin Nievera will headline a special concert on FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2007 to raise funds for the victims of the Southern California wildfires as well as for the Filipino Veterans of World War II. “I wanted to make my last concert of the year a special one about giving to those who are in need,” said the singer, “especially those who were affected by the wildfires here in Southern California ”. A portion of the proceeds with go to the Sagip Kapamilya project of the ABS-CBN Foundation USA, Inc. which assists Filipinos who are victims of natural disasters. “There were definitely some families that were affected by the wildfires,” says co-producer Badette Mercado, “particularly in the Northern San Diego counties and hopefully, Sagip Kapamilya will be able to offer them some assistance as they rebuild their lives”.
In addition, concert producer Sonia Delos Reyes Caspe wanted to help out the Filipino Veterans of World War II by allocating an additional portion of the proceeds to the Filipino American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI), a Los Angeles based non-profit agency that operates programs on behalf of the Veterans or widows of Veterans. “I agree with Sonia about raising funds for our heroes”, added Martin “because until that bill passes in Congress bestowing them their full entitlements, we should be proud of these men and women of WWII and remember what they sacrificed.” People who attend the concert will be able to drop off in-kind donations --- clothes, canned food, gift certificates, etc. --- as well as monetary donations which will be collected by FASGI staff. Additional proceeds from the concert will be donated to FASGI to assist in their Veterans programming. “This is absolutely thrilling and we are so very thankful that someone remembered our veterans, especially at this time of year,” said Susan Dilkes, Executive Director of FASGI.
Geneva Cruz together with The Philippine Chamber Singers (PCS-LA) will be joining Martin on stage. PCS-LA will lend their dynamic and vibrant passion for choral singing. Notable performances in its 3 years of existence include community outreach appearances on various festivals that include the 3rd World Festival of Sacred Music Los Angeles (spearheaded by UCLA). The greatest achievement of the group by far is their participation at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) 24th biennial National Convention via the opening night performance at the International Concert Session Gala held at Miami, Florida last March 2007. The choir is the first ever local Filipino chorale group that has made the distinction of making an ACDA debut on the National level. To add to that, the chorus and its members played major roles in the U.S. production of the Filipino musical opera "Karim at Jasmin" during its staging at the Long Beach Convention Center in June. This September to October they teamed up with Three of a Kind and the Philippines' Concert King, Martin Nievera, for a series of benefit concerts within Southern California. Martin Nievera liked how the chorus sounded that he personally invited the group to participate in his Christmas Concert this Dec. 21 at La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts.