UP Christmas concert brings five chorales and a symphony together on Dec. 17

The University of the Philippines is presenting its Christmas concert “Tayo Ay Mangagsi-awit: Pasko sa Diliman ay Sumapit” on December 17, 6 p.m. at the University Theater in UP Diliman. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The University of the Philippines Symphony Orchestra (UPSO), together with five UP singing groups that won international awards in 2024, will bring holiday festivities to a crescendo in “Tayo Ay Mangagsi-awit: Pasko sa Diliman ay Sumapit” on December 17, 6 p.m. at the University Theater in UP Diliman.

Watch the UP Concert Chorus, UP Manila Chorale, UP Los Baños Choral Ensemble, Novo Concertante Manila, and acapella group Iskollas share the stage with the university’s 70-piece “Orkestra ng Bayan.”

Featured soloists are Katherine Molina (soprano), Jai Sabas Aracama (alto), Francisco Aseniero (tenor), and Jonaf del Fierro (bass), with Augusto Espino (harpsichordist) and Josefino Chino Toledo (conductor).

The concert tickets are priced at P300 each and available at the theater entrance, or online.

Excerpts from Handel’s Messiah and other well-loved Christmas music will be among the highly anticipated performances at the 2,000-seat venue in UP Diliman. The famous Messiah is one of the most frequently heard choral works in Western classical music.

An English oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel and librettist Charles Jennens, Messiah was performed for the first time in 1742 in Dublin. It has become a staple of the Christmas and Easter seasons for its elaborate arias, recitatives, and choruses.

“Hallelujah Chorus” is perhaps the most famous section of Messiah and revered by audiences who rise to their feet as a long-standing tradition.