Times Herald features UPCC

The sounds of international music filled the Hogan High School auditorium Sunday as a near-capacity crowd heard from two world-renown choirs.

Local children's choir Voices of Eve 'N Angels (VOENA) opened for The University of the Philippines Concert Chorus in an event presented by Filipino American Social Services, Filipino Americans of Hercules and the Philippine Cultural & Historical Association.

It was the first time "that a world-class children's choir from here performed with another world-acclaimed choir," said the event organizer, Solano County Department of Education vice president and choir alum Rozzana Verder-Aliga.

Though it tours the world, the Filipino choir rarely visits a city a second time, she said.

"This is their 11th visit to Vallejo," she said. "Their first time was in 1985."

Choir director Janet Aracama said Verder-Aliga is a big reason the choir keeps returning to Vallejo. The city's large Filipino community is another, she said.

"Rozzana and I were in the choir together in the '70s. She misses it and invited us here and from then on we kept coming back," Aracama said. "But it's also about the next generation, who must be exposed to their own culture as well."

Both choirs, dressed in colorful costumes, sang in several languages including Tagalong, German, Latin and English, incorporating movement in some numbers.

Audience members came from far and wide, as well.

Derek Ledda, 60, said he came from Sacramento.

"The university chorus is well known all over the world, but especially among Filipinos," he said. "They are a real treasure of the Filipino-American community."

Concerts like Sunday's serve as an important lesson to the youth, Ledda said.

"I'm impressed with the program that encourages our young people to take pride in their Filipino-American heritage and to appreciate other cultures," he said.

The fact that Anabelle Marie's Benicia-based VOENA also performed is significant, Verder-Aliga said.

"Maybe it will be the start of something, a blending of cultures," Verder-Aliga said. "Sounds like the beginnings of a choir festival in the making in Vallejo."

--By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen (Times Herald, 4-19-10)