19 December 2013 - The Philippine Embassy in Madrid reports that a Christmas Benefit Concert entitled “Music for the Philippines” was held on December 17 at the Teatro Infanta Isabel in Madrid to raise funds for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).  

The one-hour Christmas concert featured the Maximillian Kolbe Choir singing Christmas carols from the Ibero-American countries. A short description of Christmas celebrations in Ibero-American countries was narrated before each song. As an expression of their solidarity with the Filipino people especially those who are affected by the typhoon, the all-Spanish choir beautifully sang the traditional Filipino Christmas song “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit.”

After the concert, the choir invited Ambassador and Mrs. Salinas on stage and serenaded them with an encore performance of “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit.”

The Choir, directed by Jose Maria Alvarez Muñoz, is a mixed choir composed of fifty (50) adults and children from seven (7) to seventeen (17) years of age from the International School Maximillian Kolbe of Madrid.

The concert was organized by MUSIC´us, a private Spanish company whose aim is to promote classical music in Spain, with the support of the Philippine Embassy and the cooperation of the Secretaría General Iberoamericana (SEGIB) and the Embassy of Ecuador in Madrid. 

Proceeds of the concert will be donated to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  END