09 July 2014 –The Kaloob Philippine Music and Dance Ministry and pianist Ms. Karen Fatima Francisco, represented the Philippines in the 4th Krasnoyarsk International Music Festival of the Asia-Pacific Region held in Krasnoyarsk City, Krasnoyarsk Region, Russian Federation from June 26 to July 4.
The Kaloob Philippine Music and Dance Ministry is a folk dance group founded by Dr. Ed Lapiz in 1995.
Ms. Karen Fatima Francisco, pianist, chamber musician and accompanist, is currently Assistant Professor at the De La Salle University School of Arts and Design in Manila and Senior Lecturer at the University of the Philippines College of Music. She trained as soloist at the Hochschule für Musik “Franz Liszt” in Weimar, Germany after graduating magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines College of Music. She has performed in the Philippines, USA, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland.
This year’s festival brought together artistic groups from about 16 countries, namely Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Fiji, North Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The Krasnoyarsk International Music Festival, supported by the Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, is the biggest musical festival in Russia held every two years. It started in 1992, but was discontinued after the second edition in 1995. The APF was revived in 2012, during which the Philippines was represented by the Mr. Celso Espejo Rondalla.
The Kaloob dance group visited the Philippine Embassy in Moscow on July 4 and was received by Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Melchor P. Lalunio, Jr. END