34th Sampung Mga Daliri by the UST Conservatory of Music

I just got to watch 34th Sampung Mga Daliri, a concert organized and performed by the UST Conservatory of Music. It features their students, alumni, and faculty as well as the UST Symphony Orchestra, the UST Jazz Band, other ensembles, musical theater, voice faculty, and even music technology.

34th Sampung Mga Daliri

My nephew studies here and this was the second time he was part of the show so my family and I made sure we were there. The first time, he was still a freshman and I think the standard is that all freshmen join the chorale first. This time, he was one of the musicians performing on stage. Amazing!

Aside from the amazing music and the incredible performers, what I love about these shows is that they always have a wonderfully vibrant and eclectic combination of classical music and more contemporary fare. They played Eine Kleine Nachtmusik from Mozart to open the night (well, after the National Anthem that they also performed of course). I loved the amazing piano performances in Rachmaninoff's Tarantella. They also played three pieces from Carnival of the Animals, two of which I was very familiar with: the Swan and Aquarium. While the orchestra was performing pieces from this musical suite by Camille Saint-Saëns, animal images were also projected on the big screen behind the orchestra.

Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns

There was also a special guest cellist who performed during the Swan. The program didn't have this name so unfortunately, I cannot credit him for his powerful and moving performance.

Lead cellist playing The Swan

The show had segments that featured music from the Final Fantasy video game and from Studio Ghibli movies. My nephew was part of the Final Fantasy ensemble and I was so proud to see him performing music from this very popular video game and media franchise.

My nephew performing on stage for the Final Fantasy number

For the Studio Ghibli performance, the conductor and the musicians wore outfits that represented characters from different Ghibli movies. I can't recall now if it was the conductor who came as No Face from Spirited Away then just took his mask off before they performed but I did see Chihiro (also from Spirited Away) in her green and white shirt. (Can you spot her in this next pic?)

Music from Studio Ghibli

There were several more segments performed throughout the evening that featured a wide array of music, including jazz, OPM, and broadway. (For The Phantom of the Opera number, the chorale put on masks, so cool!)

Chorale in masks The Phantom of the Opera

The grand finale featured music from Puccini and they closed with an astounding performance of arguably Puccini's most popular aria "Nessun Dorma" which brought the house down.

Music from Puccini to end the evening

It's great that UST organizes this event, which I believe is supposed to be annual. Because of the pandemic, UST stopped organizing it for several years and thankfully, they got to resume it this year. I also think that UST tries to hold this event at the CCP Main Theater which is under renovation so they held it instead at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

Beautiful displays inside the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion

I'm really happy that I got to see this show and I'm also very proud that my nephew has gotten to perform in the last two concerts. Congratulations to the UST Conservatory of Music and to all the people who made the 34th Sampung Mga Daliri concert a smashing success!