The Anthem Philatelist

David Lanz, The Christmas Album - It is little wonder that Lanz's two previous seasonal recording are among the top sellers in the Narada library. His live piano interpretation of familiar songs such as "Silent Night" and "What Child Is This?" as well as not-so-familiar instruments such as "Dreamer's Waltz" are more emotional than all the words used to describe them. Lush won't do it - brilliant would be better. Even Scrooge would have caved in to sentiment after hearing this. New Age - Although new age music in its acoustical incarnation, is sometimes derided as "jazz without benefit of improvisation," that jibe can work to the listener's advantage on Christmas albums. For example when David Lanz expands on seasonal favorites on his holiday best-of, The Christmas Album (Narada), his modestly virtuosic ornamentation reinforces rater than obscures the themes, making his renditions of "Silent Night" and "What Child Is...

I'm a big David Lanz fan, and have 29 of his 31 CD albums. The newest one, Liverpool: Re-imagining the Beatles is already finished and will be available early next year. This is highly anticipated album for me, cuz I'm also an avid Beatles CD collector (I was fortunate enough to have gotten  the complete Beatles collection). Liverpool ...the birthplace of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, and where we begin our musical journey. The sounds of the Mersey harbor can be heard as it introduces the first strains of the opening song. This title track was composed as a tribute, an emotional overture of sorts, imbued with subtle musical phrasing from The Fab Four . From here, we traverse through a decade of Lennon and McCartney songs, arranged and re-imagined through the lens of my own musical voice, which admittedly, has been joyfully shaped and informed by this great and enduring legacy of musical history…a time so explosive and fruitful we may never see anything like it again. I spen...

Everyone is cordially invited to view the group exhibit- Visual Fusion - by artists, Seb Chua , Fr. Jason Dy , Sio Montera, Celso Pepito, Lito Pepito, Ritchie Quijano and Jobril Villaver . The opening will be on December 5, at 6pm SM art Center , Cebu City. Exhibit runs until December 14, 2009. Seven artists with different modes of expressions pursuing art on different styles and understanding life in their field of experiences.   The opportunity to be united in one show is to create a sense of unity even in diverse mode of artistry. It also hopes to showcase the gradual transformation of Cebu's art from its conservative vein into understanding the need evolve, experiment and create a contemporary artistic revolution.    Above all it aims at giving the art loving public the chance to participate in molding a society with utmost artistic understanding. As the exhibiting artists are pursuing its own individual journey, the possibility of being together in Visual Fus...

Whatever by Josefina "Jo" Gaboya Magsaysay Reprinted with permission from Sunstar Cebu August 31, 2006 issue   He was playing Mozart on the piano, his fingers caressing the keys like a lover. Piano was his first love, his first teacher was Anita Cabahug Trasmonte who rapped his wrists and knuckles to keep them in line. Be a doctor, his father, Engr. Vic (Evangelista-Auza- Garcia ) Avanzado, ( Talibon , Bohol ) told him, don’t be a musician. And because he was a good son, he obeyed his father.   Now Vicente B. Avanzado Jr . is a full-fledged doctor of medicine, in fact a fellow and a diplomate in Gastroenterology . Goodlooking with a smiling personality and yes, he still plays the piano. Beautifully. Music "relaxes and inspires" him and he believes "music and medicine are alike, both need continuous study and both can heal."    To celebrate Ting’s successful entry into the rarefied medical clique of fellows (he completed his fellowship at U.E. Ramo...