Dabawenyo tenor leads Mindanawon artists in Filipino classical music concert in Brisbane

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 03 August) – Tenor Kevin Gomez of Davao City is leading fellow Mindanawon artists in an evening of Filipino classical music in Brisbane, Australia on August 29. 

Joining the 35-year old Gomez are soprano Sherla Najera, also of Davao and pianist Jennifer Enchelmaier whose mother hails from Cotabato. 

Coinciding with the Philippines’ Buwan ng Wika, “Mga Awit Sa’min: Songs from Our Homeland” will open at 6:30 p.m. on August 29 at the Ian Hanger Recital Hall, Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane.

According to the program’s literature, the concert is a “vibrant celebration of Filipino classical and art music,” a recital of Filipino vocal and piano works, “from folk-influenced melodies to romantickundiman and theatrical excerpts.”

“The program weaves together the country’s indigenous roots and colonial past through music,” it said. 

The Dabawenyo tenor says the repertoire includes works by composer Nicanor Abelardo, Natioanl Aritsts Francisco Santiago and Ryan Cayabyab, Francisco Buencamino, and other iconic Filipino composers, “offering audiences a rare and moving journey through the musical soul of the Philippines.”

Gomez held a rousing solo classical performance in 2023 at the Ateneo de Davao University’s (ADDU) Bapa Benny Tudtud Auditorium.

The 2023 concert featured masterpieces of Aberlardo, Santiago, French composer Gabriel Fauré, German-British composer George Handel, Mozart, Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, Austrian composer Franz Schubert, and German composer and pianist Robert Schumann.

Gomez completed his mass communications degree at the ADDU in 2012. He subsequently enrolled at the University of the Philippines’ College of Music, where he majored in conducting in 2020 and graduated cum laude in 2020. 

Gomez shares how he is “extremely excited” to sing in an all-Filipino program for Buwan ng Wika and the Queensland Art Song Festival. 

“Having sang in the International Bamboo Organ Festival with Ms. Najera back home, it means a lot to be sharing the stage with her for this concert,” he says. 

 “Jennifer (Enchelmaier) has been coaching me and making music with me since I arrived in Brisbane and to share this concert with her also means so much! This is so exciting! Thank you, too, to the FABS Filipino Australian Brisbane Society Inc. led by Dixie Morante and the Queensland Filipino-Australian Arts Association led by Gina Luck for their support in making this happen.”

Najera expressed gratitude for the invitation from Kevin to join him and Enchelmaier. “The entire repertoire is rich and profoundly express love for country, its  geography, and people,” she said. 

Enchelmaier is “very excited and pleased” to be part of the concert.  “The music in this concert represents a neglected aspect of my cultural heritage, as my extended family is from Mindanao. I am so grateful to Kevin and Sherla for bringing this music to my attention.”

Enchelmaier notes that the Queensland Art Song Festival has been “headlined by some of the greatest singers of our generation. To come under the umbrella of the festival is an acknowledgement of the rich musical contribution of the Philippines, and of the Filipino community’s history of survival and resourcefulness, at home and abroad.”

Shortly after his ADDU recital in early 2023, Gomez performed solo at the Manila Pianos Showroom in Manilal. “Of Songs & Arias, A vocal recital” featured him as tenor and Gabriel Paguirigan for the piano.

While studying in UP, Kevin became the choral consultant and  music director at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mt. Carmel in Quezon City, which gave him the opportunity to organize one of the biggest grand choirs in the 70-year history of the Basilica. 

He was also a member of the Ateneo Chamber Singers and the Villancico Vocal Ensemble. 

He was a chorus member at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ grand production of Puccini’s “Turandot” in December 2022. 

Gomez moved to Australia in 2023 with his wife, Pam, to pursue graduate studies in opera performance at Griffith University in Brisbane. He has since graduated from that program.

Part of his long list of performances and musical involvements in Brisbane includes singing the tenor solo of Ariel Ramirez’s Missa Criolla and other Latin American pieces for “Festividad!” with the Blackstone-Ipswitch Cambrian Choir; joining Springboard Opera in celebrating the composer Giacomo Puccini with some of his beloved arias in “Puccini Passione;” sharing the stage “with some amazing artists from Brisbane, with no less than (acclaimed pianist) John Woods accompanying;” and performing with Christopher Trikilis for The St. Stephen’s Cathedral Advent Concert Series. Gomez sang selections from George Handel, Bach, Italian composer Pietro Mascagni and Ryan Cayabyab.

Gomez recently organized The Chronicle Singers (TCS), which he says is “a collective of artists specializing in music shared through narrative-driven programs of secular and sacred choral music. Traveling through time, their musical agenda extends from the 15th century to the present day.” 

He adds that “with a combination of complete ensemble pieces and soloist narrated song, TCS brings together semi-staged works to enhance the arc of storytelling in a multi-disciplinary program. It aims to serve as a catalyst for unity, equality, inclusivity, and love amongst the Brisbane community.”

The singers have made their public debut in June with the concert series, “The Road Home.” (MindaNews)