Berlin. Philippine Embassy Ladies led by Ambassador Mara Cleofe R. Natividad participated in the Asia-Pacific Charity Morning hosted by the Asia-Pacific Women’s Group (APW) that took place on 14 May 2013 at the residence of the Afghan Ambassador in Berlin.

The APW comprises the lady ambassadors and the spouses of the Asia-Pacific ambassadors and diplomats in Germany. The group is active in promoting the different cultures of their respective countries and is involved in various social and humanitarian projects in Germany.

Some 100 guests of the APW applauded the opening number performed by soprano Mrs. Mylah Combo-Rubio of the Philippine Embassy and her husband, tenor Mr. Jose Mari Rubio. The spouses Rubio captivated the international audience with beautiful renditions of Philippine, German, and English songs. The repertoire included “Ikaw Lang ang Aking Iibigan,” Dein ist mein ganzes Herz,” and “The Prayer.”

APW members contributed a native dish shared with German guests, most of whom were spouses of German political and economic leaders. Philippine “pancit” and “biko” were immediate favorites of the discerning audience.

Proceeds from the charity event were provided to the Trauer Zeit Foundation, a center in Northern Berlin which helps and supports children and young families who are grieving after loss of a family member.

AN EVENING OF CLASSICAL MUSIC
– A PRELUDE TO THE 60th ANNIVERSARY OF PHILIPPINES-GERMANY DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Berlin. A Philippine-German trio capped a sunny Saturday evening with selections from Seidl, Mozart, Africa, Ravel, and Brahms performed by Filipino pianist Peter Porticos, German pianist Klaus Högg, and German violinist Annette Mettenleiter. Some 150 guests attended an “Evening of Classical Music” hosted by Philippine Ambassador Maria Cleofe R. Natividad at the Philippine Embassy’s Bulwagang Bagumbayan.

The repertoire included the premier of Antonio Africa’s composition of “Luksong Tinik.”

Peter Porticos finished Master’s of Music degree in Piano Performance under Prof. Walter Olbertz at the Hanns Eisler Music Conservatory in Berlin and has attended intensive master classes in German songs with Prof. Norman Shetler at the Unversität Mozarteum in Salzburg. He has given a few concerts in Slovenia, France and Germany and is on a second German concert tour with German violinist Annette Mettenleiter.

Porticos also holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics degree from the Ateneo de Manila and a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance (magna cum laude) from the U.S.T. Conservatory of Music where he was mentored in Piano by Leonor Kilayko, the late Marina Escano and Fr. Manuel Maramba, OSB. His first influential teacher in piano was the late Carmen Hernandez. He is a faculty member of the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music and the Ateneo de Manila University School of Humanities.

Annette Mettenleiter studied and finished school music and violin at the University of Music in Würzburg under the supervision of Prof. Grigorii Zhislin and Prof. Sören Uhde. She also took national and international classes with Erich Höbarth, the first concert master of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Prof. Xenia Jankowitsch from the Detmold Conservatory of Music, among others. She has had recordings for Radio Broadcast BR1, Studio Franken in 2003. Ms. Mettenleiter is currently a senior instructor at the Friedrich Alexander-Gymnasium in Neustadt an der Aisch, Germany. In 2009, a close artistic collaboration began with Filipino pianist Peter Porticos, with whom she has already performed concerts at the University Santo Tomas, Manila, and at Ateneo de Naga University, amongst other venues. Ms. Mettenleiter has received several awards at a German state level.

Klaus Högg began playing piano at the age of six, first with Mathilde Kopp-Liebl and later with Gottfried Hefele from the Conservatory of Music in Munich. He studied piano under the supervision of Prof. Edith Thauer and Prof. Silke-Thora Matthies at the University of Music in Würzburg, where he graduated in 1997. He pursued master classes with Begona Uriarte-Mrongovius, Prof. Klaus Schilde from the Conservatory of Music in Munich and Prof. Peter Feuchtwanger, London. He is a recipient of multiple first prizes at the German state level in the solo division of the ‘Jugend musiziert’ youth competition, and in the Mozart competition in Augsburg. Since 2000 he has been a full-time instructor in piano and coaching at Adolph-von-Henselt Musikschule in Schwabach.

The Philippines and Germany will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Philippine-German diplomatic relations in 2014. The Philippine Embassy will hold a year-long celebration with cultural presentations of Philippine and German combinations. END