IPAG performs for Monaco crème  

Monaco has taken note of the growing prestige of IPAG. Dr. Stephen Zuellig, Philippine Honorary Consul, has invited IPAG to perform for special Monaco guests in Monte Carlo in July 5. The IPAG command performance is set at the Hotel de Paris for the Philippine National Day event which guests include Prince Rainier's family and other dignitaries. The program promotes the Philippines and has invited in previous years the Bayanihan, Cecile Licad, Pitoy Moreno, the Madrigal Singers, among distinguished Filipino artists. The IPAG performance gives new dimension to Filipino culture as the Philippine South is now highlighted.

see "Tales,"  World Tours and Reviews pages

Music Ensemble in Taiwan promo concerts
IPAG completed a 5-day concert swing touring Taiwan’s biggest mall chain, the Far East Department Store, to help sell Philippine-made products and highlight the Filipino Food Festival. 

Dubbed Fiesta Philippines, the event opened May 29 with formal ceremonies at the plush Far Eastern Plaza Hotel ballroom in Taipei, site of the food fest. Heading the list of Filipino guests were Ambassador Edgardo Espinosa of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, Undersecretary of Trade Tomas Aquino, and two Filipina beauty queens, reigning Binibining Pilipinas Tourism Margarita Ann Bayot and 2001 Binibining Pilipinas Marycarl Tolosa.  

This is IPAG’s second Taiwan tour in 6 months. Last December, the group represented the country in the International Arts and Hand Drum Festivals.

IPAG in World Cup
IPAG represented the Philippines in the 2002 World Cup-affiliated International Kid Festival in Daejeon, one of the cities where World Cup games are played. The 18-artist delegation joined 9 other countries' companies that performed in the Expo Park last May 1 to 5. The festival under the auspices of the International Organization of Folk Arts (IOV) celebrated the quadrennial hosting of this football olympics.

IPAG Highlights Taiwan Gala

The Changhua International Arts Festival featured the IPAG as highlight in its finale night. IPAG performed as Philippine representative with other companies from Uzbekistan, Nepal, India, South Korea, and Taiwan after a week-long festival that took the companies to various parts of this picturesque Taiwan region.

Capping the Taiwan sojourn was a Hand Drum Concert in the capital city of Taipei, a concert shown in international cable TV. IPAG performed a suite of Mindanao music using indigenous drums, gongs, and idiophones. The two festivals run from December 8 to 18. Organizer of the festival was the International Organization of Folk Arts (IOV).

check full report

Triumphant 24th Season

An estimated 60,000 to 70,000 persons have viewed the IPAG performances in the last 24th Season (April 2001-March 2002). IPAG brought its "Tales From Mindanao" to large audiences and rousing applause in the U.P. Diliman and Los Banos campuses, Immaculate Concepcion, Xavier School, Assumption, Miriam College, Letran, University of Baguio, Virgen Milagrosa University) San Carlos, Pangasinan), Central Philippines University, and Museo Pambata, among others. The "Tales" national tours is part of a larger program that advocates peace through the bridging of cultures.

In its MSU-IIT Iligan home-base, IPAG mounted cooltura@pop, a concert that featured Philippine pop music and dance merging with folk cultures. The revue marketed by the MSU-IIT Filipino Department was staged August 17 and 18.
 

Music Ensemble launched

After its successful concert and TV documentary in Taipei, the IPAG music ensemble will be formally launched with a major concert early next year to coincide with the celebrations of the IPAG 25th year. Prior to the major show, intimate lounge concerts and regional tours are being planned. The ensemble accompanies all the performances of the IPAG. It had a major concert in 1999 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila and had a recent tour of Taiwan for a Philippine food and products festival. A new CD of IPAG music compositions is in the planning stage.

  performed
24thSEASON