FASO celebrates 15th anniversary with Filipino classics, music of APO Hiking Society

Welcomes special guests and Filipino music icons Jim Paredes and Boboy Garrovillo

LOS ANGELES – The Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) will celebrate its 15th anniversary season with a oneof-a-kind concert featuring an all-Filipino program of traditional kundiman and Original Pilipino Music (OPM) composed by iconic Filipino pop music pioneers APO Hiking Society (APO) on July 29, 7 p.m. at the Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles.

The concert, with special guests Jim Paredes and Boboy Garrovillo of APO, marks the orchestra’s first foray into an allFilipino program showcasing two genres of Filipino music heavily influenced by Spanish and American colonialism. Kundiman, traditional Filipino songs about love and patriotism were popularized during the Spanish colonial period, while OPM, a term coined by late APO Hiking Society member Danny Javier, emerged in the 1970s, inspired by pop music in the United States and United Kingdom.

“This concert marks an important milestone for the orchestra, which is made up of a diverse group of musicians of all ages and backgrounds and is committed to being a global paragon of Filipino culture in symphony music,” said Robert Shroder, founder and musical director of FASO. “For our 15th year, we are honored to reinterpret in symphony music the lyrical ballads by great kundiman composers Lucio San Pedro and Nicanor Abelardo; excerpts from “Karim at Jasmin by acclaimed librettist Ramon Sison Geluz to be sung by soprano Kit Navarro and tenor Christopher Avendano; and, the beloved and timeless APO hits for wider audiences in Los Angeles, one of the most multicultural cities in the world.”

Jim Paredes, composer of iconic songs such as Panalangin” and “When I Met You,” said, “We are so excited to have our music performed by an orchestra in Los Angeles 50 years since we first formed our band. We’re especially elated that our songs will be reimagined by FASO and brought to new and old audiences, including FilipinoAmericans and the large and diverse community of music lovers in Southern California.”

Boboy Garrovillo added, “It’s an honor to have our music be part of the annual tribute of FASO to Filipino classics and popular music. Never did we dream when we formed the APO Hiking Society back in high school that our songs would cross the seas to touch the hearts of our countrymen and nations. It is with great pride that we present ourselves to this most prestigious accolade.”

Founded in 2008 by awardwinning conductor and flutist director Robert Shroder, FASO is a 70-piece orchestra that aims to showcase the Philippines’ diverse musical heritage of