Members of the 2010 Palau Royal Resort Christmas choir pose for a souvenir photo before their live performance with the number one supporter Ms. Michelle Liao. This year's performance will be better.
(Photo by Roberto Hernandez)
PALAU ROYAL RESORT
TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS CHOIR
ROBERTO Hernandez started working as musician at Palau Royal Resort in June 01, 2007 and since then, every Christmas tree lighting of PRR, he’s a member of the choir playing and selecting the Christmas songs to be performed by its staff.
Since 2007, they had performed almost all the popular Christmas songs (about 5 or 7 songs) with some “favorites” being repeated in the next year like “Christmas Story”, “Jingle Bell Rock”, and lately“Feliz Navidad” but with the Palauan version in the last part that spiced the performance.
All the time, Ms. Lucille Partisala, the Accounting Manager, is always conducting the choir and most of the time, her knowledge in music is always of big help to improve their choir’s performance every year.
An innovation in 2010 by Hernandez to use the upright acoustic piano was unsuccessful because of the intervention of Mr. Beppu, the Sales and Marketing Director, to position the piano with Roberto not facing the choir but the front desk. The sound of the piano is good to the people in that area but for the choir, it is hardly heard.
The good sound of the piano attracted the attention of one of the staff of Taiwanese Embassy and they invited Hernandez to accompany the performers/contestants of the inaugural Chinese Song Singing Contest held at Palasia Hotel in November 2, 2011.
The 2nd Chinese Song Singing Contest will now be held on Oct. 30 at the same venue. The song selection this time is wide and half of it is for male singers unlike in the inaugural where all the songs are for female. Hernandez appreciated the good melody, lyrics and variation of the songs this year that he enjoyed learning those 7 songs.
Lorna Castaneto, the Sales and Marketing Supervisor, asked Hernandez to select this year’s songs for the choir and he selected the ones that had never been sung by the choir in the last 5 years: 1. Happy Christmas (War is Over) by John Lennon 2. The Twelve Days Of Christmas 3. Someday at Christmas by Jackson 5 and 4. Belau For Christmas by Johnny B.
One month before the performance of the choir, they are practicing twice a week with the last practice at the same spot where they will perform.
Some talents in singing can be tapped from the practice. While there are retentions of members, additions are always welcome for more improvement. Thanks for the support of Management and for giving the adjustments of the members in their various time schedules.
CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER.
Source: Music and Me by Roberto Hernandez
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 12 & 17
Volume 21
Issue 72
October 11, 2012
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