Foundation for Filipino Artists, Inc.

Celebrating its 32nd Anniversary
invites you to

stage

A Virtual Concert

An Evening of Kundiman,
Broadway Songs and Arias

 

performer 1
Zscharmaine Barretto

Soprano

performer 2
Rogelio Peñaverde

Tenor

performer 3
Jonathan Badon

Tenor

performer 4
Martin Bakari

Tenor

and
FFAI Friends & Supporters

Thursday, October 8, 2020 7:30 to 8:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (NYC)

Livestreaming on Facebook and YouTube
paintings

About the Artists

performer 1

Zscharmaine Barretto, Soprano

Zscharmaine Barretto is a scholar of Original Pilipino Performing Arts Foundation (OPPA) where she is finishing her Bachelor of Music in Music Education, Voice emphasis at the Conservatory of Music in University of Santo Tomas, under Asst. Prof. Ronan Ferrer.

She first graduated from Nursing, but her love and dedication to music led her to pursue a career in performing. She then entered the world of musical theater in 2013, and did her debut with Kid’s Acts Philippines’ Mulan, followed by several plays in the same company. She also got other musical and straight plays with Director Nestor Torre staged at Cultural Center of the Philippines. She played the role of Mary in Song of Joseph by Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. She also did an excerpt of Phantom of the Opera, and Les Miserables at Movie Stars Cafe where she played the role of Christine and Fantine. She was part of Guadalupe, the Musical held at Meralco Theater; The Tale of Prince under Treehouse production; and Frog Prince where she played Princess Fauna in Hiraya Theater Production.

Charm was part of G. Verdi’s Tosca and L’elisir d’Amore staged at the CCP Main Theater. She has performed in various corporate shows around the country. She was also a soprano of Coro Tomasino, and Anima Christi Chorale, and did various concerts, and competitions here and abroad together with the said choirs. Charm is also part of Philippine Opera Company’s cultural arm, “HARANA”.

performer 2

Rogelio B. Peñaverde Jr., Tenor

A native of Manila, Philippines, Rogelio B. Peñaverde Jr. continues to perform extensively in the fields of opera, musical theater and sacred music. He is noted by The New York Times for his “sweet sound” and by Opera Magazine as an “incisive tenor”. Theater credits include Ferrando from Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte with the Martina Arroyo Foundation, Ernesto from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with Bronx Opera, and Fenton from Verdi’s Falstaff with Taconic Opera. He also performed the role of Basel and was a member of the ensemble for Figaro 90210, an Off-Broadway production by Ragman Ventures. Concert credits include tenor soloist for Mozart’s Coronation Mass at the Princeton University Chapel, tenor soloist for Dubois’ The Seven Last Words at the International Bamboo Organ Festival, and tenor soloist for Leopold Mozart’s Missa Solemnis in C at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

A person of various artistic facets, Peñaverde is also a producer, composer, screen actor, music director and voice pedagogue. He has a Master of Music Degree, Major in Voice, from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a Merit Scholar. He also holds a Bachelor of Music Degree, Major in Voice and Minor in Piano, from the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music, where he was a Merit Scholar of the UST Conservatory of Music Alumni Association. Before pursuing music, he obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Communication, Major in Integrated Marketing Communications, from the University of Asia and the Pacific where he was a University Scholar.

performer 3

Jonathan Badon, Tenor

Jonathan Badon is a passionate, multi-awarded pop-opera singer. He is the ultimate cross-over artist displaying an ability to do an effortless transition from classical to pop singing.

A versatile performer, Jonathan is one of the most sought-after music personalities in the Philippines today and he has received numerous recognitions and awards. Among these are the Gawad Amerika’s Best Male International Entertainer, Aliw Awards for Best Classical Performer, Best Global Pinoy Performer, Star Awards’ Best Movie Theme Song, AFP National Songwriting Contest grand prize winner for his composition Dugong Pilipino. He also was given an award by the City of San Antonio, Texas as an Emissary of the Muses and was cited by the State Legislature of Hawaii as an outstanding international artist. Jonathan is a Bachelor of Music graduate at the University of the Philippines College of Music. He enrolled in the course as a scholar of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He has since performed lead roles in various operas, musicals, and has done numerous solo concerts in key cities in Asia, The Middle East, Europe. Australia and North America including his debut performances at the Vatican in Rome, the Ford Amphitheater in Hollywood, and at the worldfamous Carnegie Hall in New York. He has done several shows with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Manila Symphony Orchestra and Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. He also was the main performer at the World Travel Expo, China Wedding Expo, ASEAN summit , Binibining Pilipinas, Red Cross World Convention, Miss Earth and the International Convention of Chief Justices to name just a few.

performer 4

Martin Bakari, Tenor

Praised by Opera News as a “vocally charismatic” performer with a “golden tenor,” Mr. Bakari has recently joined Atlanta Opera and Arizona Opera for Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, Seattle Opera for Eugene Onegin and Porgy & Bess, Cincinnati Opera for La traviata and Le nozze di Figaro, Syracuse Opera for Così fan tutte, Portland Opera for Philip Glass’ In the Penal Colony and a David Lang double bill, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for Abyssinian Mass, Fort Worth Opera for Porgy & Bess, and On Site Opera for Ricky Ian Gordon’s Morning Star and Michi Wiancko’s Murasaki’s Moon. Upcoming engagements include Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with Pittsburgh Opera, Pagliacci with Raylynmor Opera, and a solo recital with Portland Opera. A 2018 George London Competition award winner, Mr. Bakari’s recording of Grigory Smirnov’s Dowson Songs (Naxos Records) was featured by Opera News as a “Critic’s Choice” album. Mr. Bakari is an alumnus of the Juilliard School, Boston University, and the Tanglewood Music Center.