01 november 2007 07:24

Forest chief brings music to town

Mindanao - Forbes Town Hall will be transformed into a cultural melting pot this Saturday as a Filipino tribal elder and his wife feature in a music and dance concert.

Datu (meaning ‘chief‘) Efren Mandipensa will lead the Spirit of the Forest concert this Saturday night, featuring traditional songs from his Higa-onon tribes, a population of some 360,000 people living in the mountainous rainforests of Mindanao, Phillipines.

Datu Mandipensa is also a diplomat with the Phillipine consulate in Canberra, and he and his wife Lisa divide their time between the national capital and Mindanao.

The Higa-onon people attempt to live in harmony with their rainforest environment, and preservation of the world‘s rainforest is a theme of this Saturday‘s concert.

Datu and Lisa Mandipensa will be joined on stage by an array of local and international performers, including the Forbes University of the Third Age Seniors Choir, various school and dance groups, pianist Barbara Bruce and New Zealand composer Ross Carey.

Puthut Ardianto from Indonesia will also perform traditional Javanese songs and dance.

Many of Datu‘s songs aim to connect with nature and performances so far have resulted in much needed rainfall for Australian communities.

“Datu invites every member of the community to come with the full intent to dance and sing for the rain to green our barren plains,” said concert organiser Ro Burns.

Tickets are not sold but people who attend will be asked to make a donation at the end of the concert.

“Every dollar raised will go directly to the people of the Higa-onon Rainforest for projects of reforestation for logged areas,” Mrs Burns said. More on the concert in Saturday‘s Advocate.

Source: forbes.yourguide.com.au
Credit Photo: www.echonews.com

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