Hear beautiful singing from Luca Brugnoli

The celebration of the holiday season is usually equated with sacred music and timeless carols. Then when one thinks of those much-loved songs, the thing that comes to mind is beautiful singing.

It does not matter whether it is a moving Panis Angelicus or a rousing Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly, what matters is how the song is performed and how the listener’s emotions ascend to heavenly heights thanks to an extraordinary vocalist or in this case a young chorister.

That is the kind of singing we will get when Luca Brugnoli comes to visit. The British singing sensation will perform at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at RCBC Plaza on the evening of Nov. 22 in a concert presented by Veterans Bank.

A chorister is a member of a choir who most of the time leads the singing. This is usually a child with a high-pitched voice like a soprano. This child’s singing conveys innocence or a sort of purity that is angelic. Think of how choirs from heaven sound like. Luca is that kind of chorister.

Luca was born and grew up in Essex. He is at present 13-years old and already gaining fame because of his beautiful voice. He had been singing since he was six years old, first because he needed to strengthen his lungs and later because he came to love it and so did his listeners.

Luca’s performing gigs these past few years were with Libera, the famed choir from the UK. The group, which has performed in the Philippines several times, is made up entirely of boys with the younger ones called trebles doing the soprano parts while the older teens are the bassos. This results in a distinctive sound that has been compared to angels singing.

Luca acquired his training with Libera six years ago and it was while performing with the choir that he showed his capabilities as a soloist. From there, it was but a short step into joining the Young Chorister of the Year competition.

The annual search conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation has been going on since 1986. Participants are boys 10 to 17 years old in the Junior and Senior categories. They are required to sing Christmas songs and sacred songs in any style during the contest.

Luca joined the competition last year and easily impressed the judges with the Ave Maria by Michael Lorenc and Midwinter by Chilcott. It was this experience that led to him launching his solo career with the release of his first solo album.

Titled Rise Up, the album is a mix of sacred songs and contemporary classics. As it is, the collection showcases how Luca’s treble easily lends itself to an assortment of tunes. He proves himself adept with every cut and the album should do very well with classical to pop crossover fans.

Rise Up is now available on the leading digital platforms. Included are Lift the Wings, O Quam Tristis, The Glitt’ring Sun, Ave Maria, Rise Up, Irish Blessing, Be Still for the Presense of the Lord, Litany to the Holy Spirit, Pie Jesu, Panis Angelicus, The Lord Bless You and Keep You and Ave Verum Corpus.

Then there are the more familiar titles. Fields of Gold by Sting; Vincent (Starry Starry Night) by Don McLean; Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell; and The Rose by Amanda McBroom, popularized by Bette Midler from the motion picture of the same title.

Most probably these songs will make up Luca’s repertoire for his Manila show. Luca in Concert, A Special RP-UK Friendship Presentation will also feature the Steinway & Sons Artist and Global Ambassador Dominic Ferris, young British ballet dancer Darcey Redman and the young Filipino soprano Regina Saban who is a NAMCYA champion.

NAMCYA or the National Music Competitions for Young Artists Foundation, Inc., is also a reason why you see a lot of the adjective young in this piece. Proceeds from the show will benefit the talented underprivileged children and scholars of NAMCYA.

So enjoy Luca Brugnoli’s incredible singing and help NAMCYA develop Filipino kids into world-class artists.