Artemio Panganiban concert/ Books, KMF scholars named

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala and Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW) and to benefit its project of alleviating public school classrooms shortage, Dr. Jose Artemio C. Panganiban III, son of the former chief justice, will give a piano concert on June 19, 6:30 p.m. at the Mind Museum, Rizal Drive, Bonifacio Global City. He will play compositions by Brahms, Chopin and Liszt. Soprano Lara Marie Moscardon-Maigue will also perform.

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At the general assembly of PEN, Elmer A. Ordoñez’s “Sitting in the Moonlight and Other Stories,” published by Anvil, was launched at the Solidaridad Bookshop.

In his foreword, novelist Rony V. Diaz wrote that the seven stories are personal accounts, disguised as fiction, of the author’s experiences of war, exile and rebellion. Diaz continues: They testify to honest sentiments that I do not find in most of the literature of the genre produced these past many years.

The author himself said that the seven stories represent “phases of my life,” starting with ‘Growth,’ set in Paco, Manila, just before the outbreak of the Pacific war, and first published in the 1949-50 Literary Apprentice, to his last story ‘The Visit,’ about an “exposure” to the struggle of rebels in the countryside.

The UP Press last year published Ordoñez’s “The Other View” which includes essays on culture and ideology, the academe, politics and remembrances of things past.

His many awards include the SEA Write (2008) and the UMPIL Balagtas (2011).

Rony V. Diaz’s “Quita y Pone,” the third and last of his three-part novel “Canticles for Three Women,” was likewise launched at the Solidaridad Bookshop.

“Canticles” gathers in one volume At War’s End, The Adventures of Candida, and Quita y Pone. The historical novel speaks of the present state of society. Published by the Manila Times, the book was jointly sponsored by the PEN and the Times.

“The Feet of Juan Bacnang,” a novel by F. Sionil Jose, has just been printed by the Solidaridad Publishing House.

Ron Rennard of Discovery magazine observes: “F. Sionil Jose has written ‘one of the top novels (Ermita) in Southeast Asia . . . together with Graham Greene, Andre Malrux, Joseph Conrad . . .”

On the back cover of “The Feet of Juan Baclang” one reads: “Juan Baclang dela Cruz III is familiar to many Filipinos. He is urbane, approachable, a lover of the good life and women, and kindly towards his fellowmen. He is also very rich, heir to a vast family fortune, an entrepreneur and innovator. As the latest allegorical creation of the Philippines’ most widely translated author, Juan Baclang illustrates vividly raw power as it operates in this country, unknown or glossed over by the Filipinos themselves. Already known for his searing criticism of injustice and inequalities, Sionil Jose’s latest work unravels even more thoroughly and deeply the murky whys and wherefores of the Filipino condition.

In 1980, Sionil Jose received the Magsaysay Award for Literature and Journalism; in 2001, he was named National Artist for Literature and in 2004 given Chile’s Pablo Neruda Centennial Award.

On July 25, 3 p.m. at the QC Franciscan Seminary which marks its 50th anniversary, Fr. Tony Rosales OFM, former parish priest of Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, will launch two new books in OLAS (Our Lady of the Angels Seminary) in San Francisco del Monte.

“Conversations with Maria Clara” tells the story of the heroine, now a Poor Clare nun, who lives through interesting events in our history. Foreword is by Prof. Ambeth R. Ocampo. Reviews are by Winnie Monsod and some nuns.

“Pasko at Cuaresma” is a collection of comedies, a Passion Play and other nieces in Tagalog and English that give new insights into the celebrations of Christmas and Lent and Easter. Introduction is by theologian Fr. Prisco Cajes OFM and International School’s Tami Monsod.

For more information, contact the author through 09052690638.

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The Klassika Music Foundation chaired by tenor-tycoon George Yang announces its new full scholars after its latest additions: Elijah John Marquez, UP; Ma. Gereberne Lozada, Bernadette Mamauag and Mary Rachelle Maano, UST. Partial scholars are Charlene Elizabeth Magalist, UP; Kimberly Longkino, St. Paul U. Manila; Joseph John Picas, Sta. Isabel College; and Fay Dee Reyes, UST. Judges were Raul Sunico, Rachelle Gerodias, Lemuel de la Cruz, Andrew Fernando and Arthur Espiritu.