Video Vote-Off Finals

And....this is it! The final round of Libera's Video Vote-Off where you can vote for your favorite Christmas carol. Which one do you like better? "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" or "Carol of the Bells."

You can cast your vote here or by clicking on the icon on the right side of the screen for Video Voting Contest. Voting for this final round ends at midnight on Monday, December 2.

London Concert

 

Libera arriving for the concert

Happy Thanksgiving from the US! Libera's London concert was tonight. It sounds like it was amazing! But when are they ever NOT amazing?! There were some special surprises in store for the audience, though. More about that in a bit...

It was very cold in London, but the fans lined up early. There were at least 3 fans going to their very first Libera concert - Annette from Australia, Meme from Argentina, and Danny from Bulgaria! I think you can be called a "Super Fan" when you travel all that way! =D Fans reported that Michael Ustynovych-Repa and Freddie Ingles were in the audience with their families!

 

Video screens for obstructed view seats

 

Pretty lights

The same 24 boys who went on the Philippines tour were singing tonight, but 7 junior boys also sang with them on some of the songs.

Choristers - 

1.   Marc Alvares
2.   Henry Barrington
3.   Anthony Blake
4.   Ciaran Bradbury-Hickey
5.   Gabriel Collins
6.   Jude Collins
7.   Kavana Crossley
8.   Thomas Delgado-Little
9.   Dylan Duffy
10. Ben Fairman
11. Alex Gula
12. Matthew Jansen
13. Isaac London
14. Matthew Madine
15. Eoghan McCarthy
16. Alessandro MacKinnon-Botti
17. Michael Menezes
18. Alex Montoro
19. Kuba Niedermaier-Reed
20. Cassius O'Connell-White
21. Matthew Rangel-Alvares
22. Carlos Rodriguez
23. Sam Wiggin
24. Lucas Wood

Junior Choristers - 

1.  Shay Balsekar
2.  Timothy Lee
3.  James Menezes
4.  Camden Stewart
5.  Rocco Tesei
6.  Jamie Trinder
7.  Mark Ustynovych-Repa

There were extra instrumentalists just like in Armagh for the DVD recording. 

Keyboards - Steven Geraghty, Josh Madine
Strings - The Silken String Quintet
Clarinet - Steven Geraghty
Flute - Candice Hamel
Bassoon - Vicky Crowell
Guitar - Alex Roth
Percussion - Simon Roth

The song list was the same as in the Philippines including Isaac singing "Hymn to Mary" by himself. The only difference was that "The Moon Represents My Heart" was replaced with "Corpus Christi Carol" which was soloed completely by Tom! Double solos!! Double wow!! =D

The encore was still "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and then Ben gave a speech dedicating the second encore "Bayan Ko" to their friends in the Philippines. Sooo nice!  There were even representatives from the Philippines Embassy and Filipino community at the concert. They held raffles and sold gifts, food, and drinks with all the money going towards Philippines disaster recovery.

Song List -

1.   Dies Irae
2.   Gloria
Speech - Ben & Cassius 
3.   Angel from on High
4.   Wexford Carol
5.   Sanctus
Speech - Cassius & Ciaran
6.   I'm Dreaming of Home
7.   Voca Me
8.   Away in a Manger
Speech - Alex G. & Gabe
9.   Hymn to Mary - full solo by Isaac
10. In Dulci Jubilo
 
Interval
 
11. God Rest You Merry Gentlemen
12. Orinoco Flow
Speech - Alessandro & Ciaran about Moose, but Moose was missing!
13. Joy to the World
14. What Child is This
15. Carol of the Bells
Speech - Ciaran & Alessandro?
16. Corpus Christi Carol - full solo by Tom
17. Gaudete
18. Silent Night
Speech - Ben
19. Exultate

Encore: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Speech - Ben about the Philippines typhoon, spoke in Tagalog
Encore: Bayan Ko

Signed program

 

 

Concert flyers

Congratulations to Libera on a great Christmas concert! Thank you to Patrick, Jimmy, Yorkie, Peer, & Yuki for the pictures.

Manila Video from Yuki

Happy Thanksgiving in the US, everybody! Our friend, Yuki from Japan, posted a video from the Manila concert and Meet & Greet. It's so cute! Thank you, Yuki!

DVD in Central & South America

 According to an article by TV Latina, Libera's DVD "Angels Sing - Christmas In Ireland" will be marketed in Latin America (Central and South America) by PE Media Services. You can see the DVD pictured on their web site here.

This is so exciting! More people in the world will get to hear Libera's music! Thank you to Patrick for the link.

Manila Behind-the-Scenes Video by Warner Music Philippines

This video shows Libera in Manila on the ASAP TV show and at the Manila Meet & Greet at the Glorietta Mall. Do you see yourself in the crowd?!!! :D

But that behind-the-scenes photo shoot with the red Christmas trees and the red-draped furniture and the red lights... Oh my goodness, they are so cute!!!

That little Gabe Collins shaking his finger at Alex Gula! Haha! And it looks like they're sitting in Santa Claus's seat at the mall! lol. Love it so much! That group picture would go great on their CD!

Video Vote-Off Semi-Finals, Round #2

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" won the first semi-final over "Away In a Manger!" Isn't it sooo hard to choose?!!

Now you can vote for either "Angels We Have Heard On High" or "Carol of the Bells." Which is your favorite?

You can cast your vote here, or by clicking on the icon on the right side of the screen for "Video Voting Contest." Voting for this round ends at midnight on November 25th. :)

Libera "Bayan Ko" Video from Manila 2013 & Lyrics

Libera just posted the video of their performance of "Bayan Ko" on October 29, 2013 at the PICC in Manila, Philippines. They also posted a message -

"It is dedicated here out of deepest respect to those who suffered unimaginable loss in Typhoon Haiyan."

Libera performed 2 concerts in the Philippines after a 7.1 earthquake struck Bohol and surrounding areas on October 15, 2013 and before Typhoon Haiyan hit on November 8, 2013.

"Bayan Ko" is a very patriotic song in the Philippines. Libera sang it in the Filipino language as a special encore at the concerts. You can see the audience loved it!

Please pray for the people in the Philippines. You can donate to the American Red Cross for Philippines typhoon relief here.


Lyrics in Filipino:

Ah~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bayan ko, binihag ka,
Nasadlak sa dusa.

Ibon mang may layang lumipad,
Kulungin mo at umiiyak!
Bayan pa kayang sakdal dilag,
Ang 'di magnasang makaalpas?
Pilipinas kong minumutya
Pugad ng luha ko't dalita
Aking adhika
Makita kang sakdal laya!

Ang bayan kong Pilipinas,
Lupain ng ginto't bulaklak.
Pag-ibig ang sa kaniyang palad
Nag-alay ng ganda't dilag.
At sa kaniyang yumi at ganda,
Dayuhan ay nahalina.
Bayan ko, binihag ka,
Nasadlak sa dusa.

Ibon mang may layang lumipad,
Kulungin mo at umiiyak!
Bayan pa kayang sakdal dilag,
Ang 'di magnasang makaalpas?
Pilipinas kong minumutya
Pugad ng luha ko't dalita
Aking adhika
Makita kang sakdal laya!
 Bayan Ko!


English translation:

Ah~~~~~~~~~~~~
My country, thou wast enslaved,
Mired in suffering.

Even birds that are free to fly,
Cage them and they shall cry!
How much more for country so beautiful,
Would she not yearn to be free?
My Philippines that I treasure,
Cradle of my tears and suffering
My dream
Is to see thee truly free!

My country, the Philippines,
Land of gold and flowers.
Love is in her palms
That offered beauty and splendor.
And, for her refinement and beauty,
Foreigners were enticed.
My country, thou wast enslaved,
Mired in suffering.

Even birds that are free to fly,
Cage them and they shall cry!
How much more for country so beautiful,
Would she not yearn to be free?
My Philippines that I treasure,
Cradle of my tears and suffering
My dream
Is to see thee truly free!
 My country!

Libera Blog - Phancy Philippines Part 2

Part 2 of Libera's Liblog Philippines edition is up, and you can read it here.

First of all, who is this person writing their blog? Only 2 paragraphs in and I was already cracking up. "Welcome back, dearest person..." Thank you, dearest Libera boy! lol And they go from "small talk with guests like we were twice our age" to hunting for frogs... AT THE AMBASSADOR'S HOUSE! True boys, all of them. Then back to sing for their supper. =D

Next it's on to their Manila concert. The Filipino fans are always a fun audience to sing for. They are super enthusiastic, and it makes the boys happy to sing for them. And a bit of an explanation about the unsung heroes, their second parents...their chaperones...who are sometimes actual parents! Or parents of former choir members. =) 

On to Cebu! Did you get what song the writer is talking about? I did before any of the clues! The clues are pretty funny though. And they were nearly late for their signing with fans. But have no fear! They made it in time!

Then yet a 3rd fancy dinner (or is that phancy dinner?) given for them with food, dancing and singing! They love that! Wouldn't we all love that?!!! And they are so grateful for it all.

The last line - "Stay tuned for some more information" - is quite ambiguous. What could it mean?  

Video Vote-Off Semi-Finals, Round #1

"Carol of the Bells" was the favorite video over "O Holy Night," so now we have our Final 4. Make sure you vote in this semi-final round. First up is "Away in a Manger" vs. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

You can cast your vote here or by clicking the icon on the right side of the screen for "Video Voting Contest." Voting for this round ends at midnight on November 18th. :D

London 2013 Concert Poster

Libera's concert at St. George's in London is quickly approaching! Here is their lovely concert poster to get you in a Christmas-y mood!

Video Vote-Off Round #4

"Angels We Have Heard On High" won out over "Still, Still, Still!" And now we get to choose between "Carol of the Bells" and "O Holy Night." You can cast your vote here or by clicking the icon on the right side of the screen for "Video Voting Contest." Voting for this round ends at midnight on November 11.

Libera Blog - Phancy Philippines-Manila

Great news! The first installment of the Liblog is up! You can read the whole thing here.

On ASAP TV show

So many fun facts in this one! Fun fact 1 - Did you know that there are 7,001 islands in the Philippines? Or that it's the 3rd largest English speaking country in the world? I'm sure Filipinos know that but I didn't. Thanks, blog writer! And the boys call Mr. de Ocampo "Mr. D" cause they're young and can get away with it! lol.

Fun fact 4 - It took them 17 hours to get to Manila but they managed to sleep on the plane. I have such a hard time doing that. Glad they can so they can stay awake for their signings and concerts. And I did know this because I've seen them do it, but some of them like to change up their signature. You never know which one you're gonna get. Others like to make their signature as fast as possible. Who can blame them when they signed over 500 times after the Manila concert! lol.

Ribbon cutting at Manila M&G

And can I just say that I want to go to the Philippines and have a "Welcoming Dinner?!!" How fun would that be?! Great food, choirs, dancers, and getting to learn dances! Glad they had so much fun. Can't wait to read about more! =D

Manila M&G Pics from Milet

Milet is from the Philippines. For her 30th wedding anniversary, she and her husband went to the Manila and Cebu concerts! She took her family to the Manila M&G first and shared some awesome pictures with everyone! Thank you and happy anniversary, Milet!

Please remember to credit the photographer if you copy any pictures.

Roberto de Ocampo & the ribbon-cutting for new DVD/CD

Group #1 getting seated

 Group #1 ready to go!

Jude taking the mic from Tom to introduce himself.

Marc ready to sign

Henry & Anthony

Cassius, Ben, Jude, Tom

Gabe Collins

Jude, Tom, Ciarnan, Gabe

Ben getting his picture taken

 

Cassius

 

Kavana & Eoghan

Matthew Madine & group #2 signing CD's & posters

 Isaac & Michael Menezes

 

Dylan

 

Sam & Alessandro

 

Alex Gula, Matthew J & Carlos

 

Kuba, Matthew R-A, Alex Montoro

 

Kuba & Matthew R-A

A Loose Moose! Josh came out to say "hi" & sign a few autographs.

:)

Thanks again, Milet! Glad you enjoyed the concerts! :D