When the bamboo organ returned to Las Piñas after being fine-tuned in Germany, its homecoming was celebrated with much fanfare. The celebration then became an annual thing and gave birth to the International Bamboo Organ Festival, now the longest-running international festival in the Philippines. Held every February, the festival attracts thousands of spectators, musicians and artists from all over the world, sometimes packing the Parish of St. Joseph with a standing ovation.
The International Bamboo Organ Festival featuring the Las Piñas Boys Choir (Photo by cealwyn)
Highlights
The International Bamboo Organ Festival aims to engage its audience in a cultural/musical presentation that attempts to create new or rekindle old ties among artists and foreign and local visitors. It also aspires to enhance Filipino musicality and further boost tourism by using the bamboo organ as an instrument, literally and figuratively.
The Las Pinas Boys Choir dressed as Ifugaos
The centerpiece of the musical event is of course, the playing of the organ itself by the parish’s resident pianist, as accompanied by a full orchestra, a foreign or a local conductor, and the Las Piñas Boys Choir, a Belgian-founded choral group that has won awards abroad.
How to get there
The festival is being held at the Parish of St. Joseph, P. Diego Cera Avenue, Poblacion, Las Piñas City, Philippines 1744. The best way to go there is through a private car or a taxi ride from anywhere in Manila (taxi flag down rate: P30).
Contact details
Log in to http://www.bambooorgan.org/ibof.html or to http://bambooorgan.org/festival.htm to know more about the festival and its schedule.
Related Articles
 Manila Zoo |  Sarao jeepney assembly line |  Malacañang Palace |  Manila American Cemetery and Memorial |
Tags: Attractions, Day trip, Historical, Las Piñas, Manila
