Who are Tabernacle Choir’s guest performers in Manila, Philippines?

Singer-songwriter Ysabelle Cuevas and TV personalities Suzi Entrata-Abrera and Paolo Abrera will join singer and actress Lea Salonga during The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square’s live shows in Manila, Philippines.

The live shows Feb. 27-28 are within the SM Mall of Asia Arena, which may seat nearly 9,000 people. Registration in January without spending a dime tickets for each live shows lasted only a couple of hours as organizers received the utmost variety of registrations. The concert Feb. 28 shall be livestreamed on the choir’s YouTube channel, and native Church leaders are encouraging people to gather to observe it. 

The live shows can have a format just like the choir and orchestra’s Christmas live shows, which feature a guest artist and narrator. 

The live shows are a part of the choir’s multiyear, multicity “Hope” tour. In 2023, the choir and orchestra performed their “Esperaza” live shows within the National Auditorium in Mexico City, Mexico. 

In the Philippines, it’s the “Himig ng Pag-asa” or “melody of hope” tour Feb. 20-29. This is the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra’s first visit to the Philippines. 

Cuevas, who’s from the Philippines, has gained worldwide popularity of her covers, winning music contests and earning features in major publications and translates Korean songs into Filipino and English. Her original song “Daunted,” released through Warner Music Philippines in 2018, resonated with fans across East Asia and North America. Cuevas currently releases original music with Universal Music Group Philippines, in keeping with the Tabernacle Choir. 

Cuevas, who has recently relocated to Utah, can also be a author and singer for the Church’s youth music project, Strive To Be. 

“I remember watching general conference growing up, paying extra attention when the Tabernacle Choir began singing. Never had I imagined I’d someday share a stage with them. What an incredible honor and blessing. The Lord truly is in every movement, even within the whisper of a prayer,” Cuevas shared on Facebook.

Narrators for the live shows shall be husband-and-wife duo Suzi Entrata-Abrera and Paolo Abrera, who’re Filipino TV personalities and news anchors. 

Paolo Abrera posted on Instagram: “What an honour to be a part of a really special choir concert experience and be mentioned in the identical breath because the world renown Tabernacle Choir and our very own world class performer and star of Broadway and West End, Lea Salonga together with the talented Ysabelle Cuevas.” 

Salonga is a Broadway singer and actress and is from the Philippines. Salonga previously performed with the choir and orchestra through the 2022 Christmas concert, “Season of Light: Christmas With The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square,” including “Payapang Daigdig” — a Filipino song that translates to “Peaceful World” and may be considered a counterpart to “Silent Night.” 

The choir announced in December 2023 that Salonga will perform through the tour.

Tabernacle Choir’s sacred music concert

A 3rd concert within the Philippines, a sacred music concert, on the Quadricentennial Pavilion of The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. was announced on The Tabernacle Choir Philippine Tour Facebook page. 

Information about ticket distribution to the sacred music concert shall be available at a later date.