Karl Marx Reyes

The Filipino-American tenor immigrated to Seattle two decades ago and fell in love with opera and western music. He is currently performing as a soloist throughout the Pacific Northwest with Tacoma, Bellevue, Skagit and Seattle Opera. An avid performer, he has appeared in roles such as Remendado in Bizet's Carmen, Pedrillo in Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio, Yakuside in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, The Messenger in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida and a Contadino in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and the First Prisoner in Beethoven's Fidelio.

His repertoire also includes comic characters like John Styx & Orpheus in Orphee Aux Enfers, a Vassal in Richard Wagner's Gotterdammerung, Seattle Opera's world renowned production of the Ring Cycle, The Cannibal in Robinson Crusoe and The Four Valets in Les Contes d'Hoffman by Offenbach, as well as leading roles such as Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme for Vashon Opera. Equally comfortable in the realm of Musical Theater, he played Phra Alack& understudied the King & Lun Tha in Seattle Musical Theater's The King and I, Sandy Dean in Brigadoon and The Impresario in Hans Christian Anderson for
Shoreline Musical Theater. He also recorded two operas by Tacoma composer Arturo Mineo, the title role in Tarisio and Dominick in Sylvia.

He recently brought to life the role of the NVA Lieutenant Commander in its world premiere with Seattle Opera this past summer, a brand new opera by Daron Hagen titled "Amelia". He will next be seen at Helena Symphony's staged production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly in 2011.

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Eloisa Cardona

Eloisa was born in Manila, but emigrated to the USA at the tender age of 9 months with her family. Since then she has lived all her life in Seattle. Her first performance skills and experiences were learned from Auntie Dorothy Cordova in the FYA Kabataan Folk Dancers at the age of five, then later with Auntie Dolly Castillo’s Fil-Am Baranggay Folk Arts where she was a principal dancer/choreographer for many years. She is definitely no stranger to cultural events such as Pagdiriwang, having performed all around the Seattle area and the Tri-cities. She and her husband, Roger Rigor have also emceed the musical extravaganza in one of the earlier years of Pagdiriwang.

Her nurturing in, and deep love and appreciation of  the Philippine folk arts helped her venture into the theatrical frontier. She is a graduate from the University Of Washington School of Drama, and has performed professionally with Seattle Repertory Theater, Seattle Childrens Theater, Civic Light Opera (now known as Seattle Musical Theater), Seattle Public Theater, NW Asian American Theater, and React Theater, to name a few.  Singing and music has always been a part of her life in one way or another. She is a member of, and an occasional soloist of the St. Joseph church choir. She is honored, and welcomes this opportunity to sing “Isang Lahi” with Karl Reyes. She dedicates this song to the memory of her parents, Paul and Marcelina Cardona, but especially to her father.  Though he never admitted it, she knows he appreciated all the arts as much as she did, and is grateful for this legacy.

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Melissa McCann

Melissa McCann is a seventeen year old from Marysville Washington. A trained singer who specializes in theater, she is president of her High School's drama club, her most recent role being Dorothy in a production of The Wizard of Oz. She is half Filipino, her mother coming from Negros Oriental in the Philippines, and was recently a contestant in the Filipino-American Association of North Puget Sound Sweetheart pageant. This August she will be moving on to Washington State University to complete her bachelor's degree. After graduation she hopes to join the peace corps before pursuing her career.

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Jennilyn Bawer Young

Jennilyn Bawer Young is a native of Lubuagan, Kalinga.  She began dancing at the age of six under the direction of her father, Cirilo Bawer. Better known as"Manong Sapi", he is an internationally known cultural teacher, dancer and choreographer. Jenny has been dancing and weaving using the centuries old tradition since she was a young girl. Her products are not only authentic, but in high demand. The pains-taking and time consuming art of back strap weaving was passed down through her mothers family. Each item is created without the use of loom, just simple single strands of thread and sweat, making these items unique. Tapis, g-strings and blankets are important reminders of the traditions that formed a strong bond between tribal members in the Mountain provinces of northern Luzon. Jenny has performed several times in Europe, dancing in Switzerland and in front of a full house at Munich's Olympic stadium. She is currently a member of the San Francisco based dance company Pilipino ensemble LIKHA under the direction of Rudolfo Soriano.

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Monica Kimberly Corcoro

Monica Kimberly Corcoro, nicknamed Kim, is a freshman at Aviation High School. She found her love for music when she learned to play the flute in Holy Family School - Seattle Middle School Band. This continued on when she transferred to Our Lady of Guadalupe School and joined the Honor Band and took up piano lessons. When she's taking a break from her demanding schoolwork, she continues to play the piano & flute, challenges herself to solve Rubiks Cube less than a minute, and works on Origami crafts.