‘Architecture will always be Delster’s profession but singing will always be his passion.’
Earlier in April, Delster Davide, a Filipino architect working in Los Angeles, California returned to the Philippines to fulfill a long-time wish – to mount a concert for his birthday.
He wanted to treat his family and friends to a show where he would sing and dance for them. Together with Prof. Ramom “Montet” Acoymo, former mentor of the La Salle Greenhills group Kundirana, Delster conceptualized and produced a one hour-and-40 minute program consisting of tunes that were meaningful to him.
During his high school days at La Salle Greenhills, Delster was a member of the Kundirana — one of the Philippines’ most famous school-based youth singing groups in the Philippines. Established in 1971, the Kundirana is where the talents of Gary Valenciano, Ogie Alcasid, Randy Santiago, Dingdong Avanzado, Mon and Tats Faustino, Louie Ocampo and other successful music artists were honed.
“Kundirana was the best experience I had in high school,” said Delster. “Montet Acoymo was our musical director and trainer. He inspired me to take lessons in classical voice. I owe a lot to that guy.”
In college, Delster took up architecture at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. After a few years of working in Manila, he flew to the US where he continued his practice. Singing took a backseat but this was always in his heart.
In fact, Montet revealed, Delster does regular vocalization. “Delster has a recording of the vocal exercises created by National Artist Andrea Veneracion. Delster plays these recordings daily to keep his voice in top condition,” Montet said of his former Kundirana student.
The recordings used to be in a cassette but were digitized and are now saved on Delster’s mobile phone. He plays the vocal exercises daily as he drives to work.
One could therefore say that the music-loving fellow had long prepared for the show. The concert set was simple: just a chair and a stand with a microphone that Delster had painted in green (well, because that is the school color of La Salle).
The repertoire was unique and eclectic. It included disco songs from the ‘70s and ‘80s (“Love is in the Air,” “Never Can Say Goodbye,” “Never Gonna Give You Up,” “Together Forever,” “Gold” and “Only When You Leave”), Broadway songs (“Something’s Coming” from “West Side Story,” “Starlight Express,” “Anthem” from “Chess,” “Half a Moment” from “By Jeeves” and “Someone Like You” from “Jekyll and Hyde”). Delster also sang “Music and Me” to express his love for singing.
Delster mentioned that “Starlight Express” was very important to him as he watched it in Broadway in 1987 with his Kundirana batchmates when they were on a US tour.
Guest performers were Montet Acoymo who sang “Azael” and Mozart’s “An Chloe” and Delster’s mom, former UNESCO Commissioner Mrs. Virginia “Gigi” Perez Davide, who sang “Historia De Un Amor,” “Eres Tu” and “Inolvidable.”
Delster had inherited his musical talent from the side of his mother Gigi. He shared, “I wanted to find out where the love of music came from. I learned only last August 2024 from my mom and my uncle that my grandfather Emilio Plaza Perez of Surigao del Sur loved music, loved to sing.”
To honor his roots, Delster sang “Sueña” (the Spanish version of the song “Someday” from “Hunchback of Notre Dame”) and “Ako Kini Higala” (“This is Me, Friend”) from the 5th Cebu Popular Musical Festival. Delster’s father former Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. hails from Cebu.
“This is one of our happiest moments,” former Chief Justice Davide said of Delster’s birthday concert. “We as parents are so proud of Delster. He is a good singer like his mother.”
Mrs. Davide echoed her husband’s sentiments. “I never expected that the show would turn out this good. I am still on cloud nine,” she enthused. “If ever Delster embarks on a second career, he has my love and support,” she added.
Architecture will always be Delster’s profession but singing will always be his passion. He said, “Initially, I wanted to do this show for my birthday to present to my family and friends the other songs that I can sing. But, after living in L.A. for 22 years… maybe I want to come home more often. I want to do more singing.”
