Swiss envoy, ‘singing diplomat’ to launch cultural fund

MANILA, Philippines – Swiss Ambassador to the Philippines Ivo Sieber and his deputy chief of mission, Raoul Imbach, announced the launch of a Swiss Cultural Fund in the Philippines on May 26.

The fund will allow Filipinos to discover more Swiss artists and delve deeper into Swiss culture. 

In a speech at an intimate gathering with media, Sieber said the embassy has shared their culture with Filipinos for a long while, bringing in artists from Switzerland and joining cultural events.

The fund will boost these efforts and benefit both Philippine and Swiss nationals who have a lot to enjoy about each other’s cultures.

Swiss companies active in the Philippines such as Nestlé, Bühler, and Swatch are currently the fund’s major sponsors.

Launching the fund, the embassy will bring in jazz pianist Claude Diallo to the Philippines.

Born in Switzerland to a Swiss mother and French father, Diallo is based in New York, and spends most of his time performing his compositions around the world. From May 24 to 27, Diallo will share his talents with Filipinos.

On May 24, Diallo will perform at Tago Jazz Café. Admission is free.

On the 26th at 10:30 am, Diallo will share his musical prowess with students in the Far Eastern University at a jazz workshop, in the spirit of people-to-people exchanges. This will be followed by a performance at the Swiss ambassador’s residence, where Sieber will formally launch the cultural fund.

Then, on the 27th, Diallo will also perform at the Alliance de Française de Manille.

The singing diplomat

It seems the Swiss have an abundance of musically-talented people and one of them, as Sieber pointed out, has been working at their embassy.

The Swiss embassy’s deputy chief of mission, Imbach, is a diplomat and more than that. In his free time, he ditches the tie and becomes his alter ego: Raoul, the Singing Diplomat.

Imbach is an accomplished singer-songwriter with 10 albums of his own compositions. He has performed around the world and has made the stage his second home.

Here’s a short clip of Imbach effortlessly belting out notes on his home piano:

A man with “multiple lives,” Imbach has delved into a couple of fields. He was part of the Swiss Junior National Team for skiing, is a restaurateur after opening “Le Chandelier” in Bolivia, and is also an accomplished man in the business of oil after working with two major oil companies before joining the Swiss foreign service.

See the diplomat transform on June 1, 6 pm, at the Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium for his first solo concert in the country. Admission is free. – Rappler.com