04/01/2022
We thank God for the life of our dear brother, Dondi Ong who went home to glory last Dec. 28 due to cardiac arrest, after battling total renal failure since last year. Dondi was Aliw Hall of Fame Awardee having won the coveted "Best Classical Male Performer" three years in a row and UP Centennial Outstanding School of Music Alumni and the only Filipino member of the Phantom of the Opera International Tour. Despite his many accomplishments, Dondi has remained humble, always ready to support social causes and church events. His first performance in GCF was in the New Years's Eve Service in 2010. When we launched the Bond of Brothers in 2013, he gladly accepted our invitation for him to be our Vocal Coach even if we only had budget for his gasoline during our Saturday rehearsals. During the Special Tribute to the Younts, he was very happy to conduct our final song, "When the Road Rise to Meet You." More than that, he choreographed our movements for the song, "Honor to Serve." We planned to organize a Musicale to raise funds for his needed kidney transplant last Dec. 31. Instead, we hosted his Memorial Service last Jan. 1. He was supposed to finish his Masters in Music Therapy this year, Summa Cum Laude at St. Paul Manila. He was looking forward to spending time with his siblings in Australia and the US when the pandemic locked him down alone in his big house in Parañaque. We, along with many of his friends from the music industry, prayed for his healing. But God in His infinite wisdom gave him something more that we asked for: a new body and new home! Now, after performing all over the world and singing with the UP Singing Ambassadors, Noir, Harana sa Kasarinlan, The Philippine Tenors, Power of Three and the Bond of Brothers, he's been promoted to the Choir of Heaven!