The Sampaguita Flute Project finished out their Montana tour in Great Falls on Sunday afternoon.
Norman Menzales had been working on this project for more than three years, but it had been a life-long dream of his. Of Filipino decent, Menzales has always strongly embraced his culture and wants to show the culture to the world, starting with Montana.
“We’re doing our final tour here in Great Falls where I live, and it’s so exciting for me to get to share a little bit of my culture with the community that I’ve lived in for now almost 11 years,” said Menzales.
Their Montana tour had a good turnout and allowed them to accomplish their goal of spreading the culture with the communities of Great Falls, Bozeman, and Lincoln, Montana.
“People showed up, had a great time, and lots of laughter was had,” said Menzales. “With it being in Great Falls, and with me being a part of the community here I was [pleased] with the turnout.”
The guitarist, Sungmin Shin, is a longtime friend of Menzales and composed a special piece specifically for the Sampaguita Flute Project.
They chose three OPM songs, the Filipino form of popular music, from three different generations. Shin said they each had contrasting sounds but a central theme of “love.” He used these three songs to create a new instrumental piece that embodies flute and guitar for this project.
“It can be very challenging sometimes when you're moving around so much to kind of keep your roots, so it's very special to me that Norman is trying to find his roots with this project,” said Shin.
Admission to the concert was free with a $20 suggested donation to support further activities.
Menzales, along with the Great Falls Symphony have many more upcoming events. If you would like to support this project, click here.
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