Almost every first Friday of the month, the First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos hosts the Goldenberg Concert Series, a gathering of music and artistry, culture and patriotism.

The venue: the distinguished Goldenberg Mansion — one of the exquisitely restored Malacañang Heritage Mansions.

The setting itself — a spectacle, with crystal chandeliers illuminating the intricately carved woodwork. There was great anticipation in the air. Together with the nostalgic music, this particular evening lingered in our memories.

For this particular installment, held on the eve of the 4th of July, which serendipitously coincided with Filipino-American Friendship Day, guests and students were treated to a memorable performance featuring two stellar musicians: the country’s premier, most sought-after pianist Raul Sunico and the brilliant saxophone virtuoso Archie Lacorte.

Dr. Raul Sunico, a household name in Philippine classical music and former Cultural Center of the Philippines president, brought not only the gravitas of a decorated academic — cum laude from the University of the Philippines, a Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School in New York, and later on earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Piano Performance from New York University — but also the soul of an artist who has performed on the world’s most-desirable concert halls many times over.

Joining Sunico onstage was saxophonist Archie Lacorte, a dedicated educator and seasoned performer with a global footprint. A graduate of the University of Santo Tomas and a master’s degree holder from the Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima, Japan, he delivered a cosmopolitan sensibility to the performance. Seamlessly blending jazz, Latin and rockabilly influences, Lacorte’s interpretation was as precise as it was passionate.

The repertoire began with a transatlantic dialogue. George Gershwin’s "Summertime" floated in a languid haze, followed by Cole Porter’s sultry Night and Day, rendered with such velvet smoothness, it seemed to melt into the warm Manila evening.

What followed was a nostalgic overture to Broadway, as Sunico performed solo pieces from My Fair Lady, threading together hummable melodies such as "Wouldn’t It Be Lovely?," "On the Street Where You Live," and "I Could Have Danced All Night." With subtle pedal work and a deft touch, Sunico transformed the piano into a storyteller, and for a moment, one could almost imagine Eliza Doolittle herself walking past the front garden and the all-around terrace of the mansion.

"Rhapsody in Blue," another Gershwin classic, was a highlight — Sunico’s dexterity anchoring the complex piano solo passages, while Lacorte’s saxophone sang with clarity and confidence.

And yet, it was the Filipino segment which truly captured most hearts of the evening. The beloved Ilocano folk song "Pamulinawen," with its timeless theme of unrequited love, was arranged into a piano-saxophone conversation which felt both fresh and respectful of tradition. The audience was visibly moved as the program continued with "Dahil Sa Iyo," "Maalala Mo Kaya," "Saranggola ni Pepe," and "Pandangguhan." The arrangements drew on classical, jazz, and kundiman styles, wonderfully establishing the familiar as new again.

As the final notes of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Freddie Mercury, "Spain" from Joaquin Rodrigo’s famed Concerto de Aranjuez, "Never Let Her Slip Away" — one of the First Lady’s favorite tunes – and Gershwin’s masterpiece "Rhapsody in Blue," danced across the hall, the visibly awed attendees burst into a series of applauses — one louder than the next — for the technical brilliance of the masters and how the performers told a story of a shared heritage.

In addition to guests from the arts community — including National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ Victorino Manalo, cultural chronicler Lisa Nakpil, Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Kaye Tinga and Carissa Coscolluela, arts and culture lover Ping Valencia, Asia Society’s Ernest Escaler and Tess Rances, The Philippine Star’s Millet Mananquil and husband Robert, art collector Jose Mari Treñas, makeup artist Patrick Rosas among many attendees — others seen were Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia, PNP chief Nicolas Torre, OWWA administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan, BizNewsAsia’s Tony Lopez, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation director Atty. Mike Toledo, and Philippine-American mixed martial artist Brandon Michael Vera.

Special guests were students from the Silahis ng Katarungan Special School, Bagong Barangay Elementary School, Doña Teodora Alonzo High School, Elpidio Quirino High School, Lakandula High School, and Chinese General Hospital Senior High School.

The evening reaffirmed Filipino-American friendship on the eve of 4th of July no less.

¡Enhorabuena, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos! ¡Mabuhay, Raul Sunico and Archie Lacorte!