Tomorrow, I will turn 30. I am quite happy about it, contrary to what people imply that “mawawala na ang edad ko sa kalendaryo,” or simply put, I am not getting any younger.
Why would I not be happy? At 30, I am raising a lovely family of three, sleeping in our own home, working from home while taking care of it, still actively serving the church. And I get to sing and teach again! Happy dance! And my family supports me all the way in whatever endeavor I take. Blessing upon blessing.
I made a life list back when I was in high school. Nope, I am not gonna share them to you, cos I have not ticked some of the items yet. Still praying for some things and I hope to reach them before I turn 40.
Tomorrow also, we’ll be having our first family trip abroad. Will tell about it soon. So may I ask for a simple prayer for this trip, that all of us will be safe, and more importantly, enjoy the experience of God’s creation in another country. Likewise, please pray for our dear country, the Philippines, and let’s lift it up again to the Blessed Mother.
I am so excited to ride the plane and live in a suitcase again, after all, it has been my life some years ago.
Forgive the birthday pause, too, as I might not be online in the next days. Will try to post in Instagram and Twitter (follow @touringkitty).
I shall say a prayer tonight for all my friends and family and everyone who gets to read this. May God bless you and your families.
Who didn’t, after watching that fabulous concert featuring two fabulous choirs who both celebrate 50 fabulous years this 2013?
The Madz first “teased” us with this poster:
I first thought it was some black, er, yellow, prop of sort. Teehee.
And soon after, we found out what it really meant:
Two for the Gold. Two Legends, Two Nights. Got it?:)
I could not miss this concert! What’s not to miss: The Madz. The Swingles. Pure vocal awesomeness. I really got “Swinglified” last Saturday night!
It was also a date night for me and my husband. I convinced him to get orchestra seats, and I am so glad we did! So after dinner at the Harbour Square, we went to the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater to claim our pre-ordered tickets. I was so happy to see so many people in the lobby before the show started!
The program started with the Madz singing several songs for the first part, a combination of the old and new Madz repertoire. They began with “Cantate Domino” by Josu Elberdin. I have heard this a couple of times already and I like how the Madz sung this–simple yet grand. “La Guerre” was sung in another version–Old French pronunciation, I suppose. Their “Italian Salad,” through the years of being in the Madz repertoire, never fails to make the audience laugh. Their set ended with “Circle of Life,” another crowd favorite, remains foolproof.
Before their final song, Sir Mark had a short spiel which introduced the Swingle Singers. The Madz then went down the stage and sat on the first row of the audience. I thought there will be an intermission announcement, but instead, Sir Mark told the audience to wait in our seats as the stage was being prepared for the featured performers.
And so, it was the turn of the Swingles, who sang a few songs before an intermission was announced. I swear it was the first time I ever smiled throughout a concert! *Fanmode on*
The Swingle Singers is an eight-member a cappella group formed by Ward Swingle in 1963. Back then, their repertoire consisted of orchestral music set into choral arrangements. Through the years, they have expanded their repertoire, which included pop music, original compositions, and made use of technology by using recorded percussion and adding effects on their microphones. Since they were only a few singers (currently, they are seven), they use microphones to amplify their sound, especially in large auditoriums. Their sound engineer rocks, by the way, and did an amazing job as well!
After the intermission, they were joined by the Madz for two musical numbers — “Eleanor Rigby” and “Lady Madonna.” The Madz girls were sparkling in their gold blouses while the men wore all black. Again, they went back to the audience as the Swingles sang the rest of their program.
I like how they interspersed spiels and choreography with their songs. Everyone got a chance to speak, and each song had its own story to tell. Never a dull moment. Crowd favorites would be the “Il dolce suono/Fifth Element” medley, and “Single Ladies” complete with booty-shaking of their male singers!
Besides their newer songs, they also sung their older repertoire. Loved “Claire de Lune,” of course. They ended with another classic by Astor Piazolla–“Libertango.” I also wished they sang other Swingle favorites, like Flight of the Bumblebee and their Bach arrangements. They should come back, then! It was a treat hearing them live.
Of course, it did not end there. Encore numbers were sung, and as their final offering, they sung the Ilonggo lullaby, “Ili-Ili, tulog anay,” which I found out was done by one of the Madz’ resident composer/arranger, Ily Maniano. The lullaby got Swinglified, to everyone’s amazement.
It was indeed a magical night, and I could not help but tell my friends how happy I was. I will definitely remember that concert for a long time!
Thanks, Madz, for working really hard to bring in the Swingles to Manila, for playing host to them while they were here, and for allowing us to experience what you guys had experienced in Colombia during the America Cantat.
This fan is gonna end this post with a video of the Madz singing a Swingles piece. I used to just listen to them through Sir Mark’s iPod, then on Youtube. I am happy that I have sung one of their songs, like this one: Soul Bossa Nova, which we performed in New York in 2007. Have a Swinglin’ time, y’all!
~ Touringkitty
We had a good “date place” too, amid paintings here and there, and behind us a replica of the infamous “Parisian Life” by Juan Luna, no less.
See the Parisian Life replica at the far end of the photo? The original is already at the National Museum.
In my short but sweet stint at the country’s premiere cultural institution, I had the privilege to have handled and coordinated several projects. Aside from the recently concluded international choral competition, the other one dearest to me is the Kabataang Gitarista Program.
We started the program on the second half of 2012, where we gathered public high school students from Manila and Pasay public high schools. From about 70 applicants, we went down to a final total number of 12, which had their recital to celebrate their first year last August 24 at the CCP Tanghalang Huseng Batute.
I was sitting eye level. Their music stands were too high!
They were mentored by no less than the country’s best, Maestro Jose Valdez, master guitarist and arranger. I have never seen a master as humble and as kind as he is.
I could not miss the chance. Taken after the recital.Sir Joe would even tune their guitars just before they entered! Such dedication from a master!
The group has gone a very long way, thanks to their dedication and the support of the program’s sponsor, Guitar Friends, a group of guitar enthusiasts, who are funding the said program, that is why the students are having their guitar lessons for free. Likewise, they get to use the GSIS Museum as their rehearsal venue for their weekly lessons. Meanwhile, the CCP Artist Training Division, on its part, is the overall coordinator of the program, from coordination with the Department of Education to implementation of the program and looking at possible performance opportunities.
Literally, I was “ate,” or big sister to these students. I was the one tasked to remind them about rehearsals, coordinate their performance schedules, transportation, things to bring, etc. I also got to know the students better through their parents, who patiently waits for the students every week.
I have seen their musical growth in the program in that one year, which makes me their proud “ate.” A few months before the recital, they were assigned solo and ensemble pieces to prepare them for the repertoire. I doubt if I could fare well as they did, as some of them played challenging pieces like Bach’s “Bouree” and Tarrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra, in less than six months! This is what precisely what Sir Joe wants the guitarists to achieve, to “excel in solo guitar playing so that they can perform on their own even without the ensemble.”
I remember the starting weeks of the program, when the students had to be educated about classical guitar. Some brought steel-stringed guitars with them, so we could not accommodate them. Slowly, the numbers dwindled and only those with nylon guitars and the dedication to attend early Saturday morning lessons continued with the program.
These students have different stories. Their guitars were in various conditions, too. But they persevered, until such time that their guitars were given an upgrade through generous sponsors.
Two of the students are now in college, taking up music. Both of them were influenced to take up music by being in the Kabataang Gitarista Program, saying that it made a huge impact in deciding which course to pursue.
Another batch of students will be mentored by another guitar teacher. The first batch, meanwhile, will continue their sessions with Sir Joe. I really hope the new batch would be twice as many as the first, or even more, and that they would have guitars in good condition and playable quality.
To the first batch, congratulations for making it this far! I do hope you will still continue to play and carry on the rehearsal discipline that Sir Joe has been instilling on you.
To Sir Joe, thank you for being an inspiration of humility to me. May God bless you as you continue to play for His audiences and train more guitarists through the gift of teaching He bestowed on you. Not many people can excel on both!
I miss studying in the university. I had the best time during college, even though I had to take leaves for whole semesters because of concert tours with the Madz.
Now that I am a full time mother, I still want to learn, and I do them online, through the free online courses offered by professors of major universities abroad. Sans the university credits, these absolutely FREE online courses offer the same quality education in an online platform and in shorter spans of time.
Recently, I completed my Crash Course on Creativity. It was my second attempt to take it, as I was not able to finish the first time I took it last year. This year, I was so proud to finish the course in between work and household management, and got this Statement of Accomplishment from a Stanford professor, Tina Seelig.
This was designed by one of our online classmates. It folds up like an accordion, showing the creativity logo. How kewl is that?!
There are lots more coming up and ongoing! Check out Coursera and Novoed (which was formerly Venture Lab wherein the Creativity Course I took is in). At the moment, I enrolled in Coursera’s Crafting and Effective Writer, Survey of Music Technology, and Creativity, Innovation, and Change. I do hope to finish them all, though, else I’ll end up just auditing again.
Hope you also take advantage of technology and education. Best thing, they are all free. No need to fly out to have classes under foreign professors.
