CCP Arts Market is your one-stop shop for networking in the arts.
Come and catch a multi-cultural flare of Performing Arts at this one-day arts market.
Get to know and interact with the top performing groups in the Philippines and neighboring ASEAN countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia and Lao PDR at the 2nd CCP and ASEAN Arts Market which will be held on February 14, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
The event will offer opportunities for networking, showcasing of performance samplers and business matching of performances and other programs of arts organizations and agencies in the Philippines.
Show programmers, organizers and arts enthusiasts are welcome to attend.
Maria Jeline Llorin Oliva is a young and very talented violinist. I first met her when I was a cultural worker two years ago, and have witnessed her simplicity, humility, and great passion for her chosen craft. She was mentored by Ms. Gina Medina-Perez and currently, by one of the foremost Filipino violinists, Mr. Gilopez Kabayao.
If you could still remember, she was this young girl who played violin, drums, and piano in the Grand Finals of Pilipinas Got Talent, a local talent show on television, in 2010. In 2011, she won the First Prize in the Strings Open Category of the National Music Competition for Young Artists, or NAMCYA. From hereon, she starts her journey as a classical violinists, being featured as soloist in concerts, and just recently, a concert all on her own at the Ayala Museum.
Time flies so fast and she’s about to enter college. And she is preparing to study abroad to further hone her skills. Knowing how expensive it can be, Jeline entered this competition for a scholarship at the Mannes College The New School for Music in New York, USA. And I would like to ask for a simple help from all of you so we could send this talented girl to NYC! She already passed the auditions, but she needs our help for the scholarship.
With just a LIKE and a COMMENT on her Youtube video, we can send someone to one of the prestigious music schools in New York, Mannes. So please visit bit.ly/SupportJeline, VIEW the video to know her journey, LIKE the video using your Youtube OR Gmail account, and write a COMMENT. Please also share it with your family and friends so we could all contribute to this with just a few minutes of your internet time.
Likes and comments for the competition will be counted until February 1st.
May this be our good deed for 2015, if we have not yet done one =)
This annual workshop is held on the last week of October, done in partnership with the Philippine Madrigal Singers.Giddy people early in the morning: some present and alumni members of the Philippine Madrigal Singers aka trainors. Marivic Llamas, Krystl Buesa, yours truly, Joel Aquino, Paolo Pardo, Bianca Lopez, Mark Carpio.
The workshop is now on its 12th season, and has attracted choral groups and conductors from all over the Philippines as well as other countries. This year, we had a choir from Kuala Lumpur participating in the workshop.
Mark Carpio conducting all participants of the choral workshop. They filled the entire Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo stage!
This was not the first time for me to join as trainor, but everything seemed new to me this time around.
With the God’s Heritage Chorale from Bulacan, the choir I handled back in 2006. Along with Sheen Sanchez, another Madz alumnus. Photo credit: Churchill Garcia-Natoc.
This choir joined the workshop again this year, with some familiar faces and new ones who got to experience the Madz training through the workshop. I guess they find something good and new in each workshop that they’ve participated three times already!
Early this year, the Cultural Center of the Philippines called itself as a Center for Choral Performance, where major choral events are lined up in the Center until next year, the highlight being the second Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival in July 2015.
This year’s choral workshop was made even special because of several factors. Aside from the fact that it had been in hiatus for two years (there were no choral workshops held in 2012 and 2013 because of Madz trips abroad–incidentally, the years I worked for the Center), the workshop also featured a special Artist Talk by no less than Mr. Ryan Cayabyab, who created a new arrangement of one of his songs, premiered by the participating choral groups.
In Mr. C’s talk, he took the audience back to the days when fate had prepared the road for his musical journey, as a son of an opera singer who did not encourage him to take the same career his mother took, as a young UPIS student who was just tinkering on the piano, and as a teenager who would try out different careers–from winning a painting contest to applying as a disc jockey, and eventually getting the biggest gig that paved the way for his musical career. His story was unbelievable, humble, yet very inspiring.
The participants were fortunate to premiere a Mr. C work, Ikaw pa rin ang mahal ko, the theme song of Sa Ngalan ng Ina, originally sung by another OPM hero, Basil Valdez. Here’s a sampling from the Madz Facebook page:
Choirs from various schools, communities, parishes, and companies joined the workshop. Individual conductors, or choirless conductors as they called themselves, who want to be better conductors learned through the sessions with Madz Choirmaster himself, Mark Carpio.
The choirs assigned to me were the MBPS Chorale of Manulife and Musica Chorus of Quiapo Church.
The trainors were assigned two choirs each, who each sang a song of their preference, and one song which came from the trainor and will be performed together. I chose What the World needs now is love, a really simple danceable arrangement of the Bacharach song with piano. As they’ve easily learned the piece, I also gave short pieces as some sort of exercise for them.
I was surprised to know that trainors will also conduct, as I cannot remember doing that during the previous workshop I was part of. I even confirmed this to Sir Mark, to my surprise and excitement. It was my first time to conduct on the CCP’s Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo stage!
What. An. Experience. To conduct at the CCP Main Theater! With Musica Chorus and MBPS Chorale. MBPS’ conductor, Ms. Oquias, assisted on piano.Ninong Mark handing over the certificate to me. It’s as if I’ve graduated all over again! Thank you, thank you.
The choral groups may have different backgrounds and reasons for participating, some of them have mentioned this during the opening ceremonies. But to me, they are definitely champions by just being a good solid group, thirsting for knowledge that will help improve themselves and their choirs as they sing for God and for their schools, churches, companies, and communities. They’ve worked hard for those five days, which seemed really short, but all did and went well.
For us, trainors, nothing is more gratifying than seeing the choirs take what you’ve taught them to heart. We’ve witnessed this during the culminating activity. And as we look back at the first day we met them, a lot of good had happened. We’re successful enough to shared a piece of the Madz way. And we hope we could share this to more choristers in the generations to come.
Huge thanks to the Madz family for the opportunity to work with these great choristers and for what seemed to be a reunion of sorts among us alumni especially during break times. Likewise to my former workmates at the CCP and the Artist Training Division for being a venue for these choirs to create more wonderful choral music.
*All photos, save for one, are from the CCP, as posted in their Artist Training Division Facebook Page. Follow them on Facebook and be updated with their upcoming projects.
Music in indeed the universal language. And the Philippines is very blessed to have a musical culture, especially a choral-singing culture where there are just so many choral groups already–in the churches, in schools, in offices, both private and public, and in communities. Our choral groups are among the most known in the world. They share God’s gift of music to different parts of the world, participating in choral festivals and winning international competitions. Our choral directors are sought-after clinicians and adjudicators both locally and internationally. Even our own choral music is popular, and our composers are commissioned by other world-renowned choral groups to create new music for them.
And what better way to celebrate choral music than through this annual event called World Choral Day.
World Choral Day this year will be celebrated on December 7th.
The International Day of Choral Singing is an international choral event to extol the values of solidarity, peace and understanding. This is an initiative of respected conductor and composer, Alberto Grau from Venezuela, which started in 1990.
So, whether you are a chorister, a choral aficionado, or someone who likes music, here are five ways to celebrate this chorally wonderful day:
1. Pop in any choral music CD to start up your day. Or go to the internet and get to know a new choir through their video performances. Or hear Mass, and you’ll surely be blessed and delighted to hear church music sung, most probably by choirs.
The PCDA will have its own World Choral Day celebration on December 7th in Cavite.
PCDA celebrates World Choral Day!
3. If you a choral director or chorister and you will have a choral concert anytime this month, register your event as part of the World Choral Day. Visit http://www.worldchoralday.org/events/subscription and be part of the celebrations. Oh, and make sure to include Original Pilipino Music in your repertoire!
For the choral groups having a concert this month, please read the Proclamation written for the World Choral Day. This is always read during the choral concert. Ideally, the audience should have a copy so they could read along. The Proclamation has been translated to 14 languages, and aims to foster world peace and understanding through choral singing. Click this link for the Filipino and Cebuano translations which you can use for your concert. Other languages can be found here.
Here is the reading of the Proclamation in Filipino read three years ago as led by Mr. Ryan Cayabyab, in a Thousand-Voice Concert he spearheaded. The translation was written by PCDA Secretary Joy Nilo.
4. Support our local choral artists by booking a choral group for your next event purchasing original CDs, watching their concerts or sponsoring their fundraising projects, which helps a lot in bringing their music to more audiences.
If you’re a choral director, you should start building your own library of choral works. You can purchase choral compositions and arrangements of our Filipino composers/arrangers or commission them for new works.
5. If you haven’t yet, sing in a choir now! No less than Philippine Madrigal Singers Choirmaster Mark Carpio encourages us to do so in his TedXDiliman talk:
Do you have more ideas? Share with everyone in the comments section.
Singing with a world-renowned choral group sure had its perks. One of which is being seen on TV!
So, every bit of TV exposure, we treasure it. And this is definitely one for the books, immortalized through Youtube.
As we await for the new Station ID of this TV channel, which is coming out tonight, enjoy this video they produced ten years ago. As one of the comments read, this is one of their best produced Station IDs. See all the stars there? The Philippine Madrigal Singers, as well as the Hail Mary the Queen Children’s Choir, Powerdance, and the Bayanihan National Folk Dance Company are grateful to be part of it. If I’m not mistaken the orchestra is the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (please correct me if I’m wrong!).
Christmas Greetings from Touringkitty! Come to think of it, this isn’t a Christmas song, but it captured our ears as one for the past ten years and counting. Lyrics here, reposted from Pinoylyrics.net:
Sabay Tayo Lyrics
ABS-CBN All Stars
Sa ‘yo ko lang naranasan, ang lambing na totohanan
Ngiti mong ‘di nagpapanaw, ano pa man ang pagdaanan
Walang malungkot na araw, pag ang kasama ay ikaw
At sa pinag-isang damdamin, malayo ma’y, magkapiling pa rin
Sabay tayo sa bawat pagtibok ng ating puso
Sabay tayo sa lahat ng nais ako’y kasama mo
Sabay tayong lumuha, sabay tayong magsaya
Sabay nagsisikap sa iisang pangarap
Magkaramay sa lumbay, magkasama sa lahat ng tagumpay
Makinig, manginig masdan ang aking bibig,
May sasabihin akong talagang nakakakilig
Matagal ko na itong sa sarili nabatid
Napaka-swerte ko at ikaw ay aking kapatid.
Lahing malupit, lahing astig, matinik, magaling,
Malikot ang isip kahit saang dako ng daigdig
Kapag ikaw at ako’y magkasabay, may malaking bagay
Itigil na natin, alitan at ano mang away
Yabangan, bangayan, tama na ang paligsahan
Mas gusto ko pa na tayong lahat ay magyakapan
Isang pamilya sama-sama, ating lahi bigyan ng kulay
Bandila’y iwagayway, buong mundo ay magpupugay
Sama-sama, lahat ay maghawak-kamay
Bawat isa sa atin ay magsisilbing gabay
Sama-sama, lahat ay maghawak-kamay
Bawat isa sa atin ay magsisilbing gabay
Sa pinag-isang layunin
Sa pinag-samang galling
Saan man dito sa mundo
Ikaw at ako’y magniningning
Kapag kamay mo’y aking hawak
Para akong may pakpak
Pagsubok man ay umapaw
Ikaw at ako’y mangingibabaw
Sabay tayo sa bawat pagtibok ng ating puso
Sabay tayo sa lahat ng nais ako’y kasama mo
Sabay tayong lumuha, sabay tayong magsaya
Sabay nagsisikap sa iisang pangarap
Magkaramay sa lumbay, magkasama sa lahat ng tagumpay
The Philippine Premiere of Rusalka went beyond our expectations. It was awesome, great, and blessed, in so many ways.
So, how did opening night go?
The cast was called in at four in the afternoon. But I was already there at the backstage dressing room at two in the afternoon, and some cast members even earlier. I came from lunch with my two former officemates from the Center, and I even asked a paracetamol from them because I was starting to feel unwell. That paracetamol worked wonders!
So, as we were waiting for the Alexander exercises led by our director at six in the evening, we started doing hair and makeup, and some had dinner as well. Hair and make up artists were there to assist us. I was too excited and nervous so I was just able to eat during the second act, wherein the woodsprites, were not part of.
Doing Alexander technique exercises before each rehearsal helped singers relax. www.alexandertechnique.com
We’ve been doing Alexander during my undergrad classes under our director, Alegria Ferrer, who was my teacher for several classes during college. Indeed, this was one of the reasons why we were all relaxed during opening night!
And so, we open the opera with this scene:
Wood sprites: L-R: Em Alcantara, Fay Dee Reyes, Poli Laurito.
The opera was done in a Filipinized setting, as is evident with the set, costumes, even adapting Filipino translated names of the characters as our peg. I believed it worked, and made the Czech opera a step closer to our culture.
The opening scene was with the wood sprites and water gnome. The wood sprites for this cast were yours truly, Fay Dee Reyes, and Poli Laurito. It was the first time the three of us are working together, but we managed to blend well especially since almost all of our parts were ensemble singing.
Known baritone Nomer Son is the Water Gnome for all the shows. What can I say, he was simply amazing!
Bianca Lopez (Rusalka) and Christian Nagano (Prince) were both first timers in opera, and they nailed it. With their solid experience as choristers (from the Philippine Madrigal Singers and Coro Tomasino, respectively), Bianca and Titan gave convincing performances in their characters. We were surprised to see Bianca dyed her hair red a la Ariel of The Little Mermaid on the dress rehearsal day.
Jade Riccio was the Foreign Princess for this performance. I’ve heard Jade a few times already, and her voice gets stronger. Jose Miguel Espiritu was the night’s Hunter, and he performed his part really well.
One of the most interesting sections, for me, is that of the Turnspit and Gamekeeper. Christina Bojocan-Espiritu as Turnspit and Leslie Diaz as Gamekeeper delivered their roles well, especially during the part where they’d meet the witch, Jezibaba, outstandingly played by Aya Tanciongco with her “mini-me”, the cute Aimee Joson.
Grupo 20/21 ably accompanied us. Such a small ensemble but with a big sound. Great work by our conductor, Prof. Chino Toledo. The chorus led by Bajo Zaldua and the UP Dance Company also did their parts well. Much gratitude to JM Cabling who choreographed the wood sprites!
Rusalka Opening Night Curtain Call. Great job, everyone!
We’re glad to see family and friends there who supported us in the premiere, including my own family and my daughter, who, surprisingly, was well behaved and watched the opera in its entirety. We’re both singing my part as refresher for me while the opera is on break this week. School officials and the Czech Embassy were also there to support, saying they’d watch again next week.
The following day, some Cast 1 members supported and watched the performance of Cast 2. They did a great job as well, to think that some of them also are first time opera performers. Wood sprites were Charlene Ramos, Krystl Buesa, and Jane Wee. Fame Flores was Rusalka, Malvin Macasaet was Prince, Gereberne Lozada was Foreign Princess. Jhom Chua-So gave a really interesting take as Jezibaba. Paul Dominguez and Miguel Aguila played Gamekeeper and Turnspit, respectively, while Neil Chua was the Hunter.
Second Night of Rusalka. Curtain Call.
On behalf of the whole cast, I would like to thank our director, Alegria Ferrer, for choosing us to be part of this production. It is as special to us as it is to her. More than doing this work, we are blessed with the relationship we’ve created among each other. It was a joy to have worked with everyone in this production– from the cast to our staff (especially to our beloved Stage Manager, Kuya Boy Sanchez!) to the orchestra, chorus, and dancers.
I know reading this will make you wonder what this looks and sounds like. Wonder no more, because we present one more run at the UP College of Music Abelardo Hall on September 23 and 24! Our cast plays on the 23rd, so we do hope to see you at that performance!
Get yout tickets for Rusalka’s UP Run by calling 929-6963. Look for Ms. Eva. P500 each, student discounts for currently enrolled students are given as well. Tickets are selling fast, so don’t miss this chance!
(Photo credits: from cast members of Rusalka during the technical rehearsal and the opening nights)
A day before the country celebrated its 116th Independence Day, I sang with the Koro Madrigal, the alumni of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, for an event at F1 Hotel in BGC. All we knew back when the gig was announced was that we will be singing Filipino songs, and that it was a food festival.
Food and music. These two things are most loved by the Madz. Any member leaves the semicircle as a certified foodie. With all the international cuisines we’ve tasted during our travel, who would not become one? And so, we’re even happier to know that we will get to taste the food in this event.
The event is aptly called Luzviminda, a wordplay of the three major islands of the Philippines–Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. And as we further found out, the event featured three invited Filipino chefs dishing out the best of the islands. Plus, an art exhibit was inaugurated that same day, proceeds of its sales will go to Kythe Foundation.
We were asked to come early in the morning, and had breakfast. Buffet breakfast! Was not able to take photos of it though.
Here are some photos of the day:
Koro Madrigal on duty. From early morning to early afternoon. Stuffed with wonderful singing and food. Yum!The piano behind us. We were fascinated by its name. Teehee.This will greet you as you enter the F1 Hotel Restaurant. Outside is the pooldeck area.
For the Luzviminda event, three guest chefs were featured in their regional creations. Chef Tristan Encarnacion of Epicurious for Luzon, Chef Editha Singian of Pino Hotel Cebu for Visayas, and Chef Victor Barangan of Marco Polo Davao for Mindanao. Each chef brought authentic regional ingredients and recipes to Manila.
Here were the featured chefs of the event, F1 Hotel executives. Issa Litton hosted the event.
Of course, I did not miss my chance to take photos with them!
With Chef Tristan and Chef Victor.With Chef Editha. Now I realized I was not able to get a solo shot with Chef Sau!But we have, with the group, and some of F1 Hotel’s executives. Chef Sau is the executive chef of the hotel.
To complement the yummy food, we rendered songs from the three major islands as guests entered in, before the program started, and as the buffet was opened to the guests. We sang some favourites like Paru-parong Bukid, Pasigin, Zamboanga Hermosa, and Tagumpay Nating Lahat. We got our chance to eat after our set.
So, what’s on the menu? Here you go. I was not able to take decent photos of the food, because we had to prepare to sing already! But here are the few that I took:
This greeted me as we entered the restaurant! I so wanted to dig in the dessert tables first!Can you say, TUUUUNNNNAAAAA? Seafood station.Ensaladang Langka. I liked it! There’s the tuna again!Bagnet. Dinuguan. Maki. Put them together and party in your mouth.Tinapa and salted egg maki. Yum!Kanding sa Nangka. I liked this too.Ube palitaw cooked on the spot. Topped with graham and choco chips. I thought that was muscovado sugar!Durian panna cotta. This was the best! Durian fan here.
Want to try it for yourself, too? You still have a few more days left! The special buffet runs until June 26 for P1,700 per person. It’s truly a feast for your senses. Check out F1 Hotel Manila on Facebook.
Brave New Worlds: My Utopia in Your Dystopia
Contemporary art exhibit
April 26 to June 12, MET Tall Galleries, Metropolitan Museum of Manila
A collection of 50 artworks by 24 European and Filipino artists, this exhibit showcases the parallelism of practice among Filipino and European artists, and how they create art in the verge of cultural breakdown. Painter Manuel Ocampo curated the exhibit. The exhibit opened April 26 and will run until June 12, as the country celebrates Independence Day.
In line with the exhibit, French artist Fabrice Hybert will be coming to Manila for a meet-and-greet session at the MET on May 21. French video and film screenings will also happen in May at the METlab. Sign up for the meet and greet here. I’ll be there so I hope to see you there, too!
Visit the MET at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Manila. Museum hours are from 10am to 5:30pm, Monday to Saturday; and closed on Sundays and holidays. For more Email info@metmuseum.ph, Facebook page: www.facebook.com/metmanila, Website: www.metmuseum.ph
Pockemon Hip Hop Dance Concert
May 28, Samsung Hall, SM Aura Premier
The Pockemon Crew pays tribute to cinema and the origins of hip-hop in New York during
the 1940s through an electrifying dance performance.
Launch of “Photographing Heritage”
June 9, Alliance française de Manille
Renowned French photographer Ferrante Ferranti will be visiting the Philippines in June to photograph the UNESCO World Heritage declared Baroque Churches of the Philippines in Intramuros, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Iloilo. To raise awareness on the issues of the preservation of heritage and climate change, he will also be visiting Bohol, Cebu and Samar, areas affected by the supertyphoon and earthquake last year. Ferrante will be leading a
series of conferences in the country about ‘Photographing Heritage’.
French Film Festival
June 9 to 15, Greenbelt 3 cinemas
Bringing the best of French cinema to Filipino audiences for almost 20 years already, this year’s much awaited French Film Festival is set on June 9-15.
Quatuor Parisii String Quartet Concert
June 10, Samsung Hall, SM Aura Premier
Classical music lovers will be treated to a concert by Quatuor Parisii String Quartet on June
10 at the SM Aura Premier Samsung Hall. The string quartet, composed of top prizewinners in instrument and chamber music, was formed in 1981 and is extensively touring the world, bringing both classical and contemporary repertoire to many audiences. This will be their first concert in our country.
Fete de la Musique
June 21, A-Venue Open Parking Area in Makati and Plaza Maestranza, Intramuros
Fete de la Musique is a much anticipated event in France. I remember passing by one event during one of our concert tours with the Madz. This year, watch out as two venues play host for this rocking event.
Tete d’enfant Modern Circus Show
October 7, CCP Little Theater
Finally, this will push through! I heard about this project last year when I was still working at the CCP. Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino would be an interesting venue for this circus act.
Semaine du Goût – French Gastronomy Week
October 16 to 24, Manila and Cebu
French and Filipinos speak the same language–that is, food. “Gastronomique”, the two-week Semaine du Goût, or French “Week of Taste” will be celebrated in Manila and Cebu from October 16 to 24 to promote the art of choosing, cooking and eating good food in the Philippines through a series of seminars, workshops, dinners, and food markets. Renowned experts in winemaking and gastronomy will grace the festival.
So, mark your calendars! And share this with your friends and family, too. Activities like these open doors to different cultures without the need to travel abroad.
For further information about the events: Sabrina Durand, Cultural Coordinator Alliance française de Manille 0917 892 8986 / 895 7585 sabrina@alliance.ph www.alliance.ph
