Par Five Quintet

The fifth floor of the Albertus Magnus Building where the UST Conservatory of Music is was littered with quite a number of musicians who were anticipating the masterclasses by some members of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. These members were horn player Mark Vines, oboist Michael Wilson, clarinetist John Schertle, bassoonist Vance Lee and double bassist George Lomdaridze. They are collectively known as the Par Five Quintet and they were accompanied by Gerard Salonga who conducted the orchestra a couple of months ago in Hong Kong.

Unfortunately, I’m in no capacity to participate in any of the masterclasses held in different rooms in the building since I don’t play any of these instruments. Yes, I do have a clarinet but I play it so bad that I might drive Schertle insane if I dared to intrude his class. All I managed to do was just to take a peek at an oboe and bassoon class which made me conclude that I absolutely made the right decision of not making a fool out of myself.

Bassoonist Vance Lee

So what happened was that I ended up listening to a practice session by a trumpeter and his pianist in preparation for his upcoming recital. I value my life so I decided not to write in detail the hilarity that ensued during this session. All I can say is that I was stunned at this new twist on the trumpet sonata which got interspersed with the spoken word.

After the practice session, the Par Five Quintet and the participants gathered at the recital hall for some ensemble playing. This was the time when I knew that I could sit in without any dire consequences since there’s no harm in just watching and listening. They’re referred to as a quintet but Lomdaridze wasn’t there yet when they played something that sounded like it was by Mozart. I couldn’t recall what it was but I remember that I’ve listened to it recently. And for this piece, the four members were accompanied by four students from each of the classes so there were two players for each instrument. Then after a brief break, Lomdaridze joined the four members and played the piano with them as they did another piece but I have no idea what it was again. These are the times when I need a concert programme badly. Music students and enthusiasts are always delighted whenever they get the opportunity to see musicians from other countries perform. And the entire hall showed their delight by giving the quintet a generous applause after the performance.

Par Five Quintet

I don’t know if this was indeed worth a blog entry since this there wasn’t really a notable performance that happened. The Par Five Quintet just jammed a bit as a culminating activity of the masterclass. And although I had no right to be in that masterclass, I’m still glad that I came since not only was I able to see the quintet jam but I also got the chance to see friends there and also made some new acquaintances as well.