A Tribute to Lucio San Pedro, National Artist for Music

The President's Committee on Culture of the Far Eastern University is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. And in line with this milestone, they present their 2010-2011 Film and Performing Arts Series which has the theme: Focusing on the Youth. And they did focus on the youth with a performance entitled a Tribute to Lucio San Pedro, National Artist for Music which featured the Angono Chamber Orchestra conducted by Agripino Diestro. The orchestra which was actually a string orchestra is made up of kids with ages ranging from 11-21 years old and they prepared an all Filipino programme for their performance at the FEU Auditorium.

Before the performance started, there was a memorandum of agreement signed by FEU President Lydia Echauz with the Friends for Cultural Concerns of the Philippines (FCCP) through President Beth Cristobal for the financial support of the top full scholar from each of FEU's 5 cultural groups for SY 2010-2011.

The performance was billed as a tribute to San Pedro but there were other Filipino composers whose works were played by the young orchestra like Francisco Buencamino, Ernani Cuenco, Constancio de Guzman, George Canseco. The pieces played were mostly short, folk tunes that aren't that challenging to play. But I really appreciated them since Diestro took to the microphone and gave not just a brief background on the pieces but also gave bits of information about the orchestra, the instruments, orchestration, concert decorum, and music in general. The audience were mostly composed of students and a few guests from outside the university and from the looks of it, they weren't regular concert goers so the brief spiels were of great help for them to understand how classical music concerts work.

Things got interesting when principal cellist Giuseppe Andre V. Diestro became the featured soloist for the orchestra's performance of San Pedro's Romance for Cello and Piano. Since the orchestra was only composed of strings, this piece was transcribed which was also the case for almost all of the pieces that were played. The numbers featuring soprano Ma. Cristina Pia M. Orca proved to be one of the highlights of the show. She sung two popular San Pedro works: Ave Maria and Sa Ugoy ng Duyan from Suite Pastorale.

And for their last piece, they played the Jubilate March and they struggled a bit in the middle but come on, they're just kids! After, Diestro then told the audience about the nature of encores in a concert. The audience picked it up quickly and applauded loudly demanding that the orchestra play some more. And they did play a portion of the Brandenburg Concerto by Bach and the famous paso doble España Cañí by Narro.

Overall, the performance was simple and sweet, just appropriate for the kids that played them. It was nice hearing those folk tunes that I've learned back then when I was still a kid.

The Angono Chamber Orchestra

Philippine Festival

Finally, the 2010 Season of the Manila Symphony Orchestra has begun. And I absolutely made sure to come to the Philamlife Auditorium to see their season opener entitled Philippine Festival. I went there still carrying with me the buzz and excitement of the Uto Ughi performance that happened just a few days before this. And I really had to comment the dedication of this orchestra, under the music direction of Prof. Arturo Molina, since they opted to rehearse instead of seeing Ughi which was very tempting indeed.

As the title states, the programme for this night consisted of works by Filipino composers. So after attending a few concerts made possible by foreign companies, it was nice to hear something very close to home and that embodies the Filipino spirit.

The night started with a performance of the Philippine Festival Overture by Angel M. Peña. I tried to listen closely to this piece since I've never heard this before but I failed with this. And I had violinist Gina Medina to blame for not remembering much of this piece. Medina was the featured soloist for the second piece of the night which was Lucino Sacramento's Violin Concerto No. 2. Medina played her part with suchy beauty that I was completely mesmerized especially by the dreamy second theme of the first movement. And it was this piece that got stuck in my mind at the expense of the opening overture. I just hope that this never happens again in future concerts.

But Peña should not fret since I do remember what happened when the orchestra performed Trinity, which was another piece that he wrote. The addition of a few theatrics like the lights out at the beginning of the piece and the solo flute who played at the back of the concert hall made sure that this performance would not be easily forgotten.

At the beginning of the second part of the concert, the audience was treated by a performance of the PREDIS kids who performed Dugtung-Dugtungan which was basically a medley of popular folk tunes. I can only imagine how excited these kids were performing at an evening concert and some of these kids were so young that it was possibly past their bedtime when they got to perform on stage. Despite their young age, I was impressed by this piece that was arranged by Jeffrey Solares.

Then it was time for the Nicanor Abelardo composed Piano Concerto performed by Virginia Laico-Villanueva. I admit that I've never seen her play before this so I had no idea what to expect. Alas, I found it difficult to connect with her probably because I was more drawn with the violin concerto that was performed earlier. It felt odd because I play the piano so a piano concerto should be easier for me to connect with. But not all was lost since I liked Laico-Villanueva's encore piece a lot more than the piano concerto.

The last piece for the night was Lahing Kayumanggi by Lucio San Pedro. I've heard this piece played a few months before and the Bahay Kubo theme was still on my mind. Having heard this piece quite recently enabled me to appreciate the performance a lot more this time. And I was able to notice that the orchestra seemed very comfortable with this piece.

The only gripe I had with this concert was that there was a keyboard used to play the parts of instruments that weren't available that night like the harp. As I've said before, this really distracted me from the overall performance and I do hope that the orchestra manages to get the actual instruments in future concerts. The electronic sound really felt out of place with the impressive overall sound of the orchestra.

But I really do appreciate the theme of the concert that really celebrated the Filipino spirit. Not only does the country celebrate their Independence Day during this month, but they also usher in a new era with the new administration that is set to take office. So it was really a poignant choice of music for their season opener and it renewed my sense of pride and nationalism. Well done, Manila Symphony Orchestra and Prof. Arturo Molina and see you at the next concert!

Violinist Gina Medina

PPO Signature Series Concert VI

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert for February usually features the works of Filipino composers. But for this season, the concert narrowed things down further by featuring the works of a single Filipino composer: National Artist Lucio San Pedro. Coincidentally, the concert was held at the 97th anniversary of his birthday while he died back in March 31, 2002.

Conductor Agripino Diestro led the orchestra and started the concert with a regal performance of the Jubilate March which wasn’t initially included in the programme when this concert was first announced. Normally, this kind of change/addition would leave me a bit thrown off but there was one added piece that night that I welcomed wholeheartedly. And I guess that I wasn't alone since it's one of San Pedro's most well loved works.

But before we go to that part of the concert, featured soloist, soprano Ferleoni Medina had to perform her opening piece which was Diwata ng Pag-ibig (Goddess of Love). Right from the start, she invited, enchanted and embraced the audience with her voice. Despite her tiny frame, she was able to project her voice well. But what I liked about her performance was the way she sustained the notes with a very pleasant vibrato.

And so the time came for my most eagerly awaited piece of the night which was Sa Ugoy ng Duyan (Lullabye). Medina’s performance gave me goosebumps as it had a profound effect on me since I’ve been dealing with difficult family issues as of that moment. Her voice was again soothing and never imposing which suited this song very well. By the end of the song, my eyes were welling up in tears and I silently thanked whoever it was who decided to add this piece at the concert.

She then performed her last piece, Lupang Mahal ng Araw (Land Loved by the Sun) which is a much longer work so it showed more of her range. And in this piece, there was a lovely melody that was repeated over and over again usually by a pair from the winds and the brass section. And I also realized that I liked the horns this night a lot better than the previous concert.

Soprano Ferleoni Medina

After the interval, the concert resumed with the orchestra playing Ang Buwan Sa Kabundukan (Moon Over the Hills). This was the first time I’ve ever heard this piece played and it was an eerie and melancholy piece. The orchestra then played the finale piece which was Lahing Kayumanggi (Brown Race). This was a very interesting piece since it contained a bit of the opening of the very popular folk song Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut). But the orchestration and the texture and the harmony made it sound majestic and noble which is very much unlike the humble tune sung by kids. By the end of the piece with the orchestra playing triumphantly, I was absolutely entranced.

So the concert ended and I noticed that it was a bit too early for the night to end. And the rest of the audience somehow agreed with me and eagerly applauded for an encore. Diestro then lead the orchestra to a medley of San Pedro’s famous works which really pleased the audience. After that, he acknowledged the presence of San Pedro’s family in the audience and even asked everyone to join him and the orchestra in singing Happy Birthday since the concert was held on San Pedro’s birthday.

Attendance in this concert was good and I was very surprised to see a lot of kids present despite being a weekday. It was difficult for me at first deciding if I should still attend this concert but I'm glad that I did.