The last weekend of January is usually when our parish celebrates its feast day and this basically means that it is next to impossible for me to leave town during that weekend. The streets going out of town is closed to transportation and it's not the safest time to go out especially at night. So I had to miss a handful of concerts/events around Metro Manila because of this fiesta. But that didn’t mean that I had to miss out on music since there was an outdoor performance just a few steps from my doorstep. And the music came courtesy of the University of Luzon Drum and Bugle Corps.
The University of Luzon Drum and Bugle Corps, founded in 1954, is made up of students from the said university and is lead by bandmaster Conrado Fernandez. It’s amazing when I learned that almost all of the members had no music background at all prior to auditioning to make it to the corps. And once they made it, they are awarded a full scholarship which I think is pretty neat. And they’ve already bagged an impressive haul of national championships throughout the years with the title of National Champions from the National Drum and Bugle Corps Competition Music Festival 2009 as their latest achievement.
Before the night concert, the corps marched along with other bands and preceded the floats during the afternoon parade. After the parade, they only had a few hours to eat, rest and ready themselves for the night’s performance. Unfortunately, they had to perform in a narrow street which meant that they had to abandon the marches, formation changes and other moves that they normally do in a huge field.
Their setlist was composed of standards like Summertime, Moonlight Serenade, In the Mood, Hotel California, MacArthur Park, Sway, Caravan and Strangers in the Night which delighted the older members of the audience that flocked to the streets to see the performance. But the younger set also got to hear music that they could relate to with the corps rendition of recent hits like Smooth, Insomnia, Jai Ho, I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, Let’s Get Loud and the ubiquitous Nobody. The upbeat numbers was accompanied by a dance routine by the female flagbearers which really got the crowd roaring with their appreciation. And a few guys left their playing duties to join the girls in the dancing as well. There was one piece originally performed by the Blue Coats but the titles escaped me.
One highlight is a Michael Jackson number which started with I’ll Be There. It was immediately followed by Billie Jean and the spotlight was on a lone guy dancing to the music. I was also impressed by their main percussionist Riccini Adel Fernandez who displayed great command with the percussion in the pit and the timpani as well.
Percussionist Riccini Adel Fernandez
Overall, the show wasn’t a display of virtuosity by the players although they were able to produce a nice sound despite their instruments that were in serious need of replacement and upgrades. But it was all about entertaining a crowd who were just too happy to have this sort of entertainment.
And the members of the corps seemed to enjoy themselves as well especially the guys featured in the dance numbers. There were moments when I was reminded of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela in terms of sheer joy while playing. Sometimes they were just fooling around not taking themselves too seriously. I had to remind myself that they were not performing at a concert hall, that this was during a fiesta and that entertaining the crowd was the main goal for them.
Disappointed as I was for not being able to catch a few shows and events because of the fiesta, I was glad that I was able to see these kids perform. I wish them the best and hopefully, more National Championship titles to come.
The University of Luzon Drum and Bugle Corps, founded in 1954, is made up of students from the said university and is lead by bandmaster Conrado Fernandez. It’s amazing when I learned that almost all of the members had no music background at all prior to auditioning to make it to the corps. And once they made it, they are awarded a full scholarship which I think is pretty neat. And they’ve already bagged an impressive haul of national championships throughout the years with the title of National Champions from the National Drum and Bugle Corps Competition Music Festival 2009 as their latest achievement.
Before the night concert, the corps marched along with other bands and preceded the floats during the afternoon parade. After the parade, they only had a few hours to eat, rest and ready themselves for the night’s performance. Unfortunately, they had to perform in a narrow street which meant that they had to abandon the marches, formation changes and other moves that they normally do in a huge field.
Their setlist was composed of standards like Summertime, Moonlight Serenade, In the Mood, Hotel California, MacArthur Park, Sway, Caravan and Strangers in the Night which delighted the older members of the audience that flocked to the streets to see the performance. But the younger set also got to hear music that they could relate to with the corps rendition of recent hits like Smooth, Insomnia, Jai Ho, I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, Let’s Get Loud and the ubiquitous Nobody. The upbeat numbers was accompanied by a dance routine by the female flagbearers which really got the crowd roaring with their appreciation. And a few guys left their playing duties to join the girls in the dancing as well. There was one piece originally performed by the Blue Coats but the titles escaped me.
One highlight is a Michael Jackson number which started with I’ll Be There. It was immediately followed by Billie Jean and the spotlight was on a lone guy dancing to the music. I was also impressed by their main percussionist Riccini Adel Fernandez who displayed great command with the percussion in the pit and the timpani as well.
Percussionist Riccini Adel FernandezOverall, the show wasn’t a display of virtuosity by the players although they were able to produce a nice sound despite their instruments that were in serious need of replacement and upgrades. But it was all about entertaining a crowd who were just too happy to have this sort of entertainment.
And the members of the corps seemed to enjoy themselves as well especially the guys featured in the dance numbers. There were moments when I was reminded of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela in terms of sheer joy while playing. Sometimes they were just fooling around not taking themselves too seriously. I had to remind myself that they were not performing at a concert hall, that this was during a fiesta and that entertaining the crowd was the main goal for them.
Disappointed as I was for not being able to catch a few shows and events because of the fiesta, I was glad that I was able to see these kids perform. I wish them the best and hopefully, more National Championship titles to come.
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