News:
CLASSICS ON CAMPUS
UP artists keep the music playing
By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:44:00 11/16/2008
ON Nov. 21, more than 100 of the country’s top classical singers and musicians will gather at the University of the Philippines Theater for a concert aimed at “initiating the uninitiated.”
The one-time gathering of UP graduates who have done the country proud by excelling in the field of music both here and abroad was organized specifically to introduce classical music to young people who grew up on rock and pop tunes.
“We hope to get more students to watch so they will appreciate this kind of music more. It’s not every day we get to see the top classical singers together,” said Gari Tiongco, president of the UP Alumni Association which organized the event.
To attract their target crowd, tickets will be sold to students for only P100 while non-students will be charged P500. There will be two shows—a matinee in the afternoon and a gala performance in the evening.
The musical event will bring together seasoned classical singers such as sopranos Evelyn Mandac, Camille Lopez-Molina and Anna Feleo, tenors Noel Velasco, Dondi Ong and other musicians who have sung in opera houses abroad and won in prestigious local and international competitions.
Renowned violinist Joseph Esmilla, acclaimed flutist Tony Maigue and classical guitarist Lester Demetillo will also perform with other graduates, mostly from the College of Music.
Mandac is the first Filipino soprano to have sung at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. She also holds the distinction of being the first soprano from the Philippines to sing in an opera with Placido Domingo.
Velasco, meanwhile, is the only Asian to win the First Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition.
Three world-famous singing groups will also be participating—the Philippine Madrigal Singers, the UP Concert Chorus and the UP Singing Ambassadors.
Tiongco told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that it was not easy bringing together the singers because of their conflicting schedules.
“Just putting them together is difficult because some of the artists are living abroad and jiving their schedules is not easy,” he added.
“By honoring UP in this concert, the university will be also honoring her grateful alumni,” Tiongco said.
One of the performers, soprano Emlyn Santos, is helping put the concert together with just two weeks to rehearse the singers.
“It was really Behn Cervantes (concert director) who thought of the concert as a venue where students would be initiated into classical music, not just pop or rock. It’s like initiating the uninitiated,” Santos said.
According to her, Cervantes wanted to bring back classical music to the students as part of their education.
Rufina Jorge, one of the concert organizers, said the musical event may also be considered a “healing concert” because it is infused with inspirational songs aimed at reaching out to the audience and uplifting their spirits.
“We really want them to feel better when they listen to inspirational songs like when they listen to it in church. The children need to be exposed to the classics as there are few opportunities,” she added.
For more information about the concert, please call the UP Alumni Association at 9206868 or 9206871.
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