The UP Singing Ambassadors

Last Friday, I was invited by my friend DEP to have badminton at 10AM. When I couldn't wake up earlier (slept early morning because hey, Friday is a holiday), we decided to still see each other. We were supposed to have coffee, but no, we were running late, so we saw each other at UP, The Church of the Risen Lord, to see and hear the wondrous UPSA in their concert dubbed Tulad Ng Dati, with Ed Manguiat as conductor.

I used to be alto and treasurer (I think) of the Marian Choir in high school where DEP was our president, and we had an "ancient" Spanish nun for our adviser and conductress. This is why I didn't have any CAT/ROTC experience because we were allowed to skip this in lieu of our membership with the choir. Now for all you people out there, I am not a soloist but I used to have the ability to carry a tune eventhough sometimes I get off key (hehe), and I can't read notes. DEP plays the piano and has perfect pitch, and possesses the commitment and dedication required to turn an ordinary choir to an award-winning one. I don't even remember how I got in or how the audition went, I think it involved singing a piece while it was being played on the piano. Anyway, these brought me a lot of happy memories because even though we would practice everyday, in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon, and even on Saturdays, it was generally fun hearing how we transitioned from being off-key to having harmony. Eventually, during our junior and senior years in high school we were joining competitions, even ending up 1st or (2nd?) runner up in an inter-school competition, and we would mount concerts at the end of the year. We would sing classical, mostly religious music then, but we would always include a Tagalog classical and contemporary song, as well as a famous Broadway number. I remember Handel, Jellicats from the Cats musical, Sa Kabukiran, plus countless Latin songs. There was a considerable number of choir members in our class that we would sometimes end up singing in alto 1 and 2, soprano 1 and 2 voices while working on a project on Saturdays at Josie's house or sometimes in class.

All these memories were rekindled when I sat there at the altar, after not having been in church for a long time, but DEP was asking me to update her on my love life, and as I was asking her about A and B and E. It felt like gossiping, but it was just two friends asking each other if we were ok. Soon they came in, UPSA choir members dressed in colorful Filipiniana outfits probably designed (still) by Renee Salud, and DEP and I remark how flattering the Baro't Saya looked on the female form, perhaps this would be a good wedding dress, too. We chuckle, and look for the prettiest choir member. All of them had their hair up in buns, and you could easily spot the one with the strongest stage presence, the one with the most charming smile, the one which your eyes could not help but look out for as they frequently changed blocking. We spotted her, she is a deadringer for Vanessa Del Bianco, and looked prettier up close. I ask DEP how come she did not invite me before, and she said it was better that way because back then she was "scrawnier and screechier,". She used to be a member of UPSA too, when she was frolicking around, during her pre-law days. Her memories came back too,when she used to do similar choreography, when she used to sing her heart out. I looked at the earnest, young faces of the choir members, there is that same quality, an innocence, a passion that looked quite familiar. I was particularly enthralled with some of the young men as they step forward to render their solo parts. They looked so beautiful, do you know what I'm saying? Music has turned someone looking ordinary into someone so beautiful. One looked exactly like the good boy version of L’s best friend who is sporting long hair and sings metal and reggae. This one is the clean cut version, complete with an angelic voice. There were two other young men (see how I effortlessly use young men now as if I’m 50), one an alumnus who came from his call center work in time to catch the 3rd set, where he sings his solo on Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by R. Blane/H. Martin, and another guy whose high notes lift me up into the air, making me feel like the birds chirping around the chapel while the choir sang.

They sing with smiles on their faces and cheers in their hearts. I feel their loneliness, as they sang together Poor Wayfarin’ Stranger as their opening song, and I felt like a new immigrant landing in some foreign land; they sing it with one voice, and I can feel this person’s emotions. I am in the forest as I listen to their rendition of Creation, and I try to catch the voice who screeches , the one who makes the bird calls, and there is another who makes the sound of the leaves as they are blown by the wind; I am with a battalion marching for war as I hear the Battle Song, and I thank God while they sing I Thank You God For This Amazing Day. I am entertained as they sing Broadway and Filipino Christmas songs, and laugh at the Dragon Dance song which is a playful harmony on a word- “tong chang”, in different pitches, diction, Chinese accents and tones. I love their classical interpretation of the song This Is the Moment, and their farewell song, as they walk down the aisle looking at us, all apart from each other, with little voices creating something good and wonderful together. It is a collaborative effort that takes an insurmountable energy; to take so little from so many, and create something so wonderful, so magical.