Music in My Life

I went to Rockestra last Friday, 6 OPM rock bands performed with the Manila Symphony Orchestra. I’m pretty sure it was a first for the Philippine music scene and I was thrilled to have seen it.

I found out about Rockestra through an email from a Segment Producer I used to work with. The following day I told my teammates in Txtube about the concert and they all agreed that it was definitely something Live Out Loud that we had to feature. We called the organizers and asked for permission to shoot the event.

I loved Imago’s performance the most. Aia’s voice is unbelievable, even when hitting the high notes her face was so relaxed. You knew that singing was something that came easily to her.

I was reminded how much I miss singing, coz I used to be part of the UP Manila Chorale. Mind you my voice is not beautiful, but I can carry a tune! I was classified under the Alto section, and sometimes even Alto 2! So I’m no songbird.

This got me thinking on how music has been part of my life in one way or another.

My mom told me that when I was little in the States she would hang out with friends in a Pinoy resto and there was a karaoke machine. After dinner I would go on stage and start singing, my favorite was the Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston.

Then when I came to live here in the Philippines, Miss Saigon and Lea Salonga was all the rage. So my friends and I would sing and act out the musical.

When I went back to the States, I went to public school and my mom found out about the music program of my school. She signed me up for Orchestra and bought a violin for me. Since violins are kinda expensive we tried our luck at a pawnshop and we struck gold! There was a Stradivarius remake, and I think we got it for $200. This was back in 1990 so it was really cheap!

I liked playing the violin, even with the stigma that those in Orchestra were nerds and dorks. I could care less coz it was a source of pride for me. I even played in the All-City concert, where select students were chosen by their conductors to represent the school. After my first year of playing I went to my Dad’s for summer vacation. The day after I left my mom received a letter inviting me to a summer program with a music institute. Shit! I was already in Sacramento and couldn’t go…

I continued playing the Violin through middle school until I moved back to the Philippines for high school. Once I got here I signed up for private lessons, but the tutor wasn’t nice and I lost interest. I started turning to singing and since I could read notes and know what note to sing, it was easy. So I joined St. Scho’s high school choir and in college tried out for the UP Manila Chorale.

When I started working I found it hard to go to practices since it was in Manila and I worked in Makati or Quezon City. But now I find myself working for a TV show that’s all about OPM music – Txtube! Music is still very much part of my life.

And since Txtube promotes Pinoy bands and anything to do with music, I’ve learned to appreciate Orignial Pilipino Music. And it’s reminded that Filipinos are really talented musicians and that we should listen to our music just as much as we listen to western music.