Kabayaos came, saw, and elicited bravos

The Kabayao Quintet arrived in Bacolod for a four-day concert cum educational thrust. And yesterday morning some 210 teachers of Bacolod City gave them a standing ovation. So did a subsequent appearance at the Simag High School with more public schoolteachers.

Yesterday morning, displaying their innovative and unmistakable style of spreading classical music appreciation, Gilopez Kabayao and wife, pianist Corazon Pineda-Kabayao, succeeded in converting the public schoolteachers into an informed concert audience with a 97 passing grade.

Their three children – Scilienne, Farida, and Gilberto – joined the couple on stage, They thrilled the crowd with their dexterity in the violin.

What many did not know was that the concert was also a research by Corazon on the extent of the knowledge of the mentors on music. That was the reason for the distribution later of a survey sheet.

The "3 step program towards effective music curriculum for public and private schools" has received funding from the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Actually, Gilopez, 1972 RM awardee for Outstanding Public Service, is the project proponent.

I went out of my way to attend the concert at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Elementary School. It was something I did not want to miss. There was the keen interest on wanting to learn if the Kabayaos were still effective in "experiential education."

Well, if there was one, it was the performance of three young children – Mikee and Else Legaspi, 9 and 6, respectively, and 7-year old Roneil Paces – who showed that these children of cooks who had been exposed to music could so rouse the interest of Gilopez who tutors them in violin-playing every two weeks.

Corazon announced that the three demolish the theory of genetics as the source of talent. Their three children were all expected to be musicians. But the three have no musical parents.

"It’s just plain exposure. The employers of their parents are music-minded and played every day good music. Thus, eventually, the three children developed a yearning for good music," explained Gilopez.

He also made the observation – most of those who win in international competitions are Chinese and Japanese who have been trained while still young to appreciate good music.

That was the mission the couple said the teachers should task themselves with – the promotion of our own kundimans and folk songs.

In short, this is a mission that should be entrusted not only to music teachers but every mentor must develop the same sense of vocation.

At least, for the entire morning, the war on Iraq was forgotten as the teachers, headed by Division Superintendent Milagros Gonzales, learned how to become "intellectual and imaginative" listeners, as Corazon put it.

The impact of "good music" was cited by Corazon when she told the story of what happened when Gilopez performed at the formed Iloilo Mental Hospital. While the previous performers who played rock music made the patients restive and increased their temperamental instability, when Gilopez played he was surprised when one of the inmates smilingly picked up a flower and inserted it in his violin.

The Kabayaos, however, played as a family to accent the need for harmony.

The surprise was Gilberto, 16, who is a sports enthusiast and often is accompanied by Siciliene. But when Corazon made the announcement, he suddenly decided to play alone.

It was both an educational and experiential morning for the mentors, They learned, for example, that the violin strings come from the hair of the Arabian white steed as well as the name of the wood for the bow.

Even while Gilopez played the "Three Blind Mice" by pointing out the tonal variations of the various strings, the crowd applauded.

The mentors swooned when Gilopez with Corazon at the piano played for them Schubart Serenade, This was followed by Sonata in A major for violin and piano by Beethoven.

Both were followed by the concerto for two violins by Vivaldi, performed by Sicilienne and Fraida. That was later when Gilberto volunteered to play solo the Allego by Fiocco.

The family played other magnificent pieces. By then, the crowd was already in a frenzy. They gave the Kabayaos a standing ovations.

Cheers to the Kabayao Quintet for their series of performances that in such a short time helped train high school students and school teachers into lovers of classical music.