New beginnings for Ivy Violan

Ivy Violan is one of the country’s best belters who has won the grand prize in a number of international song festivals. She celebrated her 21st year in show business with a concert at the Hard Rock Café, In Full Circle last Sept. 30.

And why was the title of the show In Full Circle? "When you reach a certain period in your life, you realize that you have gone full circle. From being a young woman who thought she was in control of her life, I have now found the center of my existence – Jesus Christ – and it’s like I am starting on a new clean slate, with Him directing me. For the past couple of years, I’ve been agonizing as to where my life and career are going. I decided to keep quiet because it was, for me, a period of cleansing. I had to purify myself first. It’s only when I lifted up myself to Him completely and told Him, ‘Lead me where You want me to go,’ that suddenly, new doors are opening for me."

She put up her own production outfit, Company V, and got Bibsy Carballo as her PR directress. "All of a sudden, things started to jell. Before, I would plan things and they wouldn’t happen. Now, I realize that they would, but in God’s own time. Now, before I do something, I pray over it to discern correctly what is His will for me. Even during the times when I wasn’t visible in public, I would always serve our church by singing in the Mass and doing shows for our church. But now, when I sing, the songs seem to have more meaning for me. And I’m so thankful that even when I was at my lowest point, He never got back the gift of music He gave to me. Now, I’m not so rigid with myself anymore. I guess that quality of being more tolerant also goes with maturity, after seeing the best and the worst that life can offer."

Her anniversary concert at Hard Rock was just the start of more shows for her. "I will have a reunion with my co-members in the Sangkatutak Band, with whom I used to sing at Rino’s. Then I will have a Valentine concert in February and a series of shows in the US in March starting with the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. In all this, I can see the hand of the Lord working for me."

We notice that she also looks like she’s in great shape, with her arms quite well defined. "I’d like to say that I’m now more fit not only spiritually but physically. In 1998, I started working out in the gym for health reasons. Since then, I have won the bench press competition at Gold Gym. Now, I’m training for the Slimmer’s World Fitness Competition this December, where Jacquilou Blanco won last year. We have the same trainer, Christine Yu. They were the ones who encouraged me to join and so now, I’d have to adopt a new workout and diet program to prepare me for the competition. I’m doing this not really for the money but just to prove that I can push myself to the limit of fitness. It’s not easy because you have to have lots of discipline and the right attitude."