Mr. C shows excitement for Birthday tribute concert

“The truth is, I’m very, very excited.”

That was National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab speaking about the upcoming two-consecutive-night showcase titled “Gen C” that honors his unparalleled contributions to the Original Pilipino Music (OPM) industry in an interview with The STAR.

Happening on May 11 and 12 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, the musical presentation is a gathering of artists and fans, who have been inspired by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab or Mr. C’s body of work professionally and personally. His songs have become part of their lives.

According to the publicity team behind “Gen C,” the latter is a play on the composer’s first letter of his last name and “in reference to today’s youth.” It adds that it “describes the broad appeal of Mr. C.’s genius.”

“It’s a special occasion for me to be attending a tribute,” added he, who is glad and grateful that veteran and young performers and recording artists will grace the show. “I’m very happy about that… To still be relevant to the young generation is a gift.”

Mr. C was surprised that young talents such as Belle Mariano, Stell of SB19, JK Labajo or Juan Karlos, and the group Bini were excited to meet him, and showed enthusiasm for his work, if one may add. The Filipino girl group did a version of Cayabyab’s Da Coconut Nut, originally recorded by the group Smokey Mountain that he formed in the late ‘80s.

“It’s like, ‘Wow, they’re so excited to sing my songs.’ Sabi ko, sa loob, loob ko, ‘I’m so blessed. Ang swerte ko naman (I feel lucky),’” shared he.

Each night, however, will feature new artists, along with returning ones or regulars. For instance, Belle and Julie Anne San Jose will perform Kailan on the first and second shows, respectively. Janella Salvador, on the other hand, will give her rendition of the tune Can This Be Love? Both love songs were again composed by Mr. C and sung by Smokey Mountain.

“I am excited to listen to how they will sing it (each song),” said he.

During the interview, the maestro shared his impressions about some of the songs he has written.

“Very significant to me is, when Kailan became a hit,” recalled Mr. C. “I didn’t realize that it could reach a generation na ang daming nakagusto dun sa kanta na Kailan. (And then, there’s) Da Coconut Nut, because of all the songs I have written I never imagined that this would be the international song.”

He considers it his most significant composition ever among his works that also include operas and theater works.

Many foreign choral groups have made their own versions of the song and found the enjoyment in performing it.

“Sa totoo lang, something surfaced that I didn’t realize that it was a significant song when I met some people who live in the ‘90s, sabi nila hindi ka batang ‘90s kung hindi mo alam yung kantang Sine’skwela (they told me that one is not a kid of the ‘90s if one is not familiar with Sine’skwela),” continued Mr. C, who composed the theme song for the ABS-CBN educational children’s show, “Sine’skwela.”

Every time he would conduct workshops, participants would also ask if he was the man behind the song.

“When I start playing it, lahat sila kumakanta (all of them are singing)… mahihiya pa silang kumanta ng Da Coconut Nut (they may feel shy about singing Da Coconut Nut). The girls would probably sing Kailan. (But) everybody sings Sineskwela.”

As for his popular music influences, Mr. C shared “from The Beatles, to Burt Bacharach and all the way to Motown,” adding that in terms of genres, he also likes “the music of soul.”

Asked if there’s anything else that he would like to foray into given the feats he has achieved as a Filipino artist, Mr. C answered, “Marami pa rin kasi. Ang feeling ko marami pang pwedeng ilagay sa plate (I feel I could still put a lot on my plate), meaning write more music, write different types (of music), maybe a concerto because right now, I’m writing a ballet … The ballet will be in October with Ballet Manila with Lisa Macuja, and it’s ‘Florante at Laura.’ That is what I really like doing, Filipino stories, Filipino themes.”

“I love working, doing my music because I enjoy it. I think if there’s anything that people should remember is, they should enjoy what they’re doing, and at the same time, if you are paid for doing what you want to do, then, what else, ‘di ba masaya,” shared he.

Come showtime this weekend at 7:30 p.m., The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) will accompany the featured artists.

Since Mr. C’s birthday is May 4, “Gen C” is a birthday tribute, and the first was mounted in 1995 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, says a piece of information given to this paper.

The weekend event is produced by Culturtain Musicat Productions, the company of singer Celeste Legaspi and talent manager Girlie Rodis. Rowell Santiago directs.

For details, visit the Ticketworld website https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph/shows/show.aspx?sh=GENC24.