Proselyters of 2002: The Ingrid-Rey duo, the Kabayao family

Major piano concertists Ingrid Santamaria and Reynaldo Reyes (his repertoire is incredibly wide) spent most of the past year touring the country to introduce classical music to the masses. In fact, they began January 2002 by rendering two concerti at Rizal Park which culminated their "Romantic Piano Concerto Journey". Later in the same year, the duo interpreted no less than six concerti – unprecedented anywhere – three in the morning and three in the afternoon at the CCP lobby before an audience composed mostly of students.

Music proselyting actually began with violinist Gilopez Kabayao who debuted at NY Carnegie Hall at 19. Over 30 years ago, he played in dilapidated theater houses, improvised stages, sports arenas, market places and even cockpits in remote Philippine villages for people who had never heard the music of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, etc. For his unique and dedicated mission, he won the Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Award for Public Service way back in 1972.

After Gilopez married the richly gifted pianist, Corazon Pineda, the couple set off on their own journey as musical missionaries through the years, often including their violinist-daughters Sicilienne and Farida, and lately their son Gilbert.

After a recent five-week US engagement during which the Kabayaos gave concerts in LA’s new Life Community Church, Arizona U.’s Cultural Center in Poenix and the NY Philippine Center – with resounding success – Gilopez and Corazon gave a lecture-recital in Iloilo’s Philippine Science High School. Here, almost 300 of the country’s future scientists, teachers and inventors heard sounds that were almost totally alien to their experience having been limited solely to lab experiments and the gathering of scientific data.

Wrote an observer of the lecture-recital: "It was an outdoor concert without the usual acoustical facilities that would have ensured easy listening to classic music. The Kabayaos bravely went through the performance, and as it progressed, they were convinced they were playing before one of the most attentive, most responsive audiences, perhaps even more so than one might encounter at the CCP in Manila!

"The listeners in the Science High School were taught how to applaud, how to say ‘Bravo!’ instead of how to show appreciation through shouts, hoots and whistles, and how to ask for an encore.Violinist Gilopez and assisting artist Corazon were accorded not just one but three standing ovations. Later, the overwhelmed Kabayaos realized that these ovations were given by science scholars, many of whom had listened to their very first violin recital."

The following are some of the written comments on the concert culled from about 200:

The performers triumphed in giving their audience utmost satisfaction and excitement. / The concert was almost perfect in the sense of what it could do to create a world of music more diverse and beautiful. / God brought you here to touch our lives. / The concert captured my imagination. For a moment, I experienced the sound of your art! / Every piece deserved a standing ovation. / What surprised me was that we were actually listening and waiting for the next pieces to be played. / Inspiring . . . educational . . . heart-warming. / I never knew classical music would be great. / I learned a lot . . . from Physics to music. It was fun! / Classical music was presented in the most beautiful form.

The family displayed intelligence, humanism, grace and rare beauty. / The family helped change the views of many people on life, family, school and other things. / It made me appreciate more what the Filipino artist can do. Your bearing the flag of our country in the world of music made me feel it’s great to be a Filipino! / The Kabayao family made me think more of my own family. / Their family is one example of a family that stays together.

Two significant ideas might be derived from the foregoing comments. First, by conveying family solidarity through their performances, the Kabayaos, by their example, considerably help to counter-act the feeling of disunity generally prevailing in the country today. Second, the spontaneous and overwhelming response to the lecture-recital from persons, without any background in classical music proves the inherent musicality of the Filipino. For this reason, students and the public should be given more opportunities to study classical music or at least to enjoy it through concerts and recitals subsidized by cultural agencies.

The Kabayaos deserve the nation’s deepest gratitude.