“Ni-a ra man diay ni sa UV ”
Nobody summed it up better than Rep. Nerissa Soon Ruiz. At the end of a farewell concert of the UV Chorale last Saturday at the Marriott Hotel prior to leaving next month for Busan, South Korea where it is competing in an international choral contest, Rep. Soon Ruiz said: "Ni-a ra man diay ni sa UV!"
All people love music. It is just that they respond to it in a variety of ways. Some go looking for music with intensity and passion. Others are more laid back and get caught up in it only when they hear it. Still others need a particular type of mood, or a special time of the day, to appreciate music.
But at whatever level of appreciation a person may happen to be in relation to music, there is simply no defense against it. The soul simply melts at the touch of musical sound, and it either soars to an inexplicable high, or gets seized by a sudden unbidden urge to cry.
Now, we may be a
And this is because our Third Worldliness appreciation of ourselves has made us feel almost automatically inferior to others in a wide variety of human endeavors and skills. Even in music, where there are no weight limits, height requirements, IQ averages, or depth of pockets to consider, we still tend to look across the seas for choices.
Cebuanos are no different, especially on the matter of choral music, to which we have not been amply exposed. Whatever faint idea we may have of choral music we base on what our ears have " imported " to hear. Before Saturday night, nobody was prepared to be impressed by local talents in this musical genre.
But from the very first moment those 13 young men and 13 young women started filling the hall with their voices, you knew immediately you were in the presence of something great unfolding. Even Mr. Chester Cokaliong, who before the show was bubbling about basketball, began talking music at the first intermission.
I am not an expert on music but I am a great lover of it. I probably have one of the most extensive collections of my generation's music ( 60s-70s ), plus other gems across the genres. At times when I get hijacked to the malls by the family, I never fail to cruise the racks in record stores hoping to stumble on a rare find to add to my collection.
In other words, while I would never make a living as a singer, I am pretty confident of my ability to know good music when I hear one. And this UV chorale, whether as a group or by individual talent, produces incredibly good music.
In fact, these young men and women are so gifted in voice and so rich in talent and skill that one wonders where they have been all along, why not much has been heard of them. Were we looking somewhere else? That is perhaps why, when Inday Nerry said " Ni-a ra man diay ni sa UV, " I couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly.
To me, that Saturday night was an experience. And I am saying this not because I am from UV. A lot of the people who were genuinely moved by the music in that hall were not from UV. But like most everybody else, they too know good music when they hear one.
I would not be surprised if as a group or as individuals the singers in the UV Chorale would one day make a name for themselves in the music world, not just here but abroad. In November they will be competing in South Korea. Win or lose, that is already good exposure for a group that is certainly destined for bigger things.
Of course, it is great that the group is getting the unstinted support of Sir Dodong Gullas and his wife Nena, as well as others in the private sector ( like Mr. and Mrs. Cokaliong, and Mr. Jerry Yntig of Globe ) for helping realize the dreams of these young Cebuano voices, and Ms Anna Tabitha Abeleda of the Madrigal Singers for training them.
The UV Chorale is one of the things that should make Cebuanos, and Filipinos, truly proud of themselves. And since there is not much to go around when it comes to sources of pride, their being what they are - rare gems of music in these troubled times - makes every moment spent listening to them a treasure of a lifetime.
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