One-night benefit show for PPO set in November
Retirement benefits, further musical training and purchase of musical instruments” were cited by Nestor Jardin as some of the reasons the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Society Inc. (PPOSI) is raising funds for the country’s most celebrated symphony orchestra.
A benefit show, titled “Music, Movie, Magic,” will be held on Nov. 22 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati for this purpose.
“All proceeds will go to the PPO,” declared Jardin, who is vice president of the PPOSI. “The organization provides gratuity to retiring PPO members. We also purchase musical instruments depending on their needs. We provide them uniforms for their concerts. Another important program is the scholarship for those who want to pursue further training in their respective fields, both here and abroad—we’ve funded many members in the past.”
Also included in the organization’s various initiatives are the promotion of the PPO’s international performances and the expansion of their outreach programs, “which aim to build a supportive national audience,” Jardin added.
Gerard Salonga is the show’s music director and conductor. Directed by Alexander Cortez, “Music, Movie, Magic” will transport the audience to worlds created by iconic songs and melodies that have defined many timeless films cherished throughout generations.
From Mozart to Canseco
The PPO will set the stage with Johann Strauss II’s “Die Fledermaus Overture,” famously featured in the 1938 film “The Great Waltz.” It will also perform Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations: IX. Nimrod” from the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire” and Ennio Morricone’s “Se” from the 1988 film “Cinema Paradiso.”
Opera singer Camille Lopez-Molina will deliver her version of Umberto Giordano’s “La Mamma Morta,” from the 1993 film “Philadelphia,” while concert violinist Diomedes Saraza Jr. will play Jules Massenet’s “Thaïs: Meditation,” a piece featured in the epic film “Titanic.”
Soprano Lara Maigue will perform Mozart’s “The Magic Flute: Queen of the Night,” from the film “Impromptu,” while actress-director Cris Villonco will do a medley of Michel Legrand’s classics, which were part of films like “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “The Happy Ending” and “Yentl.”
Greatest challenges
Arman Ferrer will pay homage to George Canseco with a medley of “Paano Ba Ang Mangarap” and “Gaano Kadalas ang Minsan” and the Philippine Madrigal Singers will perform Ryan Cayabyab’s “Iduyan Mo,” from the film “Agila.”
The PPO is also joining forces with Ferrer, Molina and Maigue, alongside choral conductor Jonathan Velasco and Alice Reyes Dance Philippines, to present Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story: Tonight Quintet.” The show will conclude with the PPO and the Philippine Madrigal Singers performing symphonies from the “Home Alone” soundtrack, such as “Somewhere in My Memory,” “Star of Bethlehem” and “Merry Christmas!”
“Growing up, the movies are probably the first medium that has entertained us,” said Kaye Tiñga, president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). “Surprisingly, we think we don’t know classical music but a lot of the best movies, like ‘Fantasia,’ ‘Home Alone’ and even the most basic children’s movies have elements of classical music. This is a great way to entertain and introduce music to our audience. This production will go a long way in helping us raise funds, provide instruments, and make sure that we have a PPO that the country deserves.”
The PPO is the CCP’s resident symphony orchestra.
For PPOSI president Margie Moran Floirendo, the greatest challenges in promoting the arts have always been funding and audience education. “As in the case of the CCP, our building renovation is not yet finished. We need help both from the government and the private sector to finish it,” said Floirendo, who also served as CPP president from 2018 to 2022. “I also speak about theaters supported by the LGUs (local government units). They need more funding so local artists can perform in those theaters as well.”
Magic
Floirendo added: “We’re losing the young generation. In the past, the DepEd (Department of Education) would send students and pay for their tickets to fill up our theaters. That doesn’t happen anymore. We also need a budget for marketing because we have to announce what’s happening. People don’t realize that there are good shows in Quezon City, Pasay and Makati. We have a lot of talents, too. Just look at the PPO, with 100 musicians on stage. It’s a delight to watch.”
Cortez said his biggest challenge would be to make sure the program has “magic.”
“As much as possible, I just want it to happen naturally—with a little help from the set designer, of course, and the singers themselves. I want to create an atmosphere wherein people are literally transported to the world of cinema. Hopefully, a lot of furniture, posters and interesting lighting designs will help achieve that effect,” he pointed out.
Cortez expects to face challenges with the performers, too. “Sometimes, when they’re singing with the orchestra, they get sort of stuck there and don’t move. I want them to weave around the orchestra at some point—that would be exciting,” he explained. INQ
For tickets to the one-night show, visit ticketworld.com.ph (or call tel. 0917-5506997), the CCP TIG Box Office (0931-0330880) or contact Lulu Casas (0917-5708301).
