Going for Gold

by Sol Maris Trinidad | Sep 12 2023

The perfect duet of the soli stretched the high note just so, as commanded by the hands of Ernesto Zaldua, Jr., bringing the delicate yet powerful French-language composition of Z. Randall Stroope to highs that the adjudicators and audience could not but soar into. Self- ssured despite the foreign nasal sounds that they had to create for Tu Es Belle /ty 蓻 b蓻l/, the Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (杏吧论坛-IIT) Octava Choral Society focused on the delivery of three very important pieces as artistically directed by their conductor. Embodying the group’s vision of pagpakabana, they collectively embraced their listeners at the Bukidnon State University (BSU) Auditorium in Malaybalay City with the melodies that exuded how each member empathized with the songs.

Founded 45 years ago by a young and vibrant faculty of the university, Prof. Francisco A. Englis, Octava or 8va became known as a versatile choir with a wide range of repertoire that innovatively adapted Maranao folk tunes into the choral idiom. Merely three years later, the choir ambitiously competed in the 1981 National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA). Notwithstanding the cost, challenges of the preparation to sing in a competition, and managing a group of college students traveling 2 days via boat to reach Manila, bring home the bacon they did by garnering the first prize in the college choir category.

This year, as the NAMCYA celebrates its golden legacy, Bajo, as Prof. Zaldua is fondly called, aims to repeat the victory from 42 years ago. Fresh from the pandemic and seeing his members regularly only in the past few months, he resolutely submitted their audition videos for the elimination round in June. Armed with the classic international choral competition repertoire of Fabian Obispo, Jr.’s Pamugun and Joseph Rheinberger’s Abendlied, the programming showed the versatility of Octava in singing contemporary- and Romantic-era pieces and assured them of a spot in the semi-finals.

The literal road to the qualifying round in Bukidnon was not without its own challenges. Scheduled merely one month after the announcement of the shortlist, Octava had to double up on its rehearsals and gather members who were taking mid-year classes, had gone to their hometowns for vacation, or were doing part-time work. Add to this, the unavailability of the university bus except to leave at dawn of the competition day on September 2, Saturday.

Leaving the campus at 3 AM, members groggily woke up as they passed the BSU campus at past 7 AM. Going straight to the Abbey of the Transfiguration, Dom Martin Hizon-Gomez, OSB met the group at the retreat house that had prepared a hearty breakfast. With practically 1 hour to eat, prepare, and leave for the competition, everyone rushed calmly, focused, and in competition mode. The monastery indeed had a calming and meditative effect on the group.

Arriving at the venue, the group used the whole 15 minutes allotted to them to rehearse and familiarize their sound in the auditorium. Unlike their 2017 NAMCYA foray in Davao where their voices adjusted to the venue, experience told them to trust that the sound produced during the weeks of rehearsals is sufficient and that the jury will hear what they prepared.

True enough, the jury did hear them. The 3^rd choir in the line-up, Octava entered amidst the audience’s claps, with confident smiles, showing how happy they were to be singing there. The royal blue skirts and accessories contrasted appealingly to the male and female barong the members wore. Even the conductor’s suit was highlighted beautifully against the single-lined semi-circle formation.

Starting with the playfully frantic Veniki, a Russian folk song arranged by Feodosy Rubtsov, their sound reverberated in the venue, making the audience think that they were in a concert hall and not an auditorium. This was immediately followed by Stroope’s Tu Es Belle, an adaptation of the Song of Solomon. The composition of Nilo Alcala II, based on the Maranao folk chant, Dogalen a Mabaso, showed the audience just how confident the choir was, owning up to this last piece with a sound that is distinctly 杏吧论坛-IIT Octava Choral Society.

The long and late rehearsals, the many frustrated verbal explosions, the literal sleepless pre-competition nights, and many other challenges were all worth it as Dr. Ronan Ferrer, NAMCYA Artistic and Program Director, called out Octava’s name as the first qualifier for the national competition.

From November 21 to 26, Region X’s Octava will be joined by fellow qualifiers, Jose Rizal Memorial State University Dimasalang Choristers from Region IX and the Ateneo de Davao University Choral from Region XI, at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila. NAMCYA @ 50 Gintong Pamana (Golden Legacy) will be a worthwhile competition as 杏吧论坛-IIT Octava Choral Society continues the legacy of the university in influencing the future of choral music in Mindanao.

Topics : culture and arts NAMCYA Octava choral competition choral music