“You are the music while the music lasts.” – T.S. Eliot
Words can barely recapture the thrill and the euphoria that pervaded the Esplanade dressing room moments after the final set of that memorable evening of the 8th of May 2010.
It started with a query sent to the Esplanade, first week of January, about the possibility of FVS doing a back-to-back performance with either the PUP Chorale or the University of Makati Chorale. One e-mail led to another and then Esplanade wanted to hear FVS perform live. Soon, they were asking for an audio sample of a performance and before the group knew it, the Filipino Voice Symphony were booked for a 2-night, 5-set performance at the Concourse on the 7th and 8th of May.
While getting the Esplanade slots seemed a breeze (thanks to the efforts of the FVS Marketing team), preparing for the performance more than tested the patience and endurance of everyone concerned. Weekly sectionals on top of late-night practices, some of which were held after a full day at work, would have sent the faint of heart packing. That the members stayed on was a testimony of their dedication to their craft and commitment to promote Filipino artistry.
The success of a performance is best gauged by the response of those who witnessed it. It is seeing an Indian audience from the first night’s performance come back for the second evening with friends in tow and over-hearing him tell them to watch out for “We Will Rock You.” It is being told by a Singaporean local after the set that she had stopped singing in
a choir for years but was inspired to take it up again after witnessing the performance. It is seeing a Caucasian lady in her fifties stomping, clapping, singing along and leading the crowd as FVS belted Queen’s WWRY. It is the glimmer of pride in the eyes of the Filipinos in the audience as they listened to the group perform (The Company’s) “Now That I Have You” in Singapore. The Esplanade management provided the strongest affirmation by acknowledging what they perceived as the biggest turn out of people in a performance at the Concourse ever.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, “Music is the universal language of mankind.”
Indeed, it is.
Need I say more?
Words by Lorenzo Antonio C. Angel
Words can barely recapture the thrill and the euphoria that pervaded the Esplanade dressing room moments after the final set of that memorable evening of the 8th of May 2010.
It started with a query sent to the Esplanade, first week of January, about the possibility of FVS doing a back-to-back performance with either the PUP Chorale or the University of Makati Chorale. One e-mail led to another and then Esplanade wanted to hear FVS perform live. Soon, they were asking for an audio sample of a performance and before the group knew it, the Filipino Voice Symphony were booked for a 2-night, 5-set performance at the Concourse on the 7th and 8th of May.
While getting the Esplanade slots seemed a breeze (thanks to the efforts of the FVS Marketing team), preparing for the performance more than tested the patience and endurance of everyone concerned. Weekly sectionals on top of late-night practices, some of which were held after a full day at work, would have sent the faint of heart packing. That the members stayed on was a testimony of their dedication to their craft and commitment to promote Filipino artistry.
The success of a performance is best gauged by the response of those who witnessed it. It is seeing an Indian audience from the first night’s performance come back for the second evening with friends in tow and over-hearing him tell them to watch out for “We Will Rock You.” It is being told by a Singaporean local after the set that she had stopped singing in
a choir for years but was inspired to take it up again after witnessing the performance. It is seeing a Caucasian lady in her fifties stomping, clapping, singing along and leading the crowd as FVS belted Queen’s WWRY. It is the glimmer of pride in the eyes of the Filipinos in the audience as they listened to the group perform (The Company’s) “Now That I Have You” in Singapore. The Esplanade management provided the strongest affirmation by acknowledging what they perceived as the biggest turn out of people in a performance at the Concourse ever.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, “Music is the universal language of mankind.”
Indeed, it is.
Need I say more?
Words by Lorenzo Antonio C. Angel