Formerly known as the PINOY-SG Chorale, the group made its first public appearance as The Filipino Voice Symphony (FVS) last 17th of May with a rousing performance during the AIDS Candlelight Memorial held at the Singapore Management University.
For the occasion, FVS performed What Matters Most – to commemorate the men and women whose lives were claimed by AIDS – and Wind Beneath My Wings, a fitting tribute to inspiring AIDS patients as well as the people who have been a source of strength to our AIDS-inflicted brothers and sisters.
The road to the Candlelight Memorial celebration was not easy for the members of the Filipino Voice Symphony. For one, it was the group’s first performance outside a church setting where the audience had been largely non-Filipino. To prepare for this, the members went through late night practices and sectionals that sometimes ran as late as 10:30pm. This was no small feat considering that most had to report early for work the next day. There have been some occasions when the usually unflappable conductor of the group – Mr. Earl Lazo – grew visibly impatient over recurring mistakes and flaws in the execution of certain passages. To his credit, Earl never gave up on the group even when things started to look (sound?) desperate. To the group’s credit, the concerned members remained receptive of the techniques and tips offered by Earl and the other more seasoned members in the group.
Similarly, the road to the Candlelight Memorial Performance was not without its light moments. One such occasion was the promotional photo shoot at Fort Canning supervised by resident photographer, Mr. Walter Johnson. For a few hours during that late Sunday afternoon, FVS members felt like celebrities as they basked in the glow of flashbulbs and the inspiring setting provided by Fort Canning.
And so, after what seemed like an eternity of listening to MP3s and sectional recording of the songs and more late night sectionals and practices, the day of reckoning was on hand.
And who said that seasoned performers are untouched by stage fright? The look on Earl’s face as he struggled to provide the first note for the different voices during performance night was enough to dispel the above statement as a myth. Still, Earl managed to get over that initial hump (thanks to Ms Gladys Torrado) and elicit the desired expression and steer the
direction of the performance to heights that the group never thought was within its power to reach. That Earl managed to talk and laugh about that earlier hiccup afterwards was, indeed, a source of strength and inspiration especially to the lesser experienced members of FVS.
Truth be told, the audience were impressed by the rendition of the two songs. The comments from the different people after the performance would attest to this.
But more importantly, the Candlelight Memorial Performance affirmed to every FVS member the great potential that lies within the group, that great things can be accomplished with faith, hard work and a genuine concern for each other’s development, both as a performer and, more importantly, as an individual.
Next stop...the Independence Day Celebration at Honglin Park, Singapore.
Words by Lorenzo Antonio C. Angel