Phil. Chamber of Singers-LA and Gustavo Dudamel: Hitting the High Notes in A Symphony of A Thou...

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Symphony of A Thousand

Phil. Chamber of SingersLA and Gustavo Dudamel: Hitting the High Notes in A Symphony of A Thousand
WEDNESDAY, 29 FEBRUARY 2012 00:00 PROSY ABARQUEZ DELACRUZ

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The symphony must be like the world it must be allembracing. - Gustav Mahler Music has to be recognized as an agent of social development in the highest sense, because it transmits the highest valuessolidarity, harmony, mutual compassion. And it has the ability to unite an entire community and to express sublime feelings. - Jos Antonio Abreu, founder of El Sistema. And so it was, as Jose Antonio Abreu envisioned music to be, when El Sistemas prodigy and internationally acclaimed LA Philharmonic Conductor Gustavo Dudamel led the 800 Los Angeles-based chorale group singers. Together with our very own Anthony Angelo (Gelo) Francisco, artistic director and founder of Philippine Chamber Singers-LA (PCS), his PCS group of Filipino-Americans (with 300+ musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Simon Bolivar Orchestra) in accompaniment, performed Gustav Mahlers Part I: Veni creator spiritus (Come Creator Spirit) and Part II: Final Scene from Goethes Faust, on Feb. 4 at the Shrine Auditorium. The experience was so staggering in impact and musical awareness, that their historic collaboration elicited a 15minute standing ovation, with Gustavo Dudamel returning five times to receive the crowds love (just as Mahler intended it to be, a century ago) and an all-embracing experience. The Mahler project is a historic projectinvolving nine symphonies, two orchestras of Los Angeles Philharmonic and Simon Bolivar Orchestra in two countries (Los Angeles, California and Caracas, Venezuela) and one conductor, Gustavo Dudamel. Grant Gershon is the choral director, who trained the 15 chorale groups: Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pacific Chorale, Angel City Chorale, Angeles Chorale, Choir of All Saints Church Pasadena, Chorus of the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, Gay Mens Chorus of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Chamber Choir, Los Angeles Childrens Chorus, Los Robles Master Chorale, National Childrens Chorus, Pasadena Master Chorale, Pasadena Pro Musica, Renaissance Arts Academy, Vox Femina Los Angeles and our very own Philippine Chamber Singers. Mahler had this to say about his composition: This Eighth Symphony is remarkable for the fact that it unites two poems in two different languagesthe first being a Latin hymn and the second, nothing less than the final scene of the second part of Faust. I saw the whole piece immediately before my eyes and only needed to write it down, as though it were being dictated to me, according to historian Richard Specht, who was quoted by Steven Johnson of Brigham Young University in the LA Philharmonics program. Mahler saw it as linking the Christian belief in the power of the Holy Spirit and Goethes symbolic vision of mankinds redemption through love, Steven Johnson continued. Philippine Chamber Singers The Philippine Chamber Singers (PCS-LA) gave an exclusive group interview with Asian Journal the next evening after their performance. Joining this writer, were: Anthony Angelo Francisco, Marivic Francisco and son, Joyce Talampas, Lorien Dador, Judith Guerrero, Apple Nazareno, Louie and Lisa Ulanday, Dino Padallan and Marikit Buhion. When Gustavo Dudamel coached the musicians, he did it with reverence: Whatever accent in German you are using, whether you are Asian, Latino, Black or American, it is perfect German, motivating PCS-LA to give more and to learn their solo parts with due diligence. PCS-LA shared that when Gustavo is let down, he does not say it, but simply says, More, morealmost perfect, so you keep giving more, without feeling tired. Even if we felt tired, we felt we needed to give more. As we kept watching Gustavo lean into the microphone, a cue that he is tired, massaging his own shoulders, yet not a word of complaint to us, and when he is about to conduct, he gives it his all. They shared more on how Gustavo Dudamel coached them.

http://www.asianjournal.com/aj-magazine/midweek-mgzn/15029-phil-chamber-of-singers-la-and-gustavo-... 3/1/2012

Phil. Chamber of Singers-LA and Gustavo Dudamel: Hitting the High Notes in A Symphony of A Thou... Page 3 of 7
Except for Gelo Francisco (who earns a living as a choir director and a liturgy music teacher) PCS-LA singers work in non-music related occupations: laboratory assistant, underwriting insurance assistant, architectural design estimator, tax preparer, graphic designer, marketing, HR coordinator and tax compliance auditor during the days. On weekends and weeknights, they get together to make music. One worked on graveyard shift and opted to go to rehearsals, instead of catching up on sleep. Some are not musically trained and cannot read notes but have well-trained ears to precisely learn when to sing the opening and closing lines and their chorale parts. One resourcefully found a German dictionary with sounds, and meticulously learned how to pronounce each German word that she was singing. All mirrored Gustavos passion in learning their music, quite natural to them, as they shared their process of learning the songs.

Gustavos generous and positive coaching Gustavo said articulate not just the consonants, but the vowels. When he spoke, he commanded the respect of 1,000+ musicians. Sometimes, he would contemplate for the precise word in English. He would first say it in Spanish, along with his facial expressions. Then, one of the musicians who knew Spanish would say the English translation to convey his instructions. Gustavo Dudamels stage presence and positive energy motivated PCS-LA to exceed their own personal capacities. Sobrang Mahler Cloud #8 high, was PCS remark. During breaks, Gustavo would show a young violinist of the Simon Bolivar Orchestra how to fiddle, demonstrating the energy that Gustavos ears were looking for. When the fiddler echoed the right sound with the right power, Gustavos hair bounced, his hands moved up, while his eyes conveyed his powerful affirming emotions. They knew then that they had performed as One Voice, with power. The learning process For PCS, each day was dedicated for Mahler. They kept listening to the audio CD. Losing her voice from evening rehearsals did not stop Joyce and prepared just like the rest. While Gelo had to be in the Philippines for a family reunion, Emman Miranda (associate conductor) played a crucial role in keeping the PCS-LA group well-rehearsed. We are privileged, we did not realize that this is like Haleys comment: once in a lifetime, once in your lifetime, once in our combined lifetimes. I did not realize how huge the Mahler Project was, produced by the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. It took a while for me to say yes. I was considering it as it is both a big responsibility and a burden. But, I realized this is the dream, to be on mainstage with other American musicians. So, I said yes, not just for PCS, but for our community. When I said yes, they felt relieved. During the first meeting in July 2011, Grant Gershon met with us [the chorale group directors]. I came from promoting Sayawit at St. Christophers in West Covina and rushed to this meeting. I was late, [but] all were welcoming, they didnt mind. Kathy Freeman recognized me as I was the only Pinoy conductor invited (we had performed before as PCS-LA for Maestro Dudamels inauguration at the Hollywood Bowl in October of 2009, along with 5 or 7 choirs performing Beethovens 9th Symphony). I got an inch thick book with Mahlers 8th symphonys solo lines, 8th edition, piano reduction. I knew some of the singers who sang in the other choirs, like Kit Navarro of Pacific Chorale, Gelo Francisco shared. PCS-LA group members challenged themselves to reach a level of performance they did not imagine possible. The road to reach their peak performances was through hard work and conscientious diligence. They felt quite fulfilled in their musical growth, as well as representing their chorale group, and the regions of the Philippines, with their costumes. For Dino, he learned to do expressive phrasing instead of technical phrasing. I learned parts of the songs from Gelo. He has been my music mentor since junior high school when I learned 40 songs in 2 months under his direction, he said.

http://www.asianjournal.com/aj-magazine/midweek-mgzn/15029-phil-chamber-of-singers-la-and-gustavo-... 3/1/2012

Phil. Chamber of Singers-LA and Gustavo Dudamel: Hitting the High Notes in A Symphony of A Thou... Page 4 of 7
For Louie, he realized the significance of this mammoth undertaking: This is the pinnacle of choral singing, I knew I was part of history, of something amazing, although this piece has been done before, it had not been done like this [in Los Angeles, with two orchestras]. There are more difficult pieces, there are more beautiful songs, but nothing bigger than this. For Lisa, she chose to level up her performance: I became more critical of my personal performance. I did my part, I was not there for the ride, and I was not lip synching. I went to lunch by myself for months, played the Mahler CD in the car, and I know what it felt like [to be looked down as a community choir member]. So this time, I knew we would all be separated, we had to fend for ourselves as we will be judged, so I became more demanding of myself, I upped my game by choice! For Joyce, she learned resilience: I lost my voice, but I attended anyway and took a lot of notes. I got absorbed in Mahler and I became part of Mahler. The lady on her left made a comment and said: This lady here knows her part! For Apple, her panic led to more preparation: When Gelo said we will all participate, meaning, all 24 of us, I panicked. I [cannot] read notes, but I depended on the accompaniment playing my notes. [When] I tackled the first rehearsal, I researched [for] YouTube videos of Mahler, listened to them, uploaded them to my iPod and I heard the best compliment given to me, in the form of a question, Are a you a member of the LA Master Chorale? For Lorien, she felt vindicated by her commitment: I was close to dropping out, when my work shift changed. But, I persisted. I am glad that even without sleep, ang sarap ng feeling that I performed my very best. For Judith, her doubts led to a new sense of confidence: How did I get into this? I asked myself. So, I studied the CD at break times at work, before I [went to] sleep and I did all my part. I want[ed] to give it my best. When my seatmate said you did good, I felt good. Marikit said: I kept listening to the audio CD, but until I heard the accompaniment, it did not click for me. When it did, I knew I gave it my all. I noticed the 15-minute ovation and how Dudamel came in and out of the stage five times. Gelo said: I credit Emman Miranda for preparing PCS while I was in the Philippines. I, too, had doubts. It was the collective that worried me, not about some of the members, but each of the members. I knew we will not be seated together in a festival choir setting, and you cant depend on anyone, but yourself. My biggest worry was that we are not all musically-trained. Filipinos were seated in Row I, Seat I, because we were short. I sat in the third row. I took it as a challenge to learn the piece. I had to speed up learning and did not let anyone disturb me. I listened for the difficult passages first, and learned those first. It took me three days to learn it. Audience feedback Therese Factora, an avid LA Philharmonic patron who saw Mahlers 5th, 9th and 8th symphonies had this to share: Before the start of the concert, a violinist, probably in his late 60s or early 70s, turned to a young Venezuelan violinist to see if she was comfortable, if the music stand was in the right place. He may have sensed that she was a bit nervous. But once Dudamel raised his baton, they performed as equals. Age became invisible and all one saw was the best musicians in the world, giving deep heart and skill to the music. And at the end of the concert, after the applause dissipated and the auditorium emptied, they turned to each other. The Bolivars and the LA Philers hugged in a congratulatory embrace for a job well done. Unfortunately, it was impossible to determine where the Philippine Chamber Singers were located on stage. The choir section was massive! But even though I could not see them, I felt enormous pride that for this rare and stellar event, talented Filipino singers were asked to make a musical contribution and deliver on its success. Will we ever get tired of hearing the affirmation: Galing talaga ng mga Pinoy!? I wish I had the chance to catch them afterwards [to] offer my congratulations. She described her experience in watching 1,000+ musicians on stage. What I experienced was the sheer immensity of energy that came at us when the choirs, the soloists, the organ, and the instrumentalists came together in great moments of crescendo. The young woman beside me clutched her chest, as giant waves of sounds moved through us. Though usually frowned upon in concert halls, many in the audience clapped wildly at the end of the first movement, when it concluded with such great musical force. Its an experience that cant be helped but be embodied. Theres no way one can forget it. This writer cried when the concluding bars of Mahlers 8th Part I: Veni creator spiritus (Come Creator Spirit) in German, was played, joined in by over 5,000 in audience, who watched the technical rehearsal. We cried as our souls got stirred by the magnificence of their gifts, awed by what we just heard. For an hour or more, peace reigned in our hearts. Later, PCS caught up with Gustavo Dudamel and offered him their congratulations. He replied that they should congratulate themselves for being the chorale group who sang on stage. Until we heard PCS-LA perform Mahlers 8th, we regarded them as community singers. That historic day, their stature changed to become accomplished professional singers with deep passion for their musicality and made us proud as Filipino-Americans. Louie Ulanday articulated it best. We are a unit, we are a chord, three notes at one time. Without each part contributing their own, it is no longer a chord. Without each other, it is not music. Our purpose is to sound beautiful together!

http://www.asianjournal.com/aj-magazine/midweek-mgzn/15029-phil-chamber-of-singers-la-and-gustavo-... 3/1/2012

Phil. Chamber of Singers-LA and Gustavo Dudamel: Hitting the High Notes in A Symphony of A Thou... Page 5 of 7
When you finish the movement, the choir [is done] singing, it is like nirvana...whatever happens, love will survive, Mahler was aware of tragedy, suffering, it is to die for love, thats very deep, Gustavo Dudamel said. (www.asianjournal.com) (LA Midweek Feb 29-Mar 2, 2012 MDWK pg.2)

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http://www.asianjournal.com/aj-magazine/midweek-mgzn/15029-phil-chamber-of-singers-la-and-gustavo-... 3/1/2012