The 1st National Orchestra Festival on our 7th Monthsary

The 1st National Orchestra Festival was just in time for our 7th monthsary. Yobs and I were more than overwhelmed as we were seated at the first row of the orchestra center, with no other people at both sides (but looking back at us, the theater was almost full).

The performing group was composed of the FILharmoniKA, the Manila Symphony Orchestra, the UST Symphony Orchestra, the UP Orchestra and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. The programme had 6 sets conducted by four of the most sought after musical directors in the country:

1. Three Dance Episodes from On The Town (Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990), conducted by Gerard Salonga
2. Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral from Lohengrin (Richard Wagner, 1813-1833), conducted by Herminigildo Ranera
3. Academic Festival Overture (Johannes Brahms, 1833-1897), conducted by Edna Marcil Martinez
4. Overture to William Tell (Gioacchino Rossini, 1792-1868), conducted by Olivier Ochanine
5. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958), conducted by Olivier Ochanine
6. Russian Easter Overture (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, 1844-1908), conducted by Olivier Ochanine

I enjoyed the concert as much as Yobs did, except at times when he could not help but close his eyes because he lacked sleep (he had work the whole day and came right straight from the office just to grant my invite - how sweet!). I was engrossed by how well these artists played their instruments, especially the last set when they performed "My Favorite Things," a song which I used to memorize and sing when I was like 8 or 9 years old. I found myself singing the lyrics with much pride and confidence.

As the concert ended, I could see the audience standing one by one - with smiles on their faces, their hands clapping endlessly, and their eyes twinkling with great admiration. For both of us, it was indeed a memorable experience.

I would like to thank Arvin Ello for holding his Win a Pair of Tickets to the 1st National Orchestra Festival Concerts blog contest, where I earned 2 tickets to the September 25 schedule. We really enjoyed the concert and we are looking forward to more of your blog updates! Congratulations for your success, Vin!