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St. Scholastica's College of Music hosts Music for the People 2007

Posted: Wednesday July 18, 2007 12:42 PM

For two years now, Music for the People, founded by New York-based violinist William Harvey, has been sharing the gift of music with St. Scholastica’s College as well as other groups all over the Philippines. “My greatest hope is that Music for the People will one day become a vast network of young classical musicians giving performances all over the globe, exploring music's capacity to give comfort and serve as a means of communication,” states Harvey in the group’s website. Music for the People (MFTP) is composed of a growing group of young musicians from some of the most prestigious American music schools including Juilliard, Indiana University, Mannes, Oberlin, Yale, and Eastman. The program brings these musicians to different parts of the world to give master classes, conduct workshops, perform in concerts, and basically interact with other aspiring musicians. It is important to note that MFTP participants are not only sent to impart knowledge but, as Harvey points out, to promote “international cultural understanding through music.” MFTP aims to share the experience of music and create a venue for musicians from different cultures to learn from each other.

This year, from May 25 to June 17, the MFTP returned to the Philippines for another round of successful workshops, master classes, and concerts. Joining Harvey were brothers cellist Jeremiah and violist Frank Shaw, violinist JoAnna Farrer, hornist Danielle Kuhlmann, and bassist Andrew Roitstein. It was the first time for all of them, aside from Harvey, to be part of the MFTP program and to visit the Philippines. “It was great to work with the kids and it was a great exposure for us,” says Frank Shaw on the workshops held in St. Scholastica’s College Manila. Workshops included eurhythmics, chamber music, and bowing techniques. Some talented young students were also given master classes. The four days of intensive training ended in a culminating concert. The MFTP was given a standing ovation after their stirring finale, but what Harvey appreciated even more was the friendship formed among the group and the St. Scholastica’s students. He shares in his travelogue that it was a “tear-jerker of an evening... one comment made it especially so for me: Reycay, an excellent young violist and violinist, commented that when the six of us played the Filipino national anthem, ‘I thought you were all Filipino.’” Harvey also performed as a soloist in the Manila Symphony Orchestra II’s all-Elgar concert on June 1. The MFTP’s journey through the Philippines continued with a trip to Zambales. While Danielle Kuhlmann and Andrew Roitstein stayed in Manila to give more workshops for the Philippine Horn Players Society, the Metro Manila Community Orchestra, and the Philippine Youth Symphonic Band, the rest of the group trekked to Casa San Miguel where they lived with the talented young musicians there. The Casa San Miguel workshops ended with a well-reviewed concert at the Francisco Santiago Hall of the Equitable PCI Bank Tower in Makati City. The MFTP’s last week in the Philippines was spent with the Tala-Andig tribe of Miarayon, a mountain village in Mindanao. There they learned about the culture of the Tala-Andig as well as shared Western classical music with them. Music, being able to transcend all boundaries, created a bond between the MFTP and the Tala-Andig. “Saying goodbye to the children of Miarayon last night and this morning was one of the hardest things I've ever done,” says Harvey on the group’s experience. “No experience or honor, no matter how great, would be the equal of the tremendous impact we were fortunate enough to have on the lives of the children of Miarayon.”

“Kids in the Philippines have just as much potential and talent as those studying in the States,” says Frank. The others readily agree. Kuhlmann even adds that she has worked with some young French horn players here in the Philippines who are talented enough to be accepted in Juilliard. It is a good thing that there are schools like St. Scholastica’s College that hone the talents of young Filipino musicians. When asked what the MFTP would remember most about the Philippines aside from the whirlwind of concerts and workshops, they unanimously answer “Food!” The six did not escape trying the obligatory balut when their hosts from St. Scholastica’s College took them out to eat. Roitstein actually enjoyed the balut and had a second helping of it. Kuhlmann specially mentioned the delicious Philippine mangoes.

“Everyone is so friendly,” says Jeremiah Shaw. “We felt welcome right away,” adds his brother Frank. The MFTP agrees that Filipino hospitality made their trip to the country even more memorable. On the trip back to Manila from their outing to Tagaytay (one of their few days off from teaching and performing), they asked what “thank you very much” was in Tagalog. They then tried to outdo each other saying “Maraming, maraming, maraming salamat po” to their gracious hosts from St. Scholastica’s College headed by Sr. Mary Placid Abejo. JoAnna Farrer, who had to depart for New York earlier than the others because of a scheduled performance, said “I’d rather stay here,” on her last day in the Philippines. “I definitely want to come back,” she added.

To date, Music for the People has completed projects in Moldova, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, and the Philippines—with many more future projects in the works. Theirs is a noble endeavor of using their talents to break down barriers of race, class, gender and age to be able to play, together, a symphony of cultures.

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