ANOTHER  MISSION  OF  MERCY  FOR  LOBOC  CHOIR
 

MANILA, APRIL 18, 2008 (STAR) SOUNDS FAMILIAR By Baby A. Gil - It is summer vacation in the Philippines and the Loboc Children’s Choir (LCC) is off once more for a performing tour of the US and Canada. Now renowned worldwide since winning First Place in the Barcelona Competition of 2003, the LCC has not only become one of Loboc’s major tourist attractions but also Bohol’s.

LCC is also now a driving force in international diplomacy. These kids never fail to leave audiences in foreign countries in awe of their talent and along with that comes only positive impressions about the Philippines. Not bad for a group that only grew out of the townspeople’s desire to express their feelings and to keep their music heritage alive.

Proceeds from the tour will go to a scholarship program, that was established to provide scholarship grants to deserving LCC graduates. The kids in the choir graduate when they reach 13 or 14 and cannot be considered children anymore. Now those who would decide to pursue a career in music can get help from this grant. Funds are also needed for the rehabilitation and restoration of the Loboc Church and Convent Complex, which was declared a National Treasure and National Landmark by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts and the National Museum.

Another important goal is the revitalization of Loboc’s musical heritage through the establishment of Tuburan. This is a comprehensive program on the research, documentation and revival of the town’s musical legacy, which must be put on record fast before they fade from memory. Hopefully too, from the earnings of this and future tours plus the efforts of the dedicated individuals behind the LCC and the Loboc Socio-Cultural Multipurpose Cooperative, will lead to the establishment of the School of Music in Loboc in the near future.

Places that the LCC are scheduled to visit during the tour are Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Boston, New Hampshire, New York, Jersey City, Washington D.C., Tampa, Houston, Kansas, Chicago, St. Louis, Las Vegas and San Diego.

Aside from the usual concerts though, the Loboc Children’s Choir will also perform numbers at the symposium Encuentro Filipino: Rediscovering a Hispanic Nation: The Fine and Performing Arts in the Philippine Islands Before the Invasion of 1898. This will be held at the University of California in Riverside, Los Angeles and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Spearheaded by the eminent heritage musicologist Dr. William Summers of Dartmouth, the purpose of Encuentro is to bring to the academic community in the US the works of Filipino scholars that seek to recover, make known and eventually reunite contemporary Philippine culture with its Spanish past.

Doing this are internationally recognized Filipino historians in the visual and performing arts, who have been invited to talk about their work in the symposium. Their topics cover urban and rural practices, indigenous and hispanified expressions in the arts and the important roles played in Filipino culture by the Catholic Church, and its women religious, parish musicians and music publishers. Encuentro Filipino will be held at Riverside on April 23 until April 25 and in Dartmouth on April 28 until May 2.

Invited speakers are Rev. Milan Ted Torralba on Cultural Heritage Recovery: The Historic and Contemporary Struggle to Maintain 350 Years of a Legacy and on Making Cultural Heritage Alive in Contemporary Philippine Culture; Elena Rivera Mirano on Reconstructing the Music of Marcelo Adonay: A Case Study and Subli: On the Use of Multidisciplinary Methods in Musicology; and Ma. Alexandra Inigo-Chua on The Monasterio de Santa Clara Music Books: Women and Music at the Heart of 19th Century Manila and on Reading Choirbooks and Translati ng Musical Traditions: Explorations on the Musicial Montage of 19th Century Bohol, Philippines.

Also speaking are Ma. Patricia Silvestre Brilliantes on Reliving the Journeys of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage: The Value of Spanish Historical Sources in Philippine Music History and on Music in the Heart of Manila: Quiapo from the Colonial Period to Contemporary Times, Cultural Changes and Continuities; Regalado Trota Jose on Imaging Our Lady in 16th Century Manila; Nuestra Señora del Rosario de la Naval and on In Search of Bell-Casters and Foundries in Spanish Colonial Philippines.