Unleashing the power of music

Maestro Joshua Dos Santos leads the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth during a recent performance at Rockwell Power Plant in Makati City.

If there is one obvious and incontrovertible truth about Filipinos, it is that they love music.

And for the Lopez Group, that love for music is more than just a source of entertainment, but more importantly, a powerful force for social change.

That belief drove cousins Eugenio Lopez III, ABS-CBN Corp. chair emeritus and Federico R. Lopez, chair and CEO of First Philippine Holdings Corp., and internationally recognized concert pianist Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz to establish in 2012 Ang Misyon Inc.

Patterned after Venezuela’s El Sistema music education program, Ang Misyon’s mission is “to nurture talented, less privileged youth through the transformative power of orchestral music.”

This through such programs and services as instrument support; opportunities for local and international performances; opportunities to serve as junior mentors to younger scholars; values formation and counseling and professional music lessons and materials.

The younger Lopez said it was heartwarming to realize that since 2012, nearly a thousand lives have been touched by Ang Misyon, primarily through the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth.

OFY seeks to nurture talented, less privileged youth through the transformative power of orchestral music.

The OFY is Ang Misyon’s main performing arm, an ensemble of young musicians, most of whom come from less-privileged families.

All were chosen based on their talent, passion and need.

The orchestra, with 45 pioneer members, held its first rehearsal in September 2012 with Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng as conductor.

Since then, it has performed in various venues in the capital and in the provinces.

Among its notable performances are: Department of Foreign Affairs Auditorium for members of the Diplomatic Corps (2018), Lyceum University – Cavite (2017) for FrancisFest at the Sanctuario de San Antonio Parish (2016), Luce Auditorium, Silliman University in Dumaguete (2015), University of San Agustin Auditorium and Nelly’s Garden in Iloilo City (2014).

In 2015, the OFY collaborated with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra for a music concert and conference at the Cultural Center of the Philippines with Jamie Bernstein and Tricia Tunstall.

In 2016, OFY was also a featured performer in the ChildAid Asia Concert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

On Oct. 25, the OFY celebrates another milestone with the first international performance of the full orchestra of 69 members under Venezuelan Maestro Joshua Dos Santos.

Maestro Joshua Dos Santos with flutist Carmela Casas

Dos Santos, a product of the El Sistema program himself, is recognized as one of the most versatile Portuguese-Venezuelan conductors of his generation.

He became OFY’s Music Director and Orchestra Conductor starting December 2017.

Under his baton, the OFY will perform at the Qatar National Library in Doha, to be followed by a performance the following day at the famed Katara Opera House.

They are set to perform Symphony No. 12 in D minor, Op. 112 by Dmitri Shostakovich, Danzon No. 2 of Arturo Marquez, Damaso Perez Prado’s Mambo No. 8 and Que rico Mambo, Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco Overture and, for some local flavor, Rey Valera’s “Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko” with the orchestral version arranged by Ria Villena-Osorio.

Ang Misyon president Federico Lopez said in a recent interview that seeing the transformation of the children, from shy and introverted types into strong and confident students who are eager to showcase their talent to the world, makes all of the effort worthwhile.

Lopez added: “It is in the individual stories of our scholars who make up Ang Misyon’s Orchestra of the Filipino Youth that we most see the change we only once dreamed of at the start of the journey.”

He is also elated by how the discipline and values learned from being part of an orchestra have translated into other aspects of their lives as well, with many of the scholars being granted financial aid for their education and offered scholarships to college.

“What’s most inspiring is that having experienced the changes that Ang Misyon has brought to their lives, they in turn want to be able to share this with other children who come from backgrounds similar to theirs,” he said.

“When asked what their aspirations are for the future, they talk about wanting to pursue Music in college or becoming professional musicians. But they never fail to mention how they also hope to share with their own communities the skill and the music they have learned to play so that they may help create opportunities similar to those that have been given them,” Lopez added.

For his part, the elder Lopez said Ang Misyon’s thrust is aligned with the Lopez group’s guiding principles of excellence, nationalism and social justice.

He is also proud that these young musicians now have the unique opportunity to ably represent the Philippines during their short concert series in Qatar.

“The discipline, skill and talent that the scholars from the OFY have honed over the years consistently proves excellence in the field of orchestral music in the Philippines. To say that we are proud to have them carry the Filipino name abroad through their performances is an understatement,” Lopez said.