the singing people of los baños

The only singing Filipinos I've ever met were the UST singers when they sang at the Esplanade Concert Hall in 2008. I thought that maybe they would somehow be different from the many Filipinos I see in Singapore. Their massively beautiful and dynamic voices must be partly because of their tall and well-built gait.

Then I met the singing folks from the UPLB (Uni. of Philippines Los Baños) Choral Ensemble. They weren't the Anglo-ish giants that I had in my mind, just ordinary folks like me who are really committed and passionate lovers of choral music.

Two of my team mates and I bumped into a group of them (Rommel, Jacob, Jedd, Jae, and Reg) at Freedom Park at the UPLB campus. They were just practicing some songs, chilling at the really chill park, and that's how we all met. Two days later, we were so privileged to be invited to their rehearsal. Nothing's like live good choral music, and their singing brought back some of the vague sounds and wonderful feelings I remember while I still sang with a choir in Singapore.

Then it was time to leave. The five of us had to head back for our next program. And then they decided to sing for us to thank my teammate for translating an Indonesian song for an upcoming competition. Listening to them sing was one thing, listening to them sing for us was another. It was magical.

And they were going to sing one more song, and they invited us to sing with them this time round. That was super-kind of them, especially when it was precious rehearsal time because they were competing two days later! In a flurry of noises, it somehow ended up with just me joining them. They were talking about a certain Singapore Medley, which sounds like a mashup of local folk songs and national songs.

Then the most beautiful thing happened.

They began singing Ikaw!!! I thought we were going to sing the medley thing?!

Ikaw 'You' is about the only Tagalog song I can remember almost in its entirety, thanks to the lyrics that some girls wrote for me while painting my henna tattoo. It's a love song by Sharon Cuneta made famous by Regine Velasquez. Some Filipino men like to sing with their wives at their wedding. I'm still wanting to know which arrangement we sang.

I was too moved and overwhelmed to tear, but I could tell you I was on the verge of it. I'd like to think that this is exactly how I would feel if someone I love got down on his knees to propose to me. Yes, it was that romantic and sweet and lovely.

Singing with them also brought back some of the old fears that haunted me when I sang in the choir. It kind of became a self-fulfilling prophecy and I probably sounded like a pretty timid soprano.

Yet at the same time, their loving on me really moved me.

Do you know how much effort it takes to sing well? It is a very tiring thing. Your whole physical body engages in producing the different tones and tunes, your mind pulls out what you have memorized and and practiced so hard about the song's technicalities, your interpretation of it, and its meanings. On top of that, you put your heart and soul into it - literally - emotionally. It's kind of heart to separate them because I believe singing is a deeply personal (and corporate) thing, but I think you get the point. It is very tiring.

And the song finishes into a momentary silence. We just magically connected looking at one another and singing, and I was very touched.

There was no way we could retain that gift of love that we both gave. It just ended, and it would never happen again. The same feelings, the same people, the same event...that's why I cherish it so much.

My only regret is that we didn't take a picture with everyone there!!! I want to be back again next year and hopefully get to know them more.

The UPLB Choral Ensemble has inspired me. I don't have formal musical or vocal training, I'm small and short, and I only started singing proper in 2005.

But God has given me a voice. A marvelous instrument that shows both how vulnerable, healthy, and attractive I am when I use it. What will I do with it? Jesus warns in the Parable of the Talents that he will take away my singing talent if I do nothing with it, but he will refine my voice by leaps and bounds if I use it for his Kingdom.

To think that I was out at Freedom Park asking God for people I could befriend and hopefully share Jesus with. God has proved to me again that he is in everything and everyone, with Jesus being the fulfillment of this lovely singing episode. If just a song moved me so much, how much more it moves me to know someone died on my behalf so I can live in freedom, hope, and love!

And out of all possibilities, God let our paths cross. What do you have in plan for our new friendships, God?

The UPLB Choral Ensemble
(via Philippine Chorale Wiki)

It's pretty sweet that I can watch their videos on Youtube and go, "Hey! I know him/her!" or "I've seen her before! We actually sung together." Well, at least some of them.

I love how God connects people around the world with their passion for music.