Photos courtesy of the Bamboo Organ Foundation
The much celebrated musical festival, featuring the world-renowned bamboo organ in Saint Joseph Parish Church, will be switching gears this year and produce a series of concerts accessible online. The 46th International Bamboo Organ Festival Online is scheduled to go on live streaming from March 5 to 7, every evening at 8 p.m., so that patrons from different parts of the world can watch regardless of their time zones.
“Since the restoration of the Bamboo Organ in 1975, we have been celebrating the gift this instrument has been to Las Piñas City, giving an identity to the city and to the country, protecting our national organ patrimony which is unique in Asia.
The present situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic did not change our conviction to continue this annual event, although held in another platform maximizing the use of technology and the ingenuity of social media,” says Leo Renier, executive director of the festival and president of the Bamboo Organ Foundation.
The international festival will feature Luc Ponet from Belgium, Guy Bovet from Switzerland, and Jennifer Pascual, a Filipina based in New York. During the performances, they will improvise on Filipino tunes to be played on their own respective grand pipe organs.
Belgian organist Luc Ponet made an international reputation with successful performances in many illustrious organ festivals, such as in Paris, Warsaw, Tokyo, Mexico, Chicago, and Flanders. He is a professor at several institutions, and titular organist of the monumental Le Picard organ at the Basilica of Tongeren, Belgium.
Since 1980, Guy Bovet has been a regular guest at the bamboo organ festival; this is his 9th visit. He keeps a concert schedule of around 50 recitals per year. His discography of over 60 recordings features modern and historical instruments in Europe, the Americas, Japan, and the Philippines, featuring the Bamboo Organ.
Dr. Jennifer Pascual is the dDirector of Music at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. She hosts a weekly radio show called “Sounds from the Spires” on The Catholic Channel on SIRIUS/XM radio. Pascual has performed in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Vatican City, in several cities in the United States, and has CDs available under the JAV label.
The online concert series will feature bamboo organ titular organist Armando Salarza on the keyboard while on camera, providing the audience a unique view of his performance. He will also introduce the pipe organ of the San Scholastica College of Music and at the Oirgan at San Ezekiel Moreno Oratory. In addition, each program will close with a rendition of a short motet by the Villancico Vocal Ensemble, directed by Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng.
Professor Armando V. Salarza is an international concert organist and has been the titular organist of the bamboo organ in his hometown, Las Piñas, Philippines, for 28 years. Prof. Salarza is currently the artistic director of the International Bamboo Organ Festival. He is also a faculty member of the St. Scholastica’s College Conservatory of Music, and of the University of the Philippines College of Music where he is teaching pipe organ.
Dr. Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng is the president of the Philippine Choral Directors Association and a full-time faculty member of the University of the Philippines College of Music, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting. She is also the principal conductor of the Ateneo de Manila College Glee Club, resident conductor of the Philippines’s International Bamboo Organ Festival, and founding conductor of the Dawani Women’s Choir.
Currently under the musical directorship of Dr. Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng, the Villancico Vocal Ensemble continues to uphold its mandate to perform choral music in its highest standard and to make it accessible to its growing audience. Mainly composed of student conductors, professional musicians, and active members from various university and church choirs, the ensemble’s repertoire primarily centers on early music, particularly works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The choir celebrates their 10th anniversary this year and is now considered as one of the resident choirs of the international bamboo organ festival.
Unlike the previous years, no tickets will be sold this year, leaving the live stream performances open to the public online for free. However, the foundation is looking for donations from its audience.
“We hope to reach as many people as possible. We are entirely depending on our sponsors and donors for us to cover the expenses incurred for this production and continue on with this tradition.
As you may know, our performing artists are seriously affected by this pandemic and now face an uncertain future. Through your support, the future of these ‘musical frontliners’ will be sustained. At the same time, we are preserving one of the longest-running annual cultural events that had been going on for more than 45 years,” shares Renier.
The festival’s program details are available on https://www.facebook.com/ibof46online. Donations may be coursed through PayPal ([email protected]), GCash (09662058807, Robert Lao–Treasurer), Give2Asia (www.give2asia.org/bambooorganfoundation), PAYMAYA ( 09615187783, Robert Lao), and BDO (Bamboo Organ Foundation, Inc., Acct. no. 005268009149).
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