When one thinks about art galleries, master artist studios and everything about the country’s rich cultural heritage, among the really adventurous and art lovers out there there is no other place that would come to mind next to Angono.
Hence it is a no-brainer that the artistic town of Angono, Rizal, the “Arts Capital of the Philippines” has been selected by the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Seoul Music Group as among the locations where it will bring and let ASEAN region’s finest flute musicians to perform and provide lectures for students there.
Dubbed as the ASEAN-KOREA Flute Festival, the initiative is the first ever of its kind that was aimed at promoting cultural exchange and regional talent showcase of members states of ASEAN and the Republic of Korea (ROK).
Even for just one day, I have had the great opportunity to witness how the cross-cultural event was conducted – the collaboration, the practice, the informal flute-playing lectures and the pocket cultural visit in Angono.
8:00 AM – Novotel Cubao
Meetup place is Novotel in Cubao at 8 a.m. (I was told today’s meet up time is not as early as the previous day’s 6 a.m. meetup time, probably because the locations were farther – Angeles in Pampanga and then Bulacan).
At Novotel, I met Jawie, our coordinator, and she introduced me to Ms. Althea Ricardo, who will be the liaison officer of the delegates whom I will be for the rest of the day. We rode Bus No. 1.
Bus No. 1 will be carrying representatives from Vietnam, Korea and Cambodia.
We didn’t left off at exactly 8 p.m. since there was one bus (Hello Bus No. 3! :)) that was still not around at the 8 a.m. call time. Anyway, we left at 8:30 (not bad actually as I still have to pick up my morning joe vitamins!).
Everyone’s in in all Bus 1, 2 and 3. So left off Novotel Cubao to Angono!
10:30 AM – Orville Tiamzon Compound, Angono
We arrived at the first venue earlier than initially thought. The scheduled lunch time was at 11:30 a.m. and for the time left in between, I grabbed this moment to roam around and conduct interviews.
First off, I approached program director, Ms. Tracey Santiago. Here are some of the questions I asked her:
Ms. Tracey Santiago, program director of the ASEAN-ROK Flute Festival, with National Artist for Music, Mr. Ramon Pagayon Santos. (Photo: ASEAN-ROK Flute Festival)
Why is the ASEAN-ROK Flute Festival Important?
“Cultural exchange is very important in any international cultural cooperation, such as the ASEAN-Korea Flute Festival. Right now, we have 11 countries participating in this project and all 11 countries have diverse cultures and they have very different music traditions, but even with the differences, they still find similarities. This music festival is an opportunity to share these 11 countries’ own traditions, their own cultures,” shared Ms. Santiago.
What is the impact of this cultural programme to the Philippines?
“The ASEAN-ROK Flute Festival is very important because the Philippines is the lead country who is undertaking this project in the hopes of bringing everyone together as one under the ‘ASEAN as One’ theme,” answered Ms. Santiago.
She said that it is but fitting that that Philippines, being the chairman of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN, is hosting this activity. “This is one of the activities that makes the Philippines the lead country in promoting cultural exchange and also cultural diversity.”
I was also fortunate to ask Ms. Dasom Baek on why she thinks this musical festival is important:
“Korea has a long history of music, and not only the music, but also the culture that’s embedded in that history. We have a kind of musical repertory that has 500 years of history and this event is a very important opportunity for us to perform outside Korea and to share with other nations around the world the Korean culture.”
Ms. Baek graduated from the Korea National University of Arts, has performed with the KBS Korean Music Orchestra and is currently teaching at Kyungin National University of Education.
I also did took snaps of the way the delegates are spending the time left before our meals are served and finally leaving the compound owned by Orville Tiamson.
1:00 PM – Regional Lead School for the Arts
Located in Angono, this specialised school was only founded in 2003! The specialisation of the public school is aimed at nurturing artistic and creative youths in the field of creative writing, music, painting, creative dance and more.
The ASEAN member country who presented their performances of traditional music is Vietnam. The delegates led by Mr. Thao Duc Nguyen, a Vietnam National Academy of Music educated musician, taught students of the Regional Lead Schools for the Arts about Vietnamese music and the instruments they are going to play.
So for that brief an hour and half, Mr. Nguyen serenaded us with “Kinh” music or the Vietnamese ethnic music. Together with his ensemble, they introduced us to musical instruments that included ‘Sao Truc’, the country’s well-known instrument which is actually a small flute.
The other accompanying instruments that the Vietnamese delegates introduced before us in the school include ‘T’Rung’, ‘Dan Ty Ba’, and ‘Dan Bau or Dan Doc Huyen’.
So I hope am not boring you with some musical terms. But you can see that these are actually what we need right now to learn more than just what we’re already accustomed to seeing or watching on television, brought to us by other Asian countries like J-Pop and K-Pop.
The time flies too fast and after Mr. Nguyen’s breathtaking performances, it’s time for NCCA to give the Angono school the plaque of appreciation and for us to return to our bus and leave for Ortigas.
5:00 PM – Emerald Building
Since I will still have to attend to cover other events that night, though I wish I still could, I bid the delegates goodbye and the very kind, Ms. Althea Ricardo.
For the meantime, all the delegates congregate on the 6th floor of the building for another round of rehearsal before their performance at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater, RCBC Plaza in Makati on December 1.
The concert is free but those who are interested to attend will have to email the secretariat so they can reserve them a seat.
The ASEAN performers will also have a public concert at Luneta National Park on December 2 (Saturday).
Featuring the artistic direction of National Artist for Music Dr. Ramon P. Santos, the ASEAN-KOREA Flute Festival is set to break new grounds for deeper sense of cultural awareness and for better understanding of our shared musical heritage with neighbouring ASEAN countries and Korea.
The upcoming music festival is a joint project of the Philippines and Korea, with funding support from the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund, as part of the celebration to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN, the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-KOREA Dialogue Partnership, as well as the ASEAN-Korea Cultural Exchange Year 2017.
For more details about the event, please email: aseanrokflutefestival@gmail.com or visit the event page: www.facebook.com/NCCA.ASEANPH.
