Who’s afraid of a traditional band virtual concert?

Traditional bands in the Philippines would mean “bugle corps-type” in schools or rural communities or marching bands in towns or barrios like Banda 24 or the bands performed by orchestras.

There are various bands as well, varieties and born out of a traditional band with twists like the advent of combos in the 1950s and 1960s such as Electroniacs of Tito Sotto, now senator of the Philippines or the combo organized by stars at the time like Eddie Mesa and Jose Mari Gonzales. In the 1970s and 1980s, Tirso Cruz III was part of the Cruz band who performed in such bars as El Bodegon or women singers like Janine Frias or Cora Adajar were part of all-female singing groups accompanied by musical instruments handled by their female members. Juan de la Cruz Band was also a historical and musical artifact of the baby boomers. Eraserheads was a trailblazer in the field in the mid-80s.  

In the 1990s and the advent of the millennium, we collectively call them musical bands or simply bands in the tradition of Introvoys, Afterimage, Rivermaya, Cueshe, Hale, Parokya ni Edgar.

These modern groupings have been taking the market of youthful listeners by storm.

What happens now to the traditional bands which were their precursors and had contributed a lot to the development of Filipino music? They also paved the way to the current fad of bands entertainment.

Are they in conflicts with each other?

According to Maestro Herminigildo Ranera, conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra or PPO, “there’s no conflict because there are many types of bands like the classical, jazz or marching bands. The only thing to be considered is the purpose of the musical instruments and their significance to the listening public.”

How do we sustain the popularity and relevance of traditional bands?

Through virtual concerts like the organizing spirit of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) of “Perfect 10” to be held on Saturday, July 24, 2021.

According to the CCP press briefs: “The CCP – Office of the President, through its ‘Sining Sigla’ outreach program, teams up with the Philippine Band Association (Philbanda) in bringing the latter’s decade-long celebration to the virtual screen. Perfect 10, a virtual concert featuring the 60- piece Philbanda Wind Orchestra, proudly highlights a decade of symphonic performances from the country’s sole professional wind orchestra. This special virtual concert will also be graced by the Philippine Baton Twirling Association, and will be hosted by one of the country’s top OPM artists, Ice Seguerra. Maestro Ranera of the UST Conservatory of Music is the current conductor of the Philbanda Wind Orchestra, under the direction of Dennis Marasigan.

“Apart from the impressive performances from the Philbanda Wind Orchestra, young talents from Metro Manila and local participants from different regions will also showcase their talents in the premiere performance of Maestro Ranera’s ‘New Normal Concert March,’ a rare opportunity for local musicians to perform alongside professional groups via virtual platforms.

“The virtual concert also features the Philippine Baton Twirling Association (PBTA), an organization dedicated to training and developing young baton twirlers for years. This participation will not only showcase their talent in baton twirling but will inspire local majorettes to improve their skills as well.

“Perfect 10, the Philbanda 10th Anniversary Virtual Concert, is a project of the CCP Office of the President’s ‘Sining Sigla.’ Under the leadership of CCP President Arsenio “Nick” LIzaso, this program aims to continuously reach out to the public, even in the midst of the pandemic, by providing artistic and culturally-relevant content online. Past programs include ‘Jazz Stay At Home’ (Jazz Festival), ‘MALA’ (Movies Adapted from Literary Arts), ‘Sigla ng Pasko,’ ‘Awit at Dula: Pagbabalik-tanaw sa Unang Hari ng Balagtasan,’ and ‘Pintig’–A Percussion Festival.’ The program will be streamed via the CCP Office of the President official Facebook page at 6:00PM. You may opt to follow the page for updates and more information.”

Meanwhile, PPO has already rehearsed in person for the first time since the pandemic, according to Gemma Andres Marco, CCP Marketing Head. “Carefully adhering to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, wearing masks and social distancing,” said Gemma.