Contemporary classical music goes Filipino in unique Portland concert – Here is Oregon

One of the most unusual concerts of the year and perhaps the first of its kind in the nation takes place this weekend at Lincoln Recital Hall at Portland State University. That’s because the program features contemporary classical music inspired by the culture of the Philippines and popular Filipino music.

The unique sonic mashup, sponsored by Cascadia Composers, has received a Community Cultural Participation Grant from the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition. All proceeds from the show will be donated to the Filipino Bayanihan Center, which supports Oregon’s Filipino community with a variety of programs that include health services.

The concert is the brainchild of musician, singer, and composer David Jones, who is a member of Cascadia Composers and volunteers at the Bayanihan Center.

“I’ve been wanting to do this concert for a while,” said Jones via a Zoom call. “I lived in the Philippines 12 years ago, spending two years there as a missionary. It was a wonderful, life-changing experience that left a great impression on me. The Philippines has had a huge impact on me as a person and my artistic voice. Filipinos are warm, generous people. They are extremely hardworking and resilient. It was humbling to live among them and to see the difficult conditions many of them live in. Many have no choice but to live in slums, working day in and day out in low-paying jobs just to keep food on the table, Yet I saw how they greet life with joy, optimism, and a warm sense of humor.”

Jones has a doctorate in composition from Rice University. He teaches at Linn-Benton Community College where he directs the concert band, and plays French horn with the Hornutopia Quartet, which is based in Salem. He is also fluent in Tagalog, one of the major languages of the Philippines, which is a multi-cultural nation of 114 million people with 19 different languages and hundreds of dialects.

The event theme is “Mabuhay,” which means “live” as in “to live,” in Tagalog.

“Mabuhay is a common formal greeting in the Philippines,” explained Jones. “It’s a gesture of welcome and general well-wishing. Filipino culture is rich with fascinating stories, legends, myths, folklore, music, literature, dance, and artwork. Theirs is a unique blend of Asian, Spanish, and American culture. Tagalog is its own distinct language, but it borrows many words from Spanish and English, a result of the Philippines’ history as a Spanish and later an American colony.”

Inspired by his time in the Philippines, Jones has curated a program that features some of his own music, pieces by Filipino composers, native poetry, and popular music by members of the Filipino Jam Band. The Cascadia Composers portion of the program will be performed by several of the Pacific Northwest premiere musicians: flutist Amelia Lukas, oboist Catherine Lee, clarinetist Kirt Peterson, bassoonist Kai Rocke, and pianist Rebecca Stager.

The performance will include a piece that Jones wrote for voice and piano entitled “Dalawang Kanta sa mga Tula ni Jose Corazon de Jesus” (“Two Songs to Poems by Jose Corazon de Jesus”), and a woodwind quintet called “Language Study: Nga naman pala po ba?”

“The woodwind quintet is an exploration of some unique idioms in the Tagalog language that I found really fascinating: nga, naman, pala, po, and ba,” said Jones. “They each, on their own, don’t actually mean anything, but they change the meaning of the sentences they’re used in, sort of a verbal punctuation mark. Nga is a verbal exclamation point, adding emphasis to the sentence. Naman is kind of the opposite, a sort of verbal de-emphasizer. Pala is an expression of surprise. Po designates a formal, respectful tone, used in every sentence when speaking to a stranger or someone of higher social status. And, lastly, ba is a verbal question mark. So, ‘Language Study’ is a set of character pieces, with each movement exploring one of these unique words.”

During his time in the Philippines, Jones met and was impressed by Manilla-based composer, Alexander John Villanueva. Concertgoers will hear Villanueva’s, “Prayer of Serenity,” for voice, percussion, and clarinet. For this piece, Jones will sing and play percussion and be accompanied by clarinetist Peterson.

The program also includes, selections from “Muntawit,” for voice and piano by Filipino composer Felipe de León. Also Ryan Cayabyab’s “Nais Ko,” for voice and piano, will be sung by Raymund Ocampo, who is the Performing Arts Department Chair and Director of Choral Studies at Linn-Benton Community College.

Mani Rubio, coordinator of the Filipino Bayanihan Center’s Jam Band, will play electric guitar and perform two songs with singer Brittney Pioquinto. Both songs are in support of Amanda Echanis, an activist who became a political prisoner in 2020. The first song, “Maskara,” warns of suppression by the current government and emphasizes how important it is for protesters to wear a mask. The second song “Balang Araw” (“Some Day”) is an inspiring anthem with the message that the future will be victory for the people.

“The songs reflect a need to create positive change,” said Rubio. “Filipinos have endured Spanish colonization, Japanese invasion, and American colonialization. Music is a heartbeat of resistance. We want to improve lives and uplift Filipinos here and back home.”

All in all, this event should give listeners an excellent glimpse into the music of the Philippines. Mabuhay indeed!

“Mabuhay! – A Celebration of Filipino People, Music, Language and Culture”: 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, Lincoln Recital Hall, 1620 S.W. Park Ave.; $25 suggested donation, cascadiacomposers.org.