The CompanY making more waves

There is no stopping the Philippines’ premiere vocal harmony group, The CompanY, from achieving multiple successes. They’ve just released their 13th album titled Mahal Kong Radyo, with the carrier single Hindi Na making it to the top of the hit charts. On top of that are successful performances here and abroad.

Much of The CompanY’s success is attributed to its members who, aside from being a part of the group, continue to excel in their individual fields of endeavor.

A few months back, Reuben Laurente (The CompanY’s tenor) interpreted the Philippines’ winning entry in the World Music Category of the 2003 USA Songwriting Competition. The song titled Ikaw Ay Ikaw Pa Rin was composed by Maricel Luna and Jay Gomez. The three will be awarded a special citation for winning the said international songfest by PARI’s Awit Awards on Sept. 8.

Also this September, Reuben, along with composer Rivah Anne Singson will be two of the Philippine representatives to the Sounds of The Human World International Song Festival to be held in Taipei, Taiwan from Sept. 7 to 12. There will be a total of 111 entries from all over the world and six entries have been chosen to represent the Philippines. These six entries were chosen through an elimination round held last June 27 at the Philamlife Auditorium.

The week-long event will have a series of semi-final rounds from which they will determine the finalists who will be competing on Sept. 12.

Rivah Anne Singson’s entry titled Wear A Smile is a very optimistic song about how one should perceive life and how one should not underestimate the power of smile in making this world a better place to live in. Rivah graduated with a diploma in Creative and Performing Musical Arts major in choral conducting at the UP College of Music under the full tutelage Prof. Joel Navarro.

Reuben, on the other hand, is not a newcomer in song festivals. In 1995, he interpreted the song All in the Spirit of Love which won for composer Jungee Marcelo and the Philippines a Silver award during the First Philippine International Music Festival (a.k.a. Musika Manila) at the Folk Arts Theater. Reuben also interpreted entries for the 1998 Metropop Music Festival 2000, Himig Handog sa Bayaning Pilipino (with 92 AD in the song Ang Galing Mo by Eric Sta. Maria) 2003 Metropop (with Dessa in the song Pag Ang Puso ang Nagsabi by Soc Villanueva) and 2004 Sing Young Song Festival (Pagmamahal Na Walang Wakas by Christine Bendebel).

Aside from being tapped by composers to interpret their songs, Reuben has also ventured into collaborative songwriting with Markel Luna. Their most recent work, My Vow (interpreted by Brennan Espartinez, Tintin Jacinto and Shemara Flatts of the group KAYA) won Grand Prize at the Sing Young Songfest sponsored by International Association of Business Communicators. As a team, they’ve written songs for Regine Velasquez, Dingdong Avanzado and Ayen Munji-Laurel. They’ve also written thematic songs for Mandaluyong’s 10th anniversary as a city and the Binibining Pilipinas victory theme song. Reuben is quite excited about his song And You Smiled At Me, which will be recorded by Sarah Geronimo and produced by Eugene Villaluz. This is Reuben’s first published song as a music composer and lyricist.

This October, Reuben will further expand his artistic horizon via Ricky Lee and Vincent de Jesus’ Himala The Musical to be directed by Soxy Topacio for Tanghalang Pilipino. He will play the role of Pilo alternating with Nazer Salcedo. The musical will also feature May Bayot as Elsa, Isay Alvarez, Cynthia Guico, Johnson Uy, Melvin Lee and Lionel Guico among others. Reuben will also be releasing his second vocal gospel album to be produced by Arnel de Pano.

Reuben shares that it is healthy to explore one’s artistic horizon because this gives one a good balance as an artist, like in his case where he can do music by himself and at the same time be an integral part of a group like The CompanY.

Good luck Reuben! I can only wish you success in all your endeavors.

(To know more about Reuben, you can visit his website at www.reuben-laurente.com and The CompanY’s at www.thecompany-singers.com)

New ABS-CBN Matinee Idol

Touted as one of ABS-CBN’s newest matinee idols, Gabb Drilon easily grabs attention especially as Carlitos, a fisherman’s son who falls in love with young town lass (played by Pauleen Luna) n the top-rating fantasy series Marina.

Gene Gabriel Drilon in real life, Gabb is the second child of Vivian Dimalanta and businessman Gene Drilon. After finishing high school, he passed the entrance exam at UP Diliman.

Fate, however, had other plans for him.

"That summer, namatay ang lolo ko sa Iloilo so I had to go there. I missed enrollment so I ended up enrolling in UP Visayas for one semester. I stayed there for two years but I didn’t like the course so I moved backed to Manila. I was planning to go to the United States to take up a computer course in Animation and Graphic Design," Gabb narrates.

When he came back to Manila, he met his discoverer, entertainment writer Ronald Carballo through his uncle, Leonardo Dadivas. When ABS-CBN Talent Center bosses saw Gabb, they immediately signed him up for a six-month contract.

The rest, as they say, is history.

He is currently being paired with Marina co-star Pauleen Luna and they are bieng groomed to be the next exciting loveteam on television.