Invites from Vehnee and Ryan

Filipinos love to sing and they absolutely adore singing contests. This holds true whether it is a barrio fiesta edition in a remote province or a big-money-at-stake version organized by a TV network. Of course, similar competitions are also held abroad and I just got news about a big one that might be a Pinoy somebody’s ticket to international stardom.

The Vehnee Saturno Music Corp. (VSMC) has been appointed Philippine partner of KWC Asia Events, the organization behind I Sing. This is a talent search organized by APIC, KWC Asia and the Xan Destiny Group of Singapore and conducted all over the world.

This means that hitmaker Saturno will be in charge of I Sing Philippines, the search for the Filipino talents who will represent the Philippines at the I Sing World Grand Finals, which will be held in Myanmar on Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

I Sing is a nationwide contest for extraordinary singers who can compete against the best of other countries. To find them, Saturno is now in search of partners in the provinces who can conduct their own elimination with their local candidates before their winners join the Manila rounds. These will be conducted on July 17 at the VSMC Studios in Quezon City. To be chosen will be 10 solo finalists and 10 duet finalists. Interested parties can go to Facebook of Saturno; or e-mail [email protected] for details.

Those chosen will next compete in the grand finals, which will be held on July 30. One solo singer and one duet pair will be chosen as the Philippine entries in Myanmar. At stake for the winners in the I Sing finals are cash prizes, trophies and other awards plus recording and management contracts. Please note that contestants must be 17 to 35 years old, and must have no existing local or international management contracts.  

I am sure that the competition will be tough but the Filipino’s talent for singing is almost legendary so I am sure that whoever will be chosen will do very well. 

Ryan “Mr. C” Cayabyab’s invitation goes out to songwriters for what will surely be a fun and enriching experience. I believe this goes out for both professionals, meaning those who have already published works and for the amateurs who dream of hits and are trying to create songs.

Mr. C, who is truly a master composer with a massive wealth of accomplishments to show for it, will be conducting a short songwriting course on April 17 to 21, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Music School of Ryan Cayabyab at Robinsons Galleria cor. EDSA and Ortigas Ave. Call 914-5055 or 637-9840 for reservations.

The course that Mr. C himself put together will cover the following topics: Melodic Direction and Range; Melodic Motif and Character; Prosody; Power of Repetition; Hook and Sub-Hook; Contrasting Parts; Keeping Progressions Simple; Choosing the Right Harmonies; and other musical elements. 

The course will be exercise-driven with lots of writing assignments and collaborating opportunities. This means that those who will be taking the course will be able to work on songs under the watchful eye of Mr. C himself.

Still on songwriting. The names of the finalists in the Tofarm Songwriting Competition have been announced. And here they are: Langit Ng Tagumpay by Elmar Jan Bolano; Bayani Ng Lupa by Agila Malaya; Magtatanim Ako by Edwin Marollano; Binhi Ng Pagbabago by Gino Torres; Ika’y Mahalaga by Henry Aburo; Balik Na Salinlahi by En Gallardo; Binhi Ng Pagbabago by John Christian Jose; Tayo by Daryl Cielo; T’yaga Lang At Sipag by Robert David; and Magtanim Ng Bago by LJ Manzano.

The winners will be announced on April 9. They stand to win the following prizes: Grand prize winner, P300,000; first runner-up, P200,000; second runner-up, P100,000; and the People’s Choice Award, P75,000. All of the winners will also receive plaques while all of the finalists will receive plaques and P40,000 each.

The Tofarm Song Competition is an advocacy of the fertilizer company Universal Harvester, Inc. under the theme of Planting Seeds of Change. It seeks to create awareness and recognition for hardworking farmers and others in the agricultural sector through music. Tofarm also holds an annual film festival with the same theme to honor agricultural workers in the country.