Joseph Esmilla on classical music and the state of the nation

MANILA, Philippines -There are many things brewing in violinist Joseph Esmilla’s mind as he prepares for an evening of Brahms and Sarasate with pianist Rudolf Golez on Jan. 29 at the Philamlife Theater in Manila.

While he is concerned about getting into the soul of Brahms before opening night, he is also very anxious about the results of the coming elections.

“I’m sorry but I believe it is myopic to merely focus on classical music when I see our country going on a downward spiral with one scandal after another,” he says. “You can’t really talk about a new life until we resolve this issue about the quality of our leaders. We need more Filipino leaders who truly love our country and people, not just themselves.”

Can musicians actually help rebuild this country?

“There is no simple answer to that because I believe the first priority of our country’s leaders is to address the basic physical needs of our people. If a country is not politically and economically stable, culture and the arts cannot flourish. Every successful democratic country has a public education system of decent standards. Their government offers incentives to encourage the proliferation of job opportunities. Over-population is actually an important resource, which is how China managed to become an economic power within a relatively short time, so we can learn from that. With progress comes financial stability. Once the basic physical necessities are sustained, eventually people will look into the finer things in life as a necessity such as art and culture. Only then can classical music feed the needs of the soul,” Esmilla explains.

But the national situation being what it is for many years now, the violinist likes to think that musicians can actually cope better.

“In general, musicians are resilient because they do not make a lot of money to begin with,” he quips.

But after being away from the country for so long, what is important to Esmilla at the moment is spending time with his family. Music has always been part of his family.

“Classical music has always been a way of life ever since I was born. My dad raised a family of violinist, professor and conductor,” he points out.

The violinist started violin lessons at age five with his father Sergio Z. Esmilla Jr. and was also mentored by Oscar C. Yatco and Basilio Manalo. At 14, he was granted a scholarship at The Juilliard School where he eventually received his bachelors and masters of music degrees under the tutelage of Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki and Jens Ellerman. While doing post-graduate work in violin and chamber music with Felix Galimir at the Mannes College of Music, he won the concerto competition and performed the Bruch G minor concerto with the Mannes Orchestra, which was later broadcasted by WQXR in New York City. Subsequently, he pursued professional studies in violin and chamber music with Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley of the Guarneri Quartet. Esmilla participated in summer festivals and programs such as Aspen, Interlochen, Dartington and the International Summer Academy at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, where he was chosen to play the Tchaikovsky violin concerto for the culminating concert.

Repertoire for the Jan. 29 concert includes Brahms’ Sonatensatz, Kreisler’s Caprice Viennois and Tambourin Chinois, Gershwin-Heifetz excerpts from Porgy and Bess, Sarazate’s Romanza Andaluza, and Polonaise Brillante by Wieniawski.

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Ticket prices are P1,000 (orchestra center), P800 (orchestra sides), P500 (loge). For inquiries, call 357-3811 or SMS 0906-5104270.