A visit to Orff
February 25, 2007 | 12:00am
Angklung." "Glockenspiel." "Metallo-phone." Where in heaven’s name did my daughter pick up such strange, complicated words, I thought to myself one afternoon early last year. "Pick me up not at four, Mommy, but at five, because we have Orff," she would say almost every school day, breathlessly, passionately, proudly.
What, or who, is Orff, I asked myself and her many, many times. "Orff… music instruments… like that, like that… focus, focus," she would say with a nonchalant shrug and gesture with her arms, fingers and hands, as if those short words and her dynamic actions were enough to make me understand the whole mystery that was… Orff.
"Don’t go to school today, you have a cough and a cold."
"But I have Orff, Mommy."
"Let’s go on a vacation, tell teacher you will be absent for a few days."
"But I will miss Orff, Mommy."
"Juliana hurry up, you’re late for school already."
"Am I too late for Orff?"
In bed at night: "Do you want me to tell you a story, or do you want to tell Mommy a story?"
"I’ll tell you a story, Mommy. You know, kanina, in Orff…"
Wow, she really loves this Orff, whoever, or whatever, he or she is.
"Honey, I cannot wait to ‘meet’ Orff," I tell my husband more than a few times.
"My son/daughter is the same way," other parents laughingly tell us.
So this is Orff, I said to myself one hot afternoon in December last year, when the children of Philippine Montessori Center regaled a roomful of parents/grandparents who were only too happy to clap at the joyful sights and sounds before their eyes. A classroom dedicated to percussive music. My, we would have jumped up and down out of sheer delight, not because it was our children performing but because they were performing that way.
Oh, and what was that brown wooden thing they were shaking artfully? So that is the angklung. The one with the small metal bars that "sounds like a baby," as my daughter always tells me? It’s called the glockenspiel. The metallophone? "It has the same sound as the bass," the little girl beside me, whose younger sister was also one of the performers, said. The marimba? The one with a scary sound. DONG, DONG, DONG. Oh, I see. And the pretty little colorful things they lovingly touched and tapped with a graceful wave of the hands? Desk bells, they’re called.
They were like little people doing big things. And I know better now never to put such things past them. No one is ever too young to do something so lovely. The music they made was as lovely as heaven, and it sounded as happy as ice cream. Adorable little tykes with skin like milk and honey, their chubby cheeks and round bellies jiggling along with the instruments they played  what a blessing to have and hold. Such innocent little beings  and we were under their spell, wrapped magically, joyfully around their chubby little fingers.
What was especially amazing was how this whole ensemble of energetic kids effortlessly sat through the whole performance like quiet little angels, exhibiting not only skill, but also teamwork, discipline and concentration. And the teachers! Thank God a million times for the wonderful, patient teachers. They are the real heroes. They have managed to bring out the best in each child; their constant affirmation has built self-reliance, confidence, and self-discipline. "Focus! Concentrate!" I often hear the children taking Orff say.
"Since 1980, we adopted the philosophy and methods of Carl Orff, a contemporary German composer who has worked with children for more than 30 years. He believed that bringing out a child’s love for music would greatly benefit his well-being. Young children respond readily to rhythm, so Orff focused on the rhythmic expression of music. Part of our music curriculum is teaching our students how to play Orff on percussion instruments, like the glockenspiel, xylophone and metallophone. When we saw how our students appreciated these instruments, our music teachers added the marimba and the angklung  an indigenous Indonesian bamboo instrument," shares Mrs. Woellhaf.
It is an unexplainable joy, seeing such young hearts already so in love with what they do. The 40 minutes of music class daily has really been worth it and it is now time for show and tell.
Come and enjoy the fruits of all their hard work on Feb. 27 6 p.m. at The Podium as two of the purest and loveliest blessings on the face of earth  children and music  come together to perform for all of us; 31 of them are pre-school kids from Philippine Montessori Center and 30 others are elementary and high school students from Temple Hill International School. Their repertoire will include a medley from Cats and Walt Disney’s Pinocchio, a selection of Visayan songs, plus songs like A Whole New World and Prince Ali, The Sleeping Beauty Waltz, All Things Bright and Beautiful, Sunburst, One-Note Samba, and We’re All In This Together. The program will run for only roughly 30 minutes so please come early, or at the very least be on time.
I guarantee you a night of music and magic, of blessed feelings and happy thoughts. You will walk away with bursts of sunshine and stardust in your heart.
Can any early evening be brighter than that?
What, or who, is Orff, I asked myself and her many, many times. "Orff… music instruments… like that, like that… focus, focus," she would say with a nonchalant shrug and gesture with her arms, fingers and hands, as if those short words and her dynamic actions were enough to make me understand the whole mystery that was… Orff.
"Don’t go to school today, you have a cough and a cold."
"But I have Orff, Mommy."
"Let’s go on a vacation, tell teacher you will be absent for a few days."
"But I will miss Orff, Mommy."
"Juliana hurry up, you’re late for school already."
"Am I too late for Orff?"
In bed at night: "Do you want me to tell you a story, or do you want to tell Mommy a story?"
"I’ll tell you a story, Mommy. You know, kanina, in Orff…"
Wow, she really loves this Orff, whoever, or whatever, he or she is.
"Honey, I cannot wait to ‘meet’ Orff," I tell my husband more than a few times.
"My son/daughter is the same way," other parents laughingly tell us.
So this is Orff, I said to myself one hot afternoon in December last year, when the children of Philippine Montessori Center regaled a roomful of parents/grandparents who were only too happy to clap at the joyful sights and sounds before their eyes. A classroom dedicated to percussive music. My, we would have jumped up and down out of sheer delight, not because it was our children performing but because they were performing that way.
Oh, and what was that brown wooden thing they were shaking artfully? So that is the angklung. The one with the small metal bars that "sounds like a baby," as my daughter always tells me? It’s called the glockenspiel. The metallophone? "It has the same sound as the bass," the little girl beside me, whose younger sister was also one of the performers, said. The marimba? The one with a scary sound. DONG, DONG, DONG. Oh, I see. And the pretty little colorful things they lovingly touched and tapped with a graceful wave of the hands? Desk bells, they’re called.
They were like little people doing big things. And I know better now never to put such things past them. No one is ever too young to do something so lovely. The music they made was as lovely as heaven, and it sounded as happy as ice cream. Adorable little tykes with skin like milk and honey, their chubby cheeks and round bellies jiggling along with the instruments they played  what a blessing to have and hold. Such innocent little beings  and we were under their spell, wrapped magically, joyfully around their chubby little fingers.
What was especially amazing was how this whole ensemble of energetic kids effortlessly sat through the whole performance like quiet little angels, exhibiting not only skill, but also teamwork, discipline and concentration. And the teachers! Thank God a million times for the wonderful, patient teachers. They are the real heroes. They have managed to bring out the best in each child; their constant affirmation has built self-reliance, confidence, and self-discipline. "Focus! Concentrate!" I often hear the children taking Orff say.
"Since 1980, we adopted the philosophy and methods of Carl Orff, a contemporary German composer who has worked with children for more than 30 years. He believed that bringing out a child’s love for music would greatly benefit his well-being. Young children respond readily to rhythm, so Orff focused on the rhythmic expression of music. Part of our music curriculum is teaching our students how to play Orff on percussion instruments, like the glockenspiel, xylophone and metallophone. When we saw how our students appreciated these instruments, our music teachers added the marimba and the angklung  an indigenous Indonesian bamboo instrument," shares Mrs. Woellhaf.
It is an unexplainable joy, seeing such young hearts already so in love with what they do. The 40 minutes of music class daily has really been worth it and it is now time for show and tell.
Come and enjoy the fruits of all their hard work on Feb. 27 6 p.m. at The Podium as two of the purest and loveliest blessings on the face of earth  children and music  come together to perform for all of us; 31 of them are pre-school kids from Philippine Montessori Center and 30 others are elementary and high school students from Temple Hill International School. Their repertoire will include a medley from Cats and Walt Disney’s Pinocchio, a selection of Visayan songs, plus songs like A Whole New World and Prince Ali, The Sleeping Beauty Waltz, All Things Bright and Beautiful, Sunburst, One-Note Samba, and We’re All In This Together. The program will run for only roughly 30 minutes so please come early, or at the very least be on time.
I guarantee you a night of music and magic, of blessed feelings and happy thoughts. You will walk away with bursts of sunshine and stardust in your heart.
Can any early evening be brighter than that?
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