Music diverse yet in perfect harmony

With a viola nestled on her shoulder, Cora Manaloto stood out in the group of musicians playing before hundreds of Miriam College schoolgirls busy chattering away as Vivaldi’s "Four Seasons" mixed with the din.

Some in the group of musicians were teenagers, the rest were children below 15, either wielding violas or violins. A teen was on the cello.

Manaloto, a male violinist, and a woman conducting the group were the only adults there that bright Tuesday morning in October.

After that brief appearance in the school program, Manaloto packed up and proceeded to her clinic at University at Santos Tomas Hospital, where she is an internist.

Manaloto has loved music since childhood, her fingers dancing on the piano, the usual instrument of choice for parents. But it was only five years ago that Manaloto, now in her fifties, decided to take up the violin and, later, the viola.

When Manaloto isn’t busy healing the sick, the melodious notes from the viola fills her time. Monday and Friday evenings are reserved for practice with the 50-member Metro Manila Community Orchestra.

This holiday season, the good doctor and her fellow musicians will bring Christmas cheer to select communities in the metropolis that will be delighted by the diversity of the orchestra members as much as by their music.

The orchestra is currently performing an eight-concert series sponsored by Ayala Land Inc., dubbed the "Ayala Westgrove Symphony Series," which began last month at Ayala Westgrove in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

They have also performed at the exclusive Corinthian Garden village in Quezon City, then at Miriam College, followed by concerts in Manaoag, Pangasinan and Calamba, Laguna.

Under the masterful baton of Prof. Josefino "Chino" Toledo, one of the Philippines’ top composers and conductors, and the artistic direction of Coke Bolipata, the orchestra may be the only one of its kind in the Philippines, a distinction that could someday bring honor to the country.

Formed in 2000 through Bolipata’s vision, the orchestra is a product of the Miriam College Center for Applied Music, which receives an average of 400 students a year, including a number of adults such as Manaloto.

It was only logical for the Quezon City girls’ school to put together such an orchestra, whose members range from the young–such as 12-year-old violinist Joseph Valdez–to the not-so-young.

But the primary reason for putting together the orchestra goes much deeper than that. "We want to provide youths an alternative to pop culture," says Miriam music school head Teresita Serrano. "Music makes people whole."

Serrano believes that appreciation for fine music–not the songs of today’s pop icons–creates a hunger for knowledge: Once you appreciate the finer things in life, you will yearn for more.

Dr. Manaloto was invited to join the orchestra shortly after it was formed. She is modest about her musical talent. "I only wanted to learn how to make noise with it. I just want to learn something new everytime. That’s my nature," Manaloto says with a quiet chuckle, but admits she sometimes feels she is already at the top of the world once she is one with her viola.

It’s also her self-prescribed therapy to combat the stress of being a physician. "It’s relaxing and therapeutic and it’s something worthwhile to spend your time on," she says.

Aside from Manaloto, the orchestra also has one accountant and a teacher. Toledo’s 17-year-old daughter, Charisse, is also there on the violin.

Toledo, who is leading a new generation of artists establishing a new image of the Philippines on the international stage, says he gets a unique satisfaction and challenge in conducting the Metro Manila Community Orchestra simply because of the diversity of its members.

"It’s different because you know that they are there because they love playing music, unlike professional musicians who do it for a living," he explains.

It’s also challenging because of the orchestra members’ interests and age gaps. "You have to have pieces that everybody will be interested in," Toledo says. A classical piece may be new to some but not to others, who might get bored. When boredom sets in, that’s when quality could suffer.

Another factor Toledo has to reckon with is the constant turnover of orchestra members, which happens when one has to move on to other things in their personal lives, and a new member has to be brought up to speed. It’s like going back to square one again and again.

However, it doesn’t mean that everyone who loves music can join the Metro Manila Community Orchestra. "You have to have some level of proficiency to be accepted," says Serrano. Remember how the off-key flutist Benjamin Raspail ended up on Hannibal Lecter’s dinner table in the 2002 serial killer flick Red Dragon?

And when Toledo starts wielding his baton, you better keep up–no matter how young or old you are. Toledo says he doesn’t slow down to help the youngsters–or anybody for that matter–keep up. "They adjust to the conductor," he insists.

That’s what makes the Metro Manila Community Orchestra a sight to see and truly music to your ears: Diverse and yet in perfect harmony.