Stephanie Reese Sings For A Higher Purpose

MANILA, Philippines – Not many people introduce themselves through a concert. But Stephanie Reese isn’t just introducing herself in her forthcoming solo concert “I am Stephanie Reese.” She will present a personal journey of her life through music and stories.

The concert is also Stephanie’s way of showing appreciation to the Filipino audiences who consider her a Filipino despite her having a mixed heritage. Stephanie’s dad is of Japanese, Irish, English and Welsh descent, while her mom is a Chinese-Filipino.

“I want the Filipinos to know who I really am and how and why I came here,” Stephanie explains. “I also want to have a platform for my advocacy and share my story with Filipinos who always treat me like I’m part of their extended family.”

Reese has been to the Philippine four times since 2006. She mostly sings for corporate shows, private parties, and Gawad Kalinga (GK) events when she’s in the country. And every time she performs, people always ask her, “When will you have your concert?”

“I am Stephanie Reese” is a response to that question.

GK events are very special to Reese. It was through her involvement with a GK project at a very challenging stage of her life that she found herself and began performing again. GK raises funds to build integrated, holistic and sustainable communities towards a slum-free and squatter-free Philippines.

The year before she first came to the Philippines was a painful time for her: in early 2005 her boyfriend John died in a car accident. “That time, I really didn’t want to sing or perform at all,” Stephanie recalls. “I just didn’t want to do anything. I was just lost and gave everything up.”

Later that year she was invited to sing at a GK event, a fund-raising concert for the Filipino Community Center of Seattle.

“I still didn’t want to sing, but when I showed up, everybody was just happy that I was actually there,” Stephanie says. “Then I saw this video presentation. There was a woman being interviewed who lost her husband and home during a heavy typhoon in the Philippines. While I was trying to understand her story, it made me feel and realize that I was not alone. That particular moment shifted me away from my grief, found my strength and moved me to my higher purpose.”

After the event, Stephanie approached GK founder and executive director Tony Meloto to tell him that she was moved by the video and wanted to go to the Philippines. “Without any formal plans or schedule, Tony just encouraged me to go to the Philippines,” Stephanie continues. “And I did come home and discovered a lot about myself. I was then singing for causes and found the higher purpose for my music. Eventually, going back to singing healed me.”

Stephanie couldn’t forget the time when she performed for an Aeta group in the country. “Their exposure to this kind of music is so little and I want to share my music with them,” she narrates. “When you go to the grassroots, you’re usually there to give and share yourself. Something different happened to me this time. When the show ended and I was already going to my car, a woman who missed the show rushed to the car just to give me two papayas. I was so touched by that action,” Stephanie says teary-eyed.

Every GK event is a different experience for Stephanie. During that particular event, she was also interacting with the Aetas with the help of an interpreter. “One of them said, ‘I don’t want to be an Aeta anymore.’ This was so painful to hear and I told them, ‘You’re all beautiful and we’re all the same. We’re all beautiful in the eyes of God.’ And they smiled at me. Those smiles meant a lot to me and touched me. There’s always healing every time I come home.”

GK has inspired Stephanie so much to get her back to what she loves doing. Singing for GK events is also her way of giving back the gift of singing that she has. “The loss of John brought me back to my roots and I always talk about him in GK events. Coming home made me remember how I began and taught me that giving up was not the answer to my sorrow.”

It was Stephanie’s grandmother who taught her how to sing. “My lola sings to me,” she shares. “She implanted the seeds of music in me while my parents invested in my voice lessons. I remember my mom telling me that my crying sounded like I was singing.”

At eight years old, Stephanie joined a girl’s choir in Seattle and toured different cities with the choir. “At an early age, I also realized I had to break the typecasting,” she adds. “As an American-Asian, I have to really excel in my field so I get recognized for my talent.” Her determination and hard work paid off. Stephanie then began doing her one-woman show in the US and did a lot of theater work in Europe.

Stephanie, who can sing in five octaves, is nicknamed the “standing ovation queen” and hailed as “the little girl with the big voice” by Patti La Belle.

She is set to amaze the Filipino audience with a wide repertoire. “People can expect me to sing Broadway hits, old standards from my lola’s era – the songs she first taught me, opera, pop, and some of my original compositions.”

After the concert, she is scheduled to go back to the States for another concert in Los Angeles on May 17, where she will be joined by Joey Albert and Pete Avendaño.­­ The event will launch the first ever Filipino-American symphony orchestra simply called the Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) that’s composed of 45 musicians. Stephanie is very excited about this as she feels that she is part of history in the making.

Stephanie plans to divide her time between the States and the Philippines. She wants to come back to the Philippines after her commitments abroad to find a recording company that will produce her third album containing mostly her original compositions.

“I also plan to do another concert here that would revolve around the theme of nostalgia and romance,” she reveals. “At the same time, I want to do some Christmas shows that will involve children from the less fortunate villages. I’m blessed with a fruitful career, but if you don’t have that higher purpose, performing is an empty endeavor.”

 Stephanie Reese will introduce herself on May 4, 8 pm at the Teatrino in Greenhills. For reservations, call 722-4501 loc. 116.