Music under the stars

MANILA, Philippines - On a recent balmy Saturday evening, the Jaime Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village of Makati was the setting for a grand night of music under the stars. In a stage built specially for the occasion, the 70-piece Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) under the baton of Maestro Olivier Ochanine played light classics, familiar romantic movie themes and showstoppers from Broadway and West End, as well as our very own OPM hits. 

Dubbed as PPO Goes POPS, the concert hosted by the perennial award-winning Barangay Bel-Air, is the first of this year’s Concerts at the Park series. The final night is planned for early December.

The park was shrouded in darkness, the only illumination came from the canopy of trees strung with tiny lights, the glow from the surrounding high rises and the flickering hurricane lamps on roundtables. This provided a dramatic backdrop and lent an intimacy to the affair. There was a hush as the PPO, the country’s premiere orchestra, gathered onstage in black trousers, skirts and colorful garb, eschewing their usual formal black tie and long black gowns.

Families, friends and neighbors from other nearby communities attended in chic and comfortable summer attire. As they walked in, they bought chits to partake of Filipino favorites catered by culinary doyenne Glenda Barretto’s Via Mare. They relished their meals and relaxed around tables exchanging pleasantries before the program began.  

After the specially-written invocation, the PPO struck the first notes of the Philippine National Anthem. Maestro Ochanine then rolled up his sleeves and led the orchestra through their paces with an overture from That’s Entertainment, Cabaret and  Mame,  setting the mood for that unforgettable moment.

Skipping convention, the conductor introduced every piece in the well-planned program with a repertoire deftly chosen to please every segment of the audience. The first bars of the familiar Blue Danube Waltz in different movements by Johann Strauss, Jr. lulled the toddlers to sleep. Then the youth broke into wide smiles when the orchestra segued to Ryan Cayabyab’s arrangement of a medley of Eraserheads tunes.

For film buffs there were Harry Warren’s An Affair to Remember which brought to mind the debonair Cary Grant and the lovely Deborah Kerr; selections by Henry Mancini, best remembered for Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, such as the perky Elephant Walk and Pink Panther, the romantic Charade and Days of Wine and Roses; and Carlos Gardel’s very dramatic Por Una Cabeza, the tango from Al Pacino’s Scent of a Woman. 

The night’s pleasant surprise was David Foster’s soulful The Prayer. Usually sang by a tenor and a soprano, this time there were no vocals — Fredeline Parin on trumpet played the lady’s part, as Cornelio Ramos on the trombone provided the counterpoint in a stunning rendition.

There were three OPM hits: Redentor Romero’s arrangement of Louie Ocampo’s Yakapin Mo Ako, Freddie Aguilar’s iconic Anak as arranged by H. Ranera and Ryan Cayabyab’s arrangement of Ogie Alcasid’s composition Kailangan Kita. 

Marco Ocampo, a young Bel-Air Village resident, sang a medley of songs from Rodgers and Hammersteins’s Sound of Music such as The Hills are Alive, My Favorite Things, Doe a Deer and Sixteen Going on Seventeen.

The most widely-applauded numbers were the selections from the all-time favorite Phantom of the Opera. And for encore, the orchestra enthusiastically obliged with a medley from West Side Story such as Maria, I Feel Pretty and Tonight.

Concerts at the Park has brought jazz, opera and rock music to its appreciative followers. The roster of past performers include the Manila Symphony Orchestra, the Philippine Youth Symphonic Band, the UST Singers, the Madrigals, the Philharmonica now the ABS-CBN Orchestra, the Hotdogs, The CompanY, Rachelle Gerodias, May Bayot and Ayen Munji-Laurel.

It had its auspicious beginnings in 2005. Art patron Irene Marcos-Araneta and good friends such as Monique Villonco were in search of a venue for their scholars who belonged to the Philippine Youth Symphonic Band. Barangay chair Nene Lichauco welcomed the brilliant idea and the council gave its blessings.

Initially, these were held at the Bel-Air Park, but easy access was rather confined to vehicle owners with village stickers. Visitors had to undergo the required security checks per association rules, thus attendance was rather limited. Eventually, organizers decided to transfer the concerts to the popular Jaime Velasquez Park. Lichauco noted, “The move was propitious because the audience steadily grew. We now hope to feature more younger performers.”

Council member Ma. Teresa Colayco, chair of Barangay Bel-Air’s Cultural Affairs Committee, oversees the preparations for such events with the cooperation of other council members Cynthia Cervantes, Noel Bautista, Fernando Vitug II, Aileen Dionisio and Anna Michael Abello.

Patricia Lichauco, chief of staff of the Barangay Bel-Air chair, revealed that aside from Concerts at the Park, the council also sponsors Pasinaya, the annual fiesta of Bel-Air. It, likewise, provides free medical services for barangay employees and senior citizens, holds summer workshops for children, sports tournaments and special seminars for kasambahays. As part of its outreach program, it cleans and dredges Malugay Creek in Pasay City.