Sinag Tala

Two weeks ago, Sinag Tala Performing Arts presented sopranos Rachelle Gerodias, Lilac Cana and Thea Tadiar, three of the country’s finest Filipina sopranos based in Manila, Toronto and London, respectively, in a concert at the Philamlife Theater. A week earlier, it presented Lilac and another Filipina based in Canada, mezzo soprano Grace Chan, in the home of Odette Alcantara in Quezon City.

Music lovers were able to listen to the above artists, through the efforts of Sinag Tala, a three-year-old company which enables Filipino-American artists living abroad and in the country, to demonstrate their artistic gifts.

Behind this venture is a young man, Martin Lopez, who had just left a corporate consulting job in Connecticut and was preparing to return home to the Philippines in May 1999 to be with his family and contribute to the artistic development of his country when he got the idea of organizing Sinag Tala. As Martin relates it, the company was born "in discussions with my shipper, who also believed in promoting the shining stars of Filipinos in the arts".

The opportunity arose to collaborate with Filipino-Americans in Connecticut for three simultaneous screenings of the award-winning film, Rizal, in August 1999. The inclusion of a Filipino art exhibit and food festival made the experience unique for viewers, who were then exposed to the talents of Filipinos in various art forms.

The following year, Sinag Tala collaborated with Connecticut College and Northeastern University in Boston to launch a week-long Filipino arts festival that included two films (Rizal and Batas Militar), concerts featuring classically-trained Filipino musicians living in New York and Boston (soprano Evelyn Mandac, pianist Cynthia de Leon and flutist Ildefonso Lauron), art exhibits, and food fairs.

Two other concerts followed, featuring the University of Santo Tomas Singers and the Bukas Palad Ministry. In June 2002, Sinag Tala helped organize the celebration of Philippine Independence with the Boston Pops Orchestra under the baton of Maestro John Williams and featuring flutist Ildefonso Lauron.

Sinag Tala moved to the Philippines when its founder, Martin Lopez, decided to take permanent residency here in July 2000. Since then it has complemented the search for and exposure of Filipinos in the arts with the need to also develop audiences who would appreciate them.

The company’s first project here was a collaboration with much-respected author Reynaldo Alejandro in the production and launch of the coffee table book, Pasig, River of Life. Following that was the first free Christmas concert and fund-raiser, which has become an annual event. The third such Christmas concert will take place Dec. 14, 2003, at the Francisco Santiago Hall of Equitable PCIB.

The Home Concert series was launched in 2002 to provide smaller venues for Filipino musicians to be heard in casual settings but very eager audiences. In February 2003, the Sinag Tala Performing Arts began with the debut of Julliard-trained pianist, Aileen Chanco with the Manila Symphony Orchestra in its new home, the Philamlife Theater. Reflections, the Lenten concert with the Hiraya Men’s Chorus and the San Beda College Chorale, followed in April at the San Beda Abbey. In August, Sinag Tala returned to the Philamlife Theater for the Sopranos featuring a pool of 14 of the most talented Filipina musicians: sopranos Lilac Cana from Toronto, Thea Tadiar from London, Rachelle Gerodias from Manila, and Eileen Fernandez, "a multi-handicapped singer with the voice of an angel", who is connected with the Divine Mercy Mobile Center for Music and Arts Therapy. Performing with them were pianist Lourdes de Leon Gregorio, the all-female Athenaeum String Quartet and Musikalinangan (Philippine Bamboo & Gong Ensemble).

Sinag Tala has branched out into different directions by which to promote Filipino artists. It created Sining Pamana, an art exhibit and auction to acknowledge the accomplishments of over 150 Filipino visual artists while simultaneously raising funds for three churches and a seminary in Iloilo and Negros islands.

It has also entered the wedding and memorial service niche to provide Filipino families, says Martin, "with the best of Filipino musicians to share in their life moments. This also provides added exposure to Filipino artists particularly those on the Sinag Tala roster."

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