IF there was one thing remarkable about the 6th Christmas Gala Concert mounted by University of Santo Tomas (UST) Thursday last week, it was the fact that it showcased the most promising talents and the most versatile batch coming from the UST Conservatory of Music.

The concert opened with Fr. Manuel Maramba?s arrangement of ?Christmas Fanfare,? deftly executed by the UST Brass Ensemble and the Percussion Ensemble.

?Christmas Collection?? transcribed by Hermie Ranera?had the Wind Orchestra under its youth conductor Michael Jacinto rendering fresh readings of favorite Christmas carols.

As though these were not enough, the Symphony Orchestra dished out more Christmas medleys featuring personable young soloists Marie Ann Dominese and Christian Paul Anthony Nagano. A medley devoted to OPM songs featured the well-honed Coro Tomasino and the Liturgikon Vocal Ensemble.

A superb arrangement of ?Oh Holy Night? by Ranera saw three sopranos?Nenen Alfornon, Thea Perez and Naomi Paz Sison?at their vocally glorious best.

Sison?s luminous opening was for the most part powerful, followed by Perez?s enchanting intonation that took the breath away. Alfornon?s ravishing phrase made the Christmas carol more meaningful than it already was with a massive choir and a solid orchestra.

A novelty number was a Techno Christmas with the UST Orchestra and Raul Sunico on the piano, and with the special participation of the Salinggawi Dance Troupe.

I had to disabuse the purist in me to be able to appreciate this number, which I knew was an effective bridge to the young audiences sick and tired of Bach and Handel oratorios during the holiday season.

Centerpiece

The soaring and magnetic tenor range of Eugene de los Santos and Ronan Ferrer were the centerpiece of the Christmas Finale participated in by the Conservatory Chorus, the Grade School Choir and Psalterion. Here, Ranera was in perfect artistic control of the various choirs and ensembles.

But the number that brought the house down was undoubtedly soprano Rachelle Gerodias? rendition of ?Rejoice Greatly? from Handel?s ?Messiah.? Here was vocal coloring at its best?the most delicate trills matched by a stage presence that all but dazzled the audience.

Of course, a pop spiritual song like ?Light of a Million Mornings? is no match to Handel?s ?Messiah,? but still Gerodias managed to give it a vocal flourish devoid of maudlin effects. That stratospheric ending was, indeed, hair-raising.

It was the same piece that threw the Philamlife Theater audiences in an uproar two years ago, when she sang it on an evening that belonged to tenor Otoniel Gonzaga and the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra under Rodel Colmenar, another outstanding product of the UST Conservatory.

The highly successful gala concert was co-chaired by Maricris Zobel and Fr. Isidro Abano, OP. The concert, which will be aired on Christmas Eve on NBN-4, was actually a fundraising event for the benefit of UST?s heritage conservation efforts and the scholarship fund of the UST Conservatory of Music.

Forefront

The Conservatory is one of the few music school schools with a school orchestra (UST Symphony), award-winning choirs (UST Singers and Coro Tomasino) and the highest enrolment (650) among music schools in the country.

Conservatory head Sunico said: ?The UST Conservatory had been at the forefront of musical performances in the country. It has also supplied many musicians in the various orchestras, classical and popular bands both here and abroad, and has lent the services of some faculty members in other music schools.?

Sunico, who took over as dean of the conservatory in February 2002, has continued the music programs he inherited from dean Erlinda Fule (among them the ?Sampung Mga Daliri? piano concert and the annual music camp where both students and teachers teach and interact with music enthusiasts in the countryside).

Before Fule and Sunico, other equally distinguished music personages actually pioneered to make the music school what it is today?one of the best.

The music school was founded in 1946, opening with an inaugural concert witnessed by Fr. Rector Eugenio Jordan, OP, who noted that the occasion was the first time in the long educational history of the tri-centennial institution that a school of music was established.

Initially, the music school was part of the College of Architecture and Fine Arts (Cafa). Its first director was one Manuel Cuerva who had a stint as a director of the UST ROTC Band.

In the book ?The University of Santo Tomas in the 20th Century,? writer Josefina Lim Pe wrote: ?Generally regarded as the founder of the Conservatory is Fr. Gregorio Garcia, OP, whose initiative and encouragement inspired the opening of the Conservatory.?

The subsequent music head who enriched the school and gave it solid direction was Barcelona-educated pianist Julio Esteban Anguita, who reigned for almost a decade.

In the league of Anguita were other equally distinguished mentors such as pianist and conductor Bernardino Custodio, cellist Antonio Molina, violinist Ramon Corpus and, later?what UST piano teacher Julie Ann Hallazgo described as the ?great damsels of [piano] pedagogy??Stella Goldenberg Brimo, Aida Sanz Gonzalez, Milagros de Ocampo and Rosario Picazo, who is better known as the first teacher of Cecile Licad.

The first wave of divas who also taught at the school were Mercedes Matias-Santiago (the country?s first Lucia di Lamermoor), Lourdes Corrales de Razon, Salvacion Oppus-Iniguez, among others. The later batch included Irma PE Potenciano, Gloria Dizon-Coronel, Erlinda Dacanay-Azcuna.

After the batch of pianist Reynaldo Reyes came a later generation of pianists that included Corazon Pineda Kabayao, Marites Fernandez and Maria Luisa Lopez Vito.

Other notable teachers from the Conservatory include violinist-conductor Sergio Esmilla Jr., sopranos Conching Rosal, Sylvia la Torre, Leticia Liboon, Juanito Javier-Torres and Fara Lizardo, who starred in the movie ?Song of Sto. Tomas,? which was filmed on the UST campus in 1950.

New thrust

What is the new thrust of the Conservatory now after the reign of Tupas, Brimo, Fule and Alexandra Atabug?

Said Sunico: ?The UST Conservatory strives to be globally competitive, especially in the field of performance and new program offerings such as jazz studies, music technology and musical theater. Research, composition and pedagogy are also major components of its thrust. Through the encouragement of activities by the Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Band, jazz band, the choruses as well as individual soloists from both the faculty and student sectors, the Conservatory has played a major role in many of the country?s classical presentations and activities, as well as a
number of international events in Singapore, China, Taiwan and Thailand. It has also established linkages with a number of foreign institutions, such as the Elisabeth University of Music [Hiroshima, Japan], Winthrop University [South Carolina, USA], and the Liszt Academy of Music [Weimar, Germany].?

?The usual career choice of a music graduate then was either to become a concert performer, teacher or housewife.? ?Now, music has become an industry, expanding to other choice of genres such as pop, rock and jazz; choral and band conducting. There is also the crossover career choices such as music therapy [with Nursing], music technology [with Computer Technology], music theater [with Dance/Drama] and film music [with Movie Industry].?

Focused

The music head notes that the typical Conservatory student now is more academically focused and expected to excel not only in his field of specialization but also in other subjects.

Explained Sunico: ?The Conservatory trains students in the classical way, but this training can be adapted later for those who want to venture into other musical genres such as pop, rock and jazz. As a result, the quality of our graduates is generally high. This is supported by the fact that most of the graduates are now employed. Music Education graduates do not find it difficult to be hired by private and public schools such as La Salle Zobel, St. Paul, St. Joseph, Assumption.

?Other performing majors, if not on a concert career?which is extremely difficult and takes time?either pursue graduate studies or play in symphonic or commercial ensembles. On the other hand, the UST Conservatory of Music is leading the way in terms of new programs being offered, including Jazz Studies which is being offered now, and Harp which we recently acquired. Realizing music?s potential for globalization, we aim to further harness the playing and vocal skills of our students so that they will turn out more globally competitive and globally recognized.?