Musician's Perspective: Week 1

Sorry for the lateness of our blog posts! Internet in the areas where we were teaching was sparse at best. We have also been so busy it’s been hard to find time to breathe! This post is written by Brian and Midori about their first week of teaching.

Week 1, Day 1 (June 5, 2012):

Flying went very, very smoothly, both the flight from Chicago to Hong Kong, and from Hong Kong to Manila. Who knew that the shortest path from Chicago to Hong Kong is through the North Pole? It’s always been my (Brian’s) dream to be met at a gate by someone with my name on a card, and it finally happened!

Day 2:

After 2 hours of sleep, we went back to the airport to fly to Northern Samar, our first stop on the trip. We got to watch a beautiful sunrise over the islands of the Philippines from the airplane, a real treat.

The airport at Catarman is the smallest I’ve ever been to, and some of the residents were on the runway to watch the airplanes land. The only gate area they had was made of lawn chairs and all that separated it from the security “checkpoint” (a guard who quickly looked through everyone’s bag) was a thin plexiglas wall. Very different from the US!

Runway side of the airport

Parking lot side of the airport

We got to the house, and it is gorgeous, right on the water. It’s hard to not feel guilty staying here when there is so much poverty surrounding us. It helped to remind ourselves of how much we’re going to help these kids. We were all very tired, so instead of teaching today day, we decided to go and just meet the kids. The kids at the Catarman SPED School were very polite and gracious, but there were a few more than we had planned on. We decided to split the 60+ kids into 2 groups to make teaching easier. These groups would alternate between music and dance classes during the next two weeks. The Catarman National High School was an experience: the students had prepared a whole dance sequence for us, and it was simply amazing. 

So much talent. Kendra, Leo and Chelsea are going to have a lot of fun teaching them! And we’ll have fun, too, because in my experience if you’re a good dancer, you have a pretty good musical foundation, too. After a great seafood dinner with Julius, one of our hosts (including what would become one of our favorite foods, pancit), we finally got a chance to sleep!

Day 3:

Today we taught an introduction game called "Shabuya", where you get in a circle, and everyone says their name and three things about themselves. The students were understandably shy at first, but we were able to get through the game with all groups at both schools. We also taught a game called "Zip, Zap, Zop" where you pass those three words around the circle and try to stay in rhythm (and say the right words!). We ended by playing part of the Beethoven Duet for clarinet and bassoon, and asked the students what they felt while we played. We emphasized that music (and all art!) is all about communicating a mood, idea, or story, and that you can change the way you play music according to how you want the listener to feel.

We ended this day with a performance at the Governor's Ball. In addition to the governor, the mayor of Catarman was there, and the contestants for the Miss Northern Samar 2012 pageant. It was a real treat, and great to eat freshly cooked pork carved off of a whole cooked pig! Midori and Brian performed a movement of the Poulenc duet for clarinet and bassoon, and a American folk-style piece that Brian arranged called "Till Dawn". Both were well-received.

Midori and Brian with Gov. Paul Daza

Day 4:

Today we visited the market to get supplies for the rest of our 2 weeks in Catarman. Grocery choices were limited, but we were able to get about 60 eggs for about $3, ingredients for chicken adobo, spaghetti, and some basics like bread and rice. The best part, though, was the fresh fruit: mangos, pineapple, and bananas! Like everything else at the market, the price of the fruit was unbeatable. We bought half a dozen mangoes for about $.60. Added to the fresh coconuts we were able to get near where we stayed, we were in produce heaven.

The music team continued teaching rhythms using the "Zip, Zap, Zop" game as a basis. The students grasped the concept of half, quarter, and eighth notes very quickly! We finished by playing an arrangement Brian did of Mark O'Connor's "Appalachia Waltz", another American folk-style tune reminiscent of Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo” and “Appalachian Spring.” As we played we asked the students to draw a picture as if we were the soundtrack to a movie. They came up with some very interesting ideas, from remembering a pet who had died, to wind blowing through hanging laundry in the summer. I hope to be able to scan some of the drawings and send them to the composer!

Day 5 and 6:

Midori and I woke up early to see if we could catch the sunrise over the ocean. It was beautiful.

The rest of the weekend was spent traveling all the way down the island, across a bridge to Leyte, finally settling in Palompon. On Sunday we went to a beautiful island near Palompon called Kalanggaman before traveling all the way back.

 

It was a long, winding, hilly drive, but we really got to see what the countryside in Samar is like, and it is beautiful.