Musicians' Perspective: Week 3, Day 6

We returned to Manila today alongside the students at PHSA on their buses. Fridays are the days they go home, or to host family houses for the weekend, and also take private lessons. We had a good time talking to some of the students, specifically a violinist (and composer, as we would later discover), Art. The dancers went straight to the Cultural Center of the Philippines to teach more classes, and Midori and Brian took advantage of the time off to visit the Greenbelt Mall, a large mall that basically consisted of five interconnected sections, some outdoor. Each section seemed to have its own theme, one was for appliances, one was more international stores, one was for high-end boutiques, etc. The mall also houses the Ayala Museum where we will be going tomorrow.

Cultural Center of the Philippines

After spending a little over an hour there, we took a taxi back to the CCP to wait for the dancers to finish their class. In the meantime, we wandered into the office marked "Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra." We explained who we were and said that we would love to sit in on a rehearsal or meet any orchestra musicians, if possible. The woman introduced us to the man who was in the office with her, Adolfo "Pong" Mendoza, the principal bassoonist with the orchestra. He was happy to meet us and walked us around backstage introducing us to the principal and second clarinetists (Ariel and Victorino), the concertmaster, and the conductor of the PPO. They were all so nice and generous, and even gave us a free bag of the chicharon they had backstage. Pong had some time before their concert that evening, and so he asked if we wanted to grab a cup of coffee with him. We went to a nearby Starbucks (yes, they have Starbucks in the Philippines), and talked about music, Project Philippines, and what our plans were while we were there, while watching the sun set over the water of Manila Bay. We even discussed the possibility of us visiting the University of the Philippines in St. Thomas where many of the PPO members teach, and giving a masterclass. Unfortunately, this ended up not working out, but we definitely have something to plan on for our next trip!

Brian and Midori with members of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Bassoon and Chicharon. What more can you ask for?

When we got back to CCP, Pong had had a little bit of free time, so he and Midori got to "geek out" a little, playing each others' instruments. Pong makes and sells his own custom bassoon (and clarinet) reeds, and so Midori got to try some of these reeds, and he let her keep one! Before leaving for his performance, he asked if we wanted to hear them play tomorrow, and we said absolutely yes! He said he could get us comp tickets to the Ballet Philippines performance, as well as the opera's performance of Madame Butterfly.

It was around this time that the dancers got out, and we went out to dinner at a nearby restaurant with the director of Ballet Philippines. We had a really good time, and ate some great food. Afterwards, Brian won Midori a stuffed pig from a small carnival game set up nearby. What a productive day!