MANILA,
DECEMBER 18, 2011
(STARweek) By Ida Anita Q. del Mundo - When US Peace Corps
volunteer Emily Palese found herself assigned to a community in Bicol,
she brought with her a love for music.
Starting a violin program from scratch in July with a
group of determined young beginners, her goal is to mount their very
first recital this coming Christmas.
"I ended up in Bicol purely by good luck," Emily says. "I could have
been placed in any one of the 76 countries that Peace Corps is
currently serving, so I'm quite fortunate that I ended up here."
Her experience so far has been wonderful, says Emily. "Most of the
town is rice fields, coconut farms, and pineapple farms. Needless to
say, most people here live very simple lives. I love how peaceful life
here is and I love the closeness of my community."
Emily grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. A recent graduate of the
University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in Anthropology and
Spanish, she is also a certified English as a Second Language teacher.
"As a child, I grew up listening to a lot of Scottish and Irish
music because my father plays the bagpipes," Emily shares. When she was
young, Emily recalls wanting to learn the violin. Luckily, her
elementary school offered a free violin program. "My orchestra teacher,
Elisabeth Ellenwood, was very fun and enthusiastic and her passion for
music was contagious," she says. Another teacher who became what she
considers one of her greatest life mentors is Kay Black, who encouraged
her to reach her full potential as a musician and join the school's
orchestras as well as the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra.
[PHOTO - Emily Palese with two enthusiastic violin students, Rochelle Efondo and Alysa Zamudio.]
"Her passion and dedication to her students extended far past
teaching music," Emily shares. "She continues to be my inspiration and
role model for teaching violin here."
On the other hand, Emily credits her grandmother as her biggest
inspiration for volunteer service. She says her grandparent's stories
about their yearly trips volunteering at the Ganta Leprosy and TB Rehab
Clinic in Liberia, Africa sparked in her a passion for service. "Joining
the Peace Corps wasn't a single decision," she says. "It was a lifelong
process that led me to the conclusion that this was something I needed
to do." Emily adds, "After college, I wanted to combine my love for
teaching English with my passion for traveling and learning about other
cultures and languages."
Assigned to her community in Bicol mainly to teach English, Emily's
passion for music persistently came to the fore – matching perfectly
with the Filipino's innate love for music.
"The very first day that I arrived at my school here, their band
performed a song to welcome me," Emily recalls. "Because I have a
musical background myself, I was really touched by their performance.
They were so enthusiastic and focused! I could tell that they were very
passionate about music."
She adds, "Later that day I asked one of my classes, 'Do any of you
play in an orchestra too? Violin, viola, cello, or bass?' Some students
looked away, and the rest of them just laughed," Emily shares.
The confused new teacher was finally enlightened on what was so
funny: "Ma'am Emily," the students said, "Violins are only for rich
people!"
Emily was struck by this kind of mentality. "My students come mostly
from 'less fortunate' families," she says. "'Less fortunate' to me
means more than just being poor… It means that they have fewer
opportunities to grow up as well-rounded individuals and develop their
own talents; it means that they have less support and encouragement to
achieve their dreams."
[PHOTO - A MUSICAL JOURNEY: Emily and her students and
co-teacher meet some of the Manila Symphony Orchestra's double bass
players.]
Considering her students' reactions, she adds, "Even at their young
age, they truly believe that being less fortunate means that they're
also less deserving of some of life's greatest pleasures… But music is
free. It's embedded in the rhythm of their lives and everywhere I go I
feel it. They sing walking down the street, they blast the radio in
their houses… they drum on their desks while I'm teaching, and they hum
while they work on their families' fields."
Experiencing how music is truly integrated into the community's
life, Emily decided to start a violin program. "Music is free and it's
for everyone," she insists. "They aren't any less deserving to have the
opportunity to develop musical talent than someone born to a rich
family."
The violin program came into fruition almost by accident – or by
design. Though she had wanted to start the program from the day she came
to Bicol, there weren't any violins for the students to use. "Seven
months later, I had an extremely severe ear infection that brought me to
Manila for treatment," Emily says. It just so happened that her
physician was Dr. Joey Lapeña, whose daughter plays the violin with the
Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO).
While her ear was being treated, Emily brought up her wish to start a
violin program, as well as the difficulty of finding instruments.
Lapeña – who was, at that time, preparing an all-Beethoven concert
with the MSO in line with the UP-PGH Department of Otorhinolaryngology
golden jubilee – gave Emily the contact information of the MSO's
executive director Jeffrey Solares.
[PHOTO - The MSO's orchestra manager Jedi Villar and marketing
director Mia Sebastian after the MSO's gala concert at the Philamlife
Auditorium.]
The MSO just happened to have two spare violins that were for sale.
But, with Emily's request, the orchestra decided to donate them to her
endeavor. Just two days later, Solares – a Bicolano himself – personally
brought the two violins to the school. With that, the violin program
came one step closer to becoming a reality.
As Emily puts it, "It was the absolute best, worst ear infection I've ever had!"
When Emily first put up a sign-up sheet for high school students to
have lessons, more than 50 students signed up – almost one-fourth of the
whole school. With just two violins, it would be impossible, so Emily
asked the advisors from each section to select students to be part of
the initial batch for the violin program. The program is now made up of a
devoted group of 13 students. "Now that those students are playing fun
songs, though, more and more students hear them and want to learn how to
play," says Emily.
As more and more come up to her asking to join the group, Emily
hopes that she will be able to source more instruments to make their
requests possible. "Getting violins was the hardest part. It still is
the hardest part because so many students want to learn and practice,
but they all have to share the violins."
Thankfully, the group recently received two more used violins
donated by a Filipino Peace Corps staff member, John Borja, whose
daughter had outgrown the instrument. Now with four violins, the program
seems promising, though even more improvements can be made with more
resources like instruments and sheet music.
Since the beginning of the violin program, the students have made so
much progress, especially because of their determination to learn the
instrument. Emily shares, "I wanted Lupang Hinirang to be the first
piece for the kids to perform, but I didn't plan on teaching it to any
of them for a long time – at least until they had learned all of the
basic notes." But, one fourth year student, Rochelle Efondo, passed by
Emily's office during a break period and heard her playing the national
anthem.
[PHOTO - Back home in Bicol, they continue to practice for their Christmas recital.]
When Rochelle asked her to teach the piece, "At first I said no
because she only knew how to play the notes on one string," says Emily.
"But she was very persistent, so I decided to just teach her the first
little part… She memorized it easily and wanted to learn more."
When another teacher heard them practicing, she invited them to play
the national anthem at the region's intramural sports meet. "She only
knew how to use the bow for one week before this and had never played a
single song on the violin," Emily marvels, but only weeks after learning
the anthem, Rochelle was able to perform.
As the students prepared for their ultimate goal, a Christmas
recital, the MSO decided to inspire them even more by inviting the group
to the orchestra's season ender, Beethoven Lives! which was held in
November. With the support of the Peace Corps and with transportation
costs shouldered by Frank Holz, a long-time supporter of the MSO, Emily,
a co-teacher and five of her students came to the Philamlife Auditorium
to witness the gala concert.
"They have never seen a concert before and some of them have never
been to Manila, so they can hardly believe that they're going to see
professionals play in the capital city," Emily said before watching the
concert. "It really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these kids,
and all of us are incredibly grateful to the Manila Symphony Orchestra
and its supporters for making this trip possible."
The importance of music education has always been an advocacy of the
MSO. This concert season, aside from giving school concerts and
contributing to the music scene of the country with their gala
performances, the MSO also pilot-tested a series of matinee shows geared
especially towards students and music enthusiasts to further enhance
their appreciation of symphonic music. Many of the MSO's members are
teachers and band leaders who are highly involved in their communities,
making it only natural for the MSO to reach out in various ways as a
group. Inspired by Emily's efforts, the MSO is currently cementing plans
for a "Street to Strings" project, which will allow young
streetchildren from different communities to be touched by the gift of
music – much like Emily's students have been by learning to play the
violin.
"More than anything, my hope for this small community is that they
never limit their dreams," Emily says. "Everyone here has so much
potential and can really do anything if they are persistent… There's no
reason that their small-town background should ever prevent them from
reaching their full potential. I should know – I grew up in a small town
too!"
Find out how you can support Emily's and other Street to Strings programs by contacting the MSO at info@manilasymphony.com.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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