Net 25 TV Special: FILharmoniKA Symphonic Inaugural Gala

Last February 19 at the PhilAm Life Theater, I had the opportunity to watch and produce a short segment for the Net 25 TV Special of the FILharmoniKA Symphonic Inaugural Gala.

Indeed a rare opportunity and an honor to work with Maestro Gerard Salonga and his orchestra. They played some of the world's best classical pieces! And I instantly fell in love with the themes from SCHINDLER'S LIST by John Williams and CINEMA PARADISO by Ennio Morricone. Their version of LAKI SA LAYAW by Mike Hanopol was also a WINNER! Rock! \m/

This Net 25 TV Special was not only entertaining, it was also educational and the idea on how it was presented was totally out of the box and I believe a first of its kind here in the Philippines.

To reach a wider audience and hopefully introduce this to the masa crowd, we asked five people to record their own vlogs. These vloggers came from different fields, with diverse backgrounds and tastes for music and all five of them have not attended a live orchestra performance before. There was a corporate guy and an entrepreneur who prefer modern songs, two girls, a high-school and Japanese college students, who both love K Pop, and a young guy who's into rock and metal.

They documented their behind-the-scene experiences like the technical rehearsal of Net 25, studio rehearsals of the musicians in Alabang and their final rehearsal a few hours before the live concert at PhilAm Life Theater. But the highlight of the event of course was them meeting the artistic director and chief conductor of FILharmoniKA, Maestro Gerard Salonga. Siya ang may pakana ng lahat. LOL!

Hopefully with this TV Special we were able to inspire viewers to listen to classical music and maybe encourage them to attend classical concerts next time. Iba pa rin kasi kapag LIVE kang nakikinig eh.

In the special, Mr. Jorge San Jose (FILharmoniKA's drummer or as they call it in the orchestra a percussionist) said that this is the most honest job because they do this out of love. And you know what?! He's right! Ang alam ko din talaga ay konti lang ang kinikita ng mga musicians. They don't do it for fame or money. They're driven by their desire to express themselves as artists through music.

To all the people who watched the Net 25 TV Special last April 3 & 4, THANK YOU! Watch out for their upcoming concert with HKPO's principal cellist Mr. Richard Bamping. This will be held at the PhilAm Life Theater, April 17, Saturday @ 8 pm.

The creative executions we're thinking of for the TV Special will again be different yet fun and educational. So watch out for that!

And now I leave you with this message from Maestro Gerard Salonga that I copied from the event programme. =)

"Dear fellow music lovers,

Welcome to FILharmoniKA's Symphonic Inaugural Gala concert. Though we've been around for a while, mainly as an "orchestra for hire" for popular artists, musical theater companies, and recording projects, we've decided to add another layer to our persona... a symphonic concert season. Our reasons are simple, to bring the beauty and excitement of orchestral music to an audience who may otherwise be intimidated or uninterested in symphonic music regardless of genre. If tonight becomes an experience that gets you hooked on orchestral music, even if it happens to only one person in the audience, then I would say that's a step in the right direction. If there's one thing I'd like you to remember, it is this: there is no right or wrong way to love this music. You hear it, let it in, and feel something. What is that something? That is entirely up to you."

I salute all the hardworking men and women of FILharmoniKA and all the musikeros who play their own brand of music be it novelty, tribal, broadway, jazz, ballad, metal, rock, hip hop, rap, pop or OPM (Original Pinoy Music). Mahirap yang ginagawa ninyo. 

Congratulations Maestro Gerard Salonga! We're all looking forward to working with you in your other concerts! You rock! \m/