|
By Katherine Mae M. Lopez, Special to the
Times
Being a scholar of the people entails not only
excellence but also giving back to the people to whom the scholar
owes his or her education.
This is precisely what some of the 40 arts
scholars of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) plan to do
when they graduate from college and finish their respective majors
in the arts.
Called Maria scholars, these students graduated
from the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) in Mt. Makiling,
Los Baños, Laguna. Their education was funded by the CCP through
donations from sponsors such as the Johann Strauss Society of the
Philippines (JSSP).
“We in the Society believe in nurturing gifted
artists,” says Olga Martel, vice president of JSSP. “Our goal
really is to support the arts because we see that they don’t
receive much help from the government.”
Students in the PHSA choose a major from among
five branches of art: creative writing, dance, music, theater arts
and visual arts. Upon graduation from the PHSA, they should pursue a
degree in any of the arts disciplines.
Duty to country and Philippine Heritage
Growing up in an environment of theater, music
and dance inspired Emmanuelle Therese Adda to go into theater arts.
“My grandmother [Andrea Veneracion, National
Artist for Music] is the founder of the Philippine Madrigal Singers.
My aunts and my mother are members of the Bayanihan Dance Troupe,”
she says.
Adda says the PHSA is not a place for one to
slack off because PHSA students follow a rigorous schedule everyday.
“From 6:30 in the morning up to lunch, we
study our general education subjects such as Math, Science and
English. Then right after lunch, we have our majors. After dinner,
students go their rehearsals for recitals or attend to their plates
and papers,” she says.
“You have to give your 110 percent. There is
no technique for you to be good. You just have to give it your
all,” she adds.
Adda is bound for New York to audition at the
American Musical and Dramatic Academy as a theater art major.
Adda says being an arts scholar carries so much
weight in it. “You just don’t do it for yourself. Art is not
just a way to find a career. Art can change the world. I have a
responsibility to do well for myself and for my country.”
She dreams of becoming a Broadway actress and
being a part of My Theater, a group of Filipino artists in New York.
“Apart from my love for Broadway and New York being the best place
for it, I have a duty to my country and to my Philippine
Heritage,” she says.
Writing with a purpose
Being a student at the PHSA changed Larissa Mae
Suarez, a creative writing major at the PHSA and now an incoming 3rd
year Journalism major at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
In the PHSA, Suarez says she learned the
application of arts in daily life. Suarez says that in PHSA, she
learned to write with a purpose.
Suarez says art is important because it reflects
our culture. “It doesn’t have to be Western based.”
Now the incoming editor in chief of Philippine
Collegian, official student publication of the UP Diliman, Suarez
says she will continue to write in the future. “The idea is not
just to entertain or to inform. You need to raise the consciousness
of people about their situation,” she says.
Promoting classical music
Remely Bianca Montanez, an incoming piano major
at the University of the Philippines Diliman, believes it is
important for people to learn classical music: “Classical music is
a higher form of art. It has a complete structure, coordination and
harmony. I feel that when people hear classical music, it instills
harmony because music contributes to their personalities.”
Mary Jeane Egloso, a voice major in UP, opines,
“It’s important to learn classical music because this is what is
lacking in our lives,” says Egloso, adding, “Even ethnic music
is under-appreciated.”
Egloso says when she finishes college, she plans
to pursue further studies in music abroad, and then she will go back
to the Philippines to help develop music in the country especially
in the province where classical music is not well taught. “Some
teachers in the province didn’t graduate from Music. Sometimes,
what they teach is wrong. If I hadn’t studied at PHSA, I
wouldn’t have known any better,” says Egloso.
Montanez, on the other hand, sees herself as
becoming a famous concert pianist and putting up a music school in
her hometown in Ilocos. “All the good ones are already here in
Manila. I want to contribute to my home town,” says Montanez.
|
