FOLLOWING the beat of the family drum, Jonathan Nemesio Regalado III became a drummer as his brother and their father are. But there was no familial drum for Isaac De Alva III, who grew up with no musicians in the family. Still, he found the beat irresistible.
“Nung high school ako, nakapanood ako ng marching band. Then, sumali ako… Hindi ko inakala na magugustuhan ko (When I was in high school, I was able to watch a marching band. I decided to join and didn’t realize that I would enjoy it),” Mr. De Alva III said.
Currently the Vice-President of the Percussive Arts Society Philippines (PAS PH), Mr. De Alva III pointed out that percussion is not limited to a drum set — there are, after all, various types of mallet percussion instruments such as xylophones, the marimba, and glockenspiel.
For Mr. Regalado III, the drums play an integral role in a band. “Malaki ang responsibility ng drums because of its power and [need for] consistency of dynamics (such as volume and tempo),” he said. “Ang laki ng effect ng percussionist sa isang group. Hindi magmo-move yung group kung walang rhythm yung percussionist or drummer (A percussionist brings a huge effect to a group. The group will not move when a percussionist or drummer has no rhythm),”
As the president of PAS PH Satur Tiamson said: “Basta tumugtog kami, ang nasa isip namin is to send the story to the audience (When we play music, we keep in mind to send a story to the audience).”
This weekend, percussionists and drummers from around the world will come together for a music festival that highlights percussion and drum instruments. The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the PAS PH present PINTIG, A Percussion Festival, which will be held online from May 28 to 30.
Performances are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. during the three-day festival. These will be streamed via the CCP Office of the President Facebook Page (http://facebook.com/ccp.officeofthepresident).
PINTIG (which translates to “pulse” or “beat”) is a project of the Office of the President of CCP under the Sining Sigla virtual outreach program.
“Sining Sigla aims to continuously reach out to the public even in the midst of this pandemic by providing culturally relevant programs online,” CCP President Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso said during an online press launch on May 24 held via Zoom.
Past programs under Sining Sigla include Jazz Stay At Home (Jazz Festival), MALA (Movies Adapted from Literary Arts), Sigla ng Pasko, and Awit at Dula: Pagbabalik-tanaw sa Unang Hari ng Balagtasan.
The three-day virtual festival will also feature master classes and workshops on percussion, drum set, marching, keyboard music technology, and new music.
The festival will have performances from over 30 big names in the world of drumming and percussion, including: Alexis Constantino (percussionist, ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra), Aaron Awitan Reyes (FEU Drumline), Andrea Tanlapco (Temple Hill International School), Ernie Severino (Side A), Gian Vergel (UST Conservatory of Music), Junjun Regalado (Bamboo), Karmi Santiago (who has worked with Ebe Dancel, Baihana, and Richard Poon), Jayson Rivera (Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra), the Batukada De Negros Percussion Group, the Digos City Tribal Beatz, the UST Percussion Ensemble, and the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth Percussion Ensemble.
A series of workshops will be offered to Percussive Arts Society members. Keyboard percussionist Arthur Lipner will hold a Keyboard Percussion Masterclass on May 28, 8:30 p.m. Percussion educator John Wooton (also known as Dr. Throwdown), will give a lecture on “Understanding Rudiments and Clave” on May 29, 8:30 p.m. Those who would like to attend these workshops may sign up for PAS membership. To register, visit https://www.pas.org/membership/individual-group or contact Satur Tiamson on Facebook and via e-mail at saturnino_tiamson@yahoo.com. — MAPS
