The Orchestra of the Filipino Youth concert held at Qatar National Library. Pic: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula
DOHA: The 69-piece Orchestra of the Filipino Youth (OFY) staged its international debut yesterday with a bravura performance met with rapturous ovations from an enthusiastic audience at Qatar National Library (QNL).
Under the baton of Venezuelan Maestro Joshua Dos Santos, the orchestra comprising musicians as young as 12 mostly from less privileged families played an eclectic mix of masterpieces by well-known composers from around the world.
The young orchestra sustained a great energy througout the performance starting with Italian opera composer Giuseppi Verdi’s “Nabucco Overture” from his 1841 four-act opera culminating with a medley of renowned Cuban musician Perez Prado’s well loved compositions. As an encore, the ensemble also played Filipino singer and composer Rey Valera’s Kahit Maputi na Ang Buhok Ko.
The wide ranging repertoire also included ‘Batique’ Danza di Negri, Pasadoble from the Opera ‘El Gato Montes,’ Venezuela, Danzon No. 2, Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika, Pizzicato Polka, and Rhapsody for Orchestra.
“We are happy and excited to be here. I think this is the first time that a Filipino orchestra will perform in Qatar so we feel it’s a special moment to represent the country,” Dos Santos, OFY musical director and conductor said while talking to reporters prior to the performance.
Introducing the orchestra, Philippine Ambassador Alan L. Timbayan said: “I’m proud to present to you the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth, a group of talented young musicians who came all the way from the Philippines to share their extraordinary talent and love for music.”
The envoy expressed appreciation to the QNL management for giving the orchestra the opportunity to perform at QNL.
Established by nongovernment non-profit organization Ang Misyon, OFY is composed of young musicians chosen from different existing ensembles and are spread throughout the Philippines.
With the belief that social change is sparked through the learning of orchestral music, Ang Misyon works towards enhancing the identity of the Philippines by creating alternative career paths in classical music while redeveloping the arts and culture scene in the country.
“When we started Ang Misyon in 2012, it was with the greater vision that social change would take place through the transformative power of orchestral music. It’s quite heartwarming to see our efforts bearing fruit with nearly a thousand lives touched throughout the past years,” Federico R. Lopez, president of Ang Misyon, said in a statement.
He added: “These scholars, most of whom come from less privileged backgrounds, have grown and developed as musicians, and are a standard which I believe is truly world class.”
While the many of the lives of OFY members had changed having being granted college scholarships and using their music backgrounds as alternative career paths, most inspiring was the fact they wanted to share what they learned with other children who come from backgrounds similar to theirs, said Lopez.
Since its founding six years back, the orchestra has performed in various venues around the Philippines including Metro Manila as well as in several communities in Isabela, Pampanga, Rizal, Laguna, Batangas, and Cavite.
In 2015, it was a featured performer in the ChildAid Asia Concert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Presented by Ang Misyon in partnership with the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, “Qatar Tour 2018” is the first international performance of the full orchestra. The orchestra is set to enthrall a capacity audience tonight at Katara Opera House playing Russian composer and pianist Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 12” among others.
