• Wednesday, December 03rd, 2008
Looking Back, Moving Forward
by Cherry Jagape-Bao
Twenty years of existence. That’s long enough for a group to survive in Davao’s music scene. I’m sure the founding members did not expect this when they took their singing experience in a high school choir called the Singing Teens to the next level and gave birth to what we now know as The Himig Singers.
So much has happened already: from rehearsing in the old walkway of Davao City High School, meeting up after class hours in the old family house of the Diazes, consulting with then DepEd music supervisor Vangie Lapore and composer/arranger Greg Canceran, singing in birthday parties, fiestas, etc., to meeting KB (as they fondly call this original member of the group The Company, Bong Aviola), who led the Singers to become Davao’s premiere concert chorus. From then on, there was no turning back. The group went on to win the NAMCYA twice, and garnered several awards in international competitions in Austria, Spain and Italy. It was quite a heady experience for all the members. They couldn’t believe that what previously only existed in their minds, something which was only in their “dream list” during a retreat, was now a reality.
Members and trainees of this choir came and went but there was really one who stayed on continuously in the person of Alma Orosio. I couldn’t believe she didn’t take a leave for all those years! She went from soprano 1 to alto 1 then finally alto 2! It was like her tone just went thicker and bigger. With her around, you didn’t need another alto 2. She is a pillar to be reckoned with in the history of this group.
Most of the oldies had really big, awesome voices, like Noel Anzures, Fritz Aluben, Dada Dequito-Eng, Julius Cesar, Dennis Calonia and Mercy Pilapil-Gorgonio. It’s like they had thick vocal chords that could never be strained by rigorous rehearsals. They are still spoken of in hushed whispers by trainees as “mga baka sa Himig”. And it was really a big help because good choristers were hard to come by before in Davao, especially sopranos and tenors. Many would audition and stay a little while but only a few could weather the military-like training of KB, who was once a chorister himself of other world-renown choirs like the Philippine Madrigal Singers and the Ateneo de Manila Glee Club.
Many rehearsals were ma-drama and pang-FAMAS. Some members would end up in tears or leave the venue hating the training and even the trainer himself, because mediocre singing was not in the music director’s vocabulary. Other times kuya Bong would be the one to walk out of the rehearsal, frustrated and disappointed! Oh, how he hated tardiness and unpreparedness. This sometimes led to innumerable copies of Monteverdi madrigals or Poulenc masses being torn up and trashed. How many walls echoed to his thunder-like voice as he railed against laziness and sloppiness? But mind you, outside of the rehearsals, this overly strict music director was somebody whom you could joke around with and have chit chat over coffee. Ironically, the stormy rehearsals are what the alumni miss about this man since he seems to have mellowed down of late: still the perfectionist, but more relaxed this time.
During the recently concluded Himig reunion in the States, Noel Anzures said that they were very emotional upon sitting down in a semi circle, as was the usual seating arrangement at rehearsal. Arceli Patayon-Redila said she glanced to either side, imagining seeing the faces of her contemporaries during the tours, and became teary-eyed. And when kuya Bong raised his hand to signal that they breathe with him before singing the first note, I’m very sure it was as if they were transported back to those good old days when they thought they could just sing forever.
Some alumni went, then came back, like Karen Tapia (now married to David Fortuna who’s also an alumnus), Marianne Tuazon, Harold Pedida, Fritz Aluben (now in the US), Berny Ilarde, Aldwin Curambao, Christine Pantaleon, Malou Aviles and Rowena Flores who was already the ate during the early days of the group until now.
It seems like Himig is a place to come home to, a refuge, a source of comfort. One can’t stay away or totally break one’s connection with it. Perhaps it’s because from the very beginning, this group was built on friendship. And the builders had this fire in their blood for music. I believe it was a very good combination because many years later the alumni would refer to their beloved group as their “Himig family”, acknowledging that they wouldn’t have been what and where they are right now if not for this choir which has played a big role in their lives. It’s not surprising since they grew up with this group.
And they went on singing. Not just so-so singing but singing according to the standards drummed into them by their perfectionist conductor. Some alumni who are already based in the US like Che Aquino-Enriquez, Regalo Bao, Rai Medrocillo, Joey Vinluan, and Ryan Faldas who recently married soprano and pianist Nini Lim, have either formed their own singing groups, joined other groups or gone back to their professions. Many times they have given financial assistance to sustain Himig’s perennially inadequate funds.
The Himig Singers have indeed come a long way. Its alumni are scattered all over the US, Canada, and Europe but all look to this particular year, which marks the group’s twentieth anniversary. 
2008 can’t end without a celebration and something like a present to give back to the Davaoeños, who have constantly supported the Singers all throughout the years, either financially, morally or in many other ways. The oldies are not about to retire yet. December 12, 2008 is very special as they join the present group in giving the audience what they do best—singing from the heart. This gift of music is for everybody, a gift that needs to be heard. This is the fulfillment of their dream, that the Himig Singers would continue on, bringing the gift of music to the rest of the world.
Himig conductor Bong Aviola, in an interview with the Times, said he was surprised at the audience in attendance.
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