There is maturity in calling a spade a spade
Okay kids. My friend Ronald has made another fitting reaction about a blog that may have been created a reaction itemizing facts and reasons, which we hardly understand. Ronald doesn’t get it either.
Pops Forever. I know your spirits have not been dampened one bit . I know that you’re still armed with a hopeful defiance.
Ronald’s words begin below:
‘Tis not cute anymore, so let’s name it straight - Merging.
Let me take off from Pat’s allusion to the idiomatic expression in her
note, “Curiosity killed the cat.” I think this idiom is very appropriate as a forewarning to the very curiously eager, and eagerly curious, individuals involved in this whole merging issue, that eventually, all these might just lead to the inevitable fate that their hasty decisions will eventually lead: death – death of La Sallian musicianship, if there is any.
Now, I am anticipating people to suddenly question my use of the word “hasty” since Pat has already stated that the changes in the structures of the current CAO groups will take a whole year in the process. However, let me emphasize the fact that what is hasty here is not the implementation but the decision. The fact that even Pat herself had to suddenly ask for a meeting with Jill Samodio reveals one vital fact – nobody has been properly informed about it by the CAO people, except probably themselves (probably being the operative word because I know a lot of those who are involved in these CAO groups who are also grappling for explanations to several gray areas in the issue).
My problem with this lies in the fact that the CAO groups, as I have already stated in my first note, are catered first and foremost to the student body of La Salle, and they are the major stakeholders of these groups. Whether they want to join the groups, or they just enjoy listening to the music, the students have the say to the decision-making with regards to the changes in these groups. Why? Because Cao exists for the students.
With that being said, it is then curious why CAO has not even consulted the student body before implementing these changes. Unless CAO can present a survey result, providing an evidence of the students’ approval of the said changes, CAO should have no business implementing rules that do not necessarily conform to the needs of the La Sallians.
Again, some people may ask, but isn’t CAO there as an office to actually help the students know what the students need in order to improve on their crafts as artists? Yes, I agree. CAO should be the authority figure of the school, but there is one major problem that Mr. Jed Balsamo has so effectively pointed out in his reaction to my first note: that CAO, just like a lot of other cultural arts offices everywhere in this country, are not headed by musicians. That in itself opens up to a lot of whole new different problems. One, the changes in question involve musical groups. In absence of an expert in the field of music in the CAO office, the CAO director is subjected to ill-informed complaints and suggestions by her favored groups, since she has nobody else to rely on in making vital administrative judgments – not her skills (which she really doesn’t have), not herself (for she is not a musician), not her experience (because really, what polluted body of water does she come from anyway?).
It is in this light that I question how this CAO director has come up with the following solutions to what she thinks are the problems of the CAO groups:
“- It is an orchestra first and does not focus on one specific genre of music.
- The Classics, Pop/Rock, Jazz names are only identified to help in marketing the group and speaks of the variety of music the orchestra can play.
- The Jazz part will be developed at a later time.
- Streamline training to ensure that both beginners and more advanced players will progress. (A more classical approach will be taken to teach everyone the basics.)
- Two concerts needed for the year- one classical & another contemporary (other than the Art in action show)”
Let me discuss these points one by one in order that we see how these “reasons” for forming the La Sallian Youth Orchestra are just plain unreasonable.
“- It is an orchestra first and does not focus on one specific genre of music.”
This statement clearly highlights a bias against pops orchestra. The “does not focus on one specific genre of music” already makes the obvious statement that Pops Orchestra, being a pops orchestra that it is, is already problematic because itsupposedly focuses only on pops. Now, the problem here is simple; since when has focusing on one specific genre of music been a problem? In fact, to place my question on a different note, do they even know what genres are? They are assuming that when one plays “classical”, “pop”, or “Jazz”, they are already going across all genres. That is too simplistic because one, pop is not a genre. In the most technical sense of the term, pop only means popular, which explains nothing but the wide range of audience it influences. Two, “Classical” too is not a genre because it only refers to one particular era of music, and there are other eras like Modernist, Romantic, Baroque, Medieval, etc. “Jazz” is probably the nearest they can get to a genre.
Just from here, we can already see that the CAO director does not know what she is talking about in proposing all these changes. Nobody, not even classical (in the loose sense of that term) musicians stick to only one genre. For instance, a “classical” pianist may perform a sonata, a suite, a duet, a polonaise, etc., without having to resort to “pop.” And even several “classical” music are popular, technically speaking, like Fur Elise, Moonlight Sonata, etc.
Hence, what orchestra, even pops orchestra, can be accused so conveniently of just focusing on one specific genre?
“- The Classics, Pop/Rock, Jazz names are only identified to help in marketing the group and speaks of the variety of music the orchestra can play.”
Well, if they are going to merge all the CAO musical groups into one orchestra, I don’t think that their marketing the groups according to the “genres” of music will stop anyway. As a proof, the last point says it all: “- Two concerts needed for the year- one classical & another contemporary (other than the Art in action show).” What will happen is that the label will just move from the name of the orchestra to the name of the concert. I am anticipating titles like: “A Sojourn to the Romantic Days of Yore” or “A Defamiliarization of Contemporary Music: Pop with a Twist”.
In relation to this, the orchestra members will inevitably be divided into “pop” and “classical” anyway. The ideal is that these members have to be flexible, but just take guitarists for instance. How many people who play the guitar can go beyond the usual chord accompaniment?
“- Streamline training to ensure that both beginners and more advanced players will progress. (A more classical approach will be taken to teach everyone the basics.)”
First, it is just plainly pathetic to talk about streamlining musical training for both beginners and advanced. Music is not algebra where you can only solve a problem in so many ways. This is just another evidence of how simplistic this non-musician looks into the lack of musicianship of the members. Nobody progresses in instrument playing with a streamlined training. The best instrumentalists have gone through rigorous individual trainings and practices just so they can thoroughly understand and execute their craft. The homogeneity of the proposed training only reveals one thing: the CAO director has received none.
“- The Jazz part will be developed at a later time.”
This is obviously an ambitious copy of the UST Conservatory’s gearing toward the genre. Plagiarism is all I can say about this proposal.
On this issue:
3) The conductor:
- Sir Eli will remain as the full-time conductor and Sir Jheng as assistant conductor until 2011.
- In accordance with the rules of DLSU, he will have to retire at the age of 60 just like past faculty, staff, and administration that have reached that age during their stay in DLSU.
I find it fake that Jheng is pretending to not be interested in taking over. After all, that Pops conductor applied in La Salle to conduct a pops orchestra. If he wanted to conduct in a non-pops orchestra, why did he stay too long with the group. And it is obvious with the emphasis on Mr. Eli’s (sorry I don’t know his name) retirement that Jheng is really poised to take over. How cheap.
Another thing, the fact that they are requiring the proposed new orchestra to have two concerts – pop and classical – every year just defeats the purpose of the merging. As I have already mentioned again and again, it is ridiculous to force a monkey to glide on water like a swan, just as it is idiotic to impose difficult music on those who don’t even have the initiative (why the hell did they join the Pops Orchestra to begin with) and the talent in it. So I can more or less foresee again that Jheng will just end up with his usual herd of ignorant sycophants along with sporadic pops orchestra members, and then, he will spend most of the funds of the group again to pay for his impoverished friends from the MSO or USTSO to supply the missing sound (not even music yet) during the “classical” concert, and during the pops, everyone plays. So double whammy for the pops orchestra members. And then they will remedy this with streamlined training! May God forgive these idiots!
On the issue of
4) The members:
- No one will be removed from all groups.
- The students are given the chance to learn new instruments, but are not forced to do so.
- There are talks that brass players and students willing to learn brass instruments will get higher tuition discount because it is rare to find such instrumentalists.
- A talk of a recollection will be held to help strengthen the relationships of the members.
So the issue of scholarship is based on instrument, not merit. Anybody who plays brass, even if it sounds like snapping bras, will get higher tuition discounts! How utterly intelligent is that! And recollection to strengthen the relationships of the members? Huh?
On the following issues:
5) Suggestions we made to fine-tune the project:
- A sort of advisory board other than an executive board (EB) (we’ll be happy to explain this to you)
- More specialized training available (teacher for each section)
- Investing in a greater library of pieces (of all genres)
- More exposure to different kinds of music (ie: sit-ins in professional orchestras, fieldtrips, film-viewing, concerts) all in the hopes of improving musicality.
- Another election for officers
- More feedback and suggestions from the groups and experts in the music industry
There is no need for a merging for these to be done, really.
On
6) Other concerns:
- Being humble and the importance of being able to take in criticisms.
- Asking questions and talking about issues
- Respect
Again, the merging will not do anything to develop these. Puhlease.
So CAO and Chamber people, I have already exhausted all my remaining concerns for you, which remained not because of the people but because of what the people are pretending to advocate, i.e. music. I don’t even know why I am wasting time answering these issues despite the fact that I know how my pieces of advice will, as always, fall on barren minds anyway.
And while we are at the issue of loyalty, may I remind the Chamber Ensemble people never again to use me in promoting for your shows, if you come into my future classes again. Let me remind your cracking memories that your former conductor, with his ugly face and stinky breath, rudely made me LEAVE Chamber when I was still a helpless student of La Salle, so I don’t really care if the trashy leftovers that I have left behind whispered behind my back how I was such a traitor because I left Chamber weeks before their major concert that year. I am done and over with you already. My achievements in music, to be really conceited about this, exceed far beyond anyone of you could have ever imagined I could achieve. So again, I shall leave the death of music into your hands.
And I am sorry, Mike. I don’t believe in the so-called musicianship that you claim them to have. I have attended several presentations of Chamber this year and last, and I didn’t hear it. As simple as that. Now I challenge them to individual recitals. Maybe then we can talk about this again.
So curious cats, I can only kindly wish that your curiosity kills you fast.
Little did she know
