PPO's Symphonic Sunsets concert delights jam packed UPLB grounds

Yoshikazu Fukumura conducts the Philippine Philharominic Orchestra

The most recent Symphonic Sunsets @Makiling had a change in venue with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra performing at the UPLB Freedom Park in Los Baños, Laguna this time around.

The shift to a more accessible venue at the University of the Phililpines Los Baños grounds did bring out a sizable crowd that stretched far back as my eye could see. It is always a delight for me to be in the midst of an audience outside of the typical CCP crowd as it gives me the chance to see a different reaction and feedback to the performances.

The UPLB audience

The UPLB audience reacted more to the upper half of the program with Ranera conducting medleys and mash ups of familiar and popular tunes. Some couldn't contain themselves and started to hum/sing along with the recognizable tunes from Overture on Philippine Folk Songs arranged by George Bernard Green, Selections from Les Misérables arranged by Bob Lowden, Eraserheads Suite arranged by Ryan Cayabyab, Bohemian Rhapsody/Queen Medley arranged by Herminigildo Ranera. Pipo Cifra's Terre e Luna (Earth and Moon), a symphonic mashup of two recent, massive local hits, Mundo and Buwan, and an encore of The Avengers theme by Alan Silvestri proved to be very popular with the crowd. This half of the program also gave the audience an introduction to the orchestra and the various instruments in it through a lecture/demo by Ranera.

Herminigildo Ranera conducts the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

The audience's unfamiliarity with Yoshikazu Fukumura's more traditional/classical line up, comprised of Gioacchino Rossini's Overture to La Gazza ladra, Johann Strauss Jr.'s Annen Polka and Emperor Waltz, Arturo Marquez' Danzon No. 2, Frederick Loewe's My Fair Lady Selection, and an encore of Leroy Anderson's Serenata, led to a more muted but still appreciative applause. The outdoor setup didn't give an opportunity to showcase Fukumuras deft touch in bringing out the nuances and dynamics from the PPO as evidenced by their season concerts earlier this year. It would be great if the UPLB audience can also get to experience how electrifying an orchestra performance under Fukimura could be inside a theater with great acoustics.

It remains to be seen if PPO's performance at the UPLB campus will be a regular occurrence but based on the very impressive audience turn out, I wouldn't be surprised to see if it does especially with UP President Danilo Concepción's opening remarks that already proposed some changes to make succeeding concerts more inclusive.

The Symphonic Sunsets @Makiling was presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, in cooperation with the University of the Philippines and Philippine High School for the Arts.

Come May 18, 2019, 5:00 PM, back at the Tanghalang Maria Makiling at the National Arts Center in Makiling this time, the Manila Symphony Orchestra gets to participate for the first time at Symphonic Sunsets @Makiling. To be conducted by Jeffrey Solares, the MSO will perform a varied program with music ranging from classics, movies, OPM, and more.