When American pianist Raffi Kasparian and his 13-year old son, Roman, perform at the Northern Christian College Auditorium in Laoag City on July 14, for sure it will bring back memories of a few concerts one mounted in the province some years back.



While the father and son program has interesting pieces by Bach, Ravel and Rachmaninoff, among others, they will connect with Filipino audiences by opening the concert with a piano arrangement of Pamulinawen and two rarely heard pieces by Francisco Buencamino.

            To be sure, this is not the first invasion of classical music in Ilocos Norte.

            Cecile Licad played an all-Chopin program at the Malacanang Ti Amianan in 2001 and another all-Chopin recital in  2006 with tenor Lemuel de la Cruz and flutist Christopher Oracion opening the concert at the historic Paoay Church.



            Licad played Mozart in Curimao in the resort of Dr. Joven Cuanang shortly after the Paoay concert which saw a Steinway grand piano traveling for a total of 18 hours from Manila to Paoay and Currimao and back.

            When Gov. Imee Marcos hosted a presscon for Paoay Kumakaway, I  thought I’d  heed the call of Paoay by  encouraging a concert of an American pianist married to a native of Paoay, Joycelyn Vasquez.

             If you are driving to Laoag for this July 14 piano recital, you might as well also get acquainted with  Paoay’s colorful past – its dances, its delicacies (dudol, a naïve delicacy), its wine (basi), its folk rituals.

              A day before the concert, you can swim at Pagudpud Beach, enjoy  a breath-taking view of the China Sea on the top of Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Burgos town and perhaps find time to visit the Luna House in Badoc town where the country’s first violinist, Manuel Luna (brother of painter Juan Luna), came from. That house should be transformed into a venue for chamber of music to remember the country’s first violinist who graduated in a Barcelona conservatory of music in the late 1800s.

                After the concert, you can see rest of Ilocos Norte and proceed to see the  Bacarra Ruins in Bacarra town where I saw old discarded violins and a dilapidated piano and harpsichord in the parish museum. Those neglected musical instruments certainly speak of the old musical glory of this town. Another must  is a visit to the Sarrat Church where ancient catacombs still exist.

                In my last  visit to Paoay, I got a lot of insight from Mrs. Luz Carpio, then  chair of the Paoay Cultural and Tourism Council and a music teacher. In the past, she had said,  Paoay was the cultural center of the Ilocos Region and the center of music-making. Mrs. Carpio mentions names of distinguished music teachers like Amador Galinato, Honorio Baesa and Julio Plan, among others.  I saw Justice Conchita Carpio Morales for the first time in person in Paoay where she was born (if she is so well-schooled in law, it must be because her father was Judge Lucas Carpio also from Paoay town).

                Ten years ago, a wisp of a girl named Bianca Montanez from Piddig, Ilocos Norte traveled seven hours with her father, Esmond, to hear Cecile Licad perform in Tuguegarao City. The two met when the girl asked for autograph and Licad ended up listening to the girl who happened to be a piano student. And so Licad gave her advice like working hard and to find a good teacher.



                She did in the person of pianist Nita Abrogar Quinto. Within two years, Bianca  won a place in the National Music Competition for Young Artists and later a concerto competition in Metro Manila. ( Bianca recently graduated SUMMA CUM LAUDE with a degree in piano performance in Converse College in South Carolina).

                If only to  prove the innate artistry of the Ilocanos, I included Bianca in my last Paoay Church  Filipino Heritage Festival concert and the audience gave her instant approval.

             The presence of 13-year old Roman Kasparian in the July 14 concert should give us an idea of the musical genes of the Ilocano. Just recently admitted into his 9^th grade, Roman has been a frequent winner of piano competitions and participant in honors recitals given by the Northern Virginia, Washington and Maryland Music Teachers’ Associations since 2007. He was a featured soloist in a piano master class given by renowned pianist  Brian Ganz  who electrified Manila audiences  some years back.



            (The July 14  concert of pianists Raffi and  Roman Kasparian is presented by  Silaw Philippine Inc. under Joycelyn  Vasquez Kasparian in association with various NGOs coordinated by Mrs. Angelita V. Barbers and the Paoay Parish Council represented by Dr. Julito Catubay. For tickets, call  09175688125 or  email : quantime2007@cox.net)

 

 

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