THE CompanY was the only vocal group in the Macau competition.RONY FORTICH
Not surprisingly, The CompanY had a blast when they vied against 11 other acts from around the world at the Venetian Macao Jazz and Blues International Competition (Battle of the Bands), held May 25 to 27.
The Pinoy vocal group landed in the Top 6, making it to the Macau tilt’s second and final round on Sunday night.
The other finalists were New York’s Spoke, Indiana’s The Main Squeeze, Hong Kong’s Fantastica, Indonesia’s Ginda and the White Flowers and China’s Red Groove.
The top prize eventually went to The Main Squeeze; second place to Red Groove and third to Spoke. “The winners played progressive jazz rock/fusion music,” Moy Ortiz, the quintet’s leader, told the Inquirer. Although they didn’t bring home the bacon, he said, they still had a ball.
Pinoys in the gallery
When they performed on Saturday night, they noticed Filipinos in the audience. “We were touched,” said Moy. “We knew they were tired after a long work week.”
To show their support, the Pinoy fans started singing the group’s old hits (“Now That I Have You,” “Everlasting Love,” “Pakisabi na Lang,” “Muntik na Kitang Minahal”) a cappella from the gallery. “They gave us the courage to do well,” Moy said.
This episode in the group’s long and fruitful career started on Facebook, where CompanY member Jay Marquez saw a link to the contest. He immediately e-mailed it to Moy, who decided to “give it a shot.”
The audition and application process were all done online. They were required to submit a 30-minute repertoire. It was a rigorous and laborious process, said Moy, but they persisted. “After every show or corporate gig, we would go straight to rehearsals for the contest.”
Over the moon
When they learned that The CompanY was among the top 12 acts chosen from all over the world, they were “over the moon.” Through the Internet, they familiarized themselves with the other groups.
“Two acts came from the United States, two from China and one each from France, Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau and Japan,” said Moy. “We were not familiar with their work so we viewed their videos online. We saw that we were the only vocal group.” The CompanY was the lone entry from the Philippines as well.
It could be daunting to represent the country in any contest, but Moy said they tried not to look at it as a competition. “We treated it as an opportunity for our group to get international exposure.”
They were thrilled to perform their signature showstoppers—standards (“Some to Watch Over Me”), novelty hits (“Boom Tarat Tarat”), current anthems (Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”) and even TV classics (“Mission Impossible” theme).
“I was sure all the contestants felt the pressure,” Ortiz pointed out. “But before going onstage, we blocked out all negativity and just had a romping good time.”
They got to look extra sharp, too, with the help of friends, namely fashion designer Joey Samson and jewelry designer Arnel Papa.
All in all, said Moy, the experience was “like a master class for us. We learned from other wonderful jazz artists.”