From Bach to rock to disco

LOS ANGELES – It can’t get more wonderfully eclectic than this: Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and medleys of Hotdog and VST & Company hits will rock the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood when the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (Faso) plays there in a concert on July 28.

That’s the musical treat in store for the audience in “Faso is Bach to Rock!”—a gig featuring the first and only Filipino orchestra outside of the Philippines after it went on a hiatus.

The show will include numbers of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Children’s Choir, conducted by Pete Avendaño. The group will perform for the first time in a major concert after winning the silver medal at the recent World Choir Games in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Other guest performers include Joey Albert, who will sing a medley of Hotdog songs, Mon David, and new discovery Mirielle Enriquez.

Faso, led by its conductor and musical director Bob Shroder, will likewise pay tribute to National Artist for Music Felipe Padilla de Leon, whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year. More information about the concert which starts at 7:30 p.m. is available at www.FordTheatres.org.

Bob and Louie Ramos, who arranged most of the pieces in the program, are now steering Faso as it tackles new directions. Below are excerpts of our interview with Bob and Louie.

This is the fourth major concert of Faso. What are you excited about this time around?

Bob Shroder (B): Actually, this is already our fifth since we did “Faso Goes to the Movies” in San Diego the week after the Pasadena Civic Auditorium concert. Compared to the last Faso concert at the Cathedral of the Angels in Los Angeles almost a year and a half ago, this one is both very challenging and exciting at the same time. It’s challenging on the business side because we have to do most of the legwork ourselves. In some ways, it feels like we are doing another inaugural concert. We are all musically and technically equipped to learn new pieces, even the more difficult ones.

But the business management of an orchestra is a new aspect, so the orchestra management committee decided to go to a two-week retreat seminar for us to prepare ourselves to function independently. Thank God for the guidance and meeting with the right group of people who believe in our goals and mission.

We would not be here today if not for the initiative of Asian Journal Publications Inc., which was instrumental in putting together Faso from the very start. We cannot thank Roger and Cora Oriel enough for their continued assistance that includes media sponsorship to keep our projects visible to the community.

It is very rare and exciting for a symphony orchestra to perform outside the symphonic music genre, especially rock which requires a different type of discipline. In keeping with our standard repertoire, we will start with “Brandenburg Concerto” by Johann Sebastian Bach. I chose the music of Bach or the Baroque era to demonstrate that even before jazz and rock were born, “musical ornamentation,” which is a way to improvise whenever a phrase or stanza is repeated to give a different color and taste to the repeated pattern, was already in use.

I think it’s a good combination with rock because we are really going to take off and even extend some parts of the music to give Faso members an opportunity to show off and play a solo improvisation, in addition to our tight rhythm section with our rock guitarist Vince Reyes. I can imagine the fun and excitement from both the orchestra and the audience seeing a formally configured symphony orchestra play some of their favorite rock tunes.

Louie Ramos (L): As an orchestral arranger, it is always a thrill for me to witness and experience the orchestra bring arrangements to life. We are tackling a whole new set of genres and styles that we have never done before. In orchestral music, arrangers and orchestrators write down every note (and rest) that will be played by every musical instrument in the orchestra. I love to see how the visualization of the music is realized by the orchestra and its performers.

What will be unusual about your versions of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Stairway to Heaven”?

B: Typically, a rock band consists of three to five members with all the blasting sound of electronic instruments. With a symphony orchestra playing rock, we will still amplify part of it to more effectively hear the distortion and growl from other instruments, but we will keep the acoustic quality and expression of the orchestral instruments that will give a more soothing and relaxing blend of sound to the human ears.

L: I can speak about “Stairway to Heaven” since I am most familiar with its arrangements. The most unusual thing about this version has to be the symphonic treatment of this classic rock song, often referred to as one of the greatest of all time. We have been conditioned to hear a rock song through a standard band instrumentation consisting of electric guitars, drums, keyboards and bass. With a symphonic treatment, we were able to add a significantly greater arsenal of musical instruments to execute the music, while still preserving its groove and feel.

For instance, we substituted some of the guitar parts with a harp over a bed of string harmonies, giving it a more ephemeral feel. And we orchestrated some of the guitar chord progressions using a brass fanfare, giving it an even greater lift. Of course, we kept intact many of the elements of the song that can never be substituted, including the guitar solo/ad lib in the last section of the piece.

Can you talk about the Filipino music artists that Faso will pay tribute to? Are we going to see Bob in a Hagibis costume?

L: We were seriously considering having Bob wear a Kiss costume with the heavy face makeup like that of Gene Simmons’ but he nixed the idea. I am hoping Bob reconsiders. We are paying tribute to several artists in this concert. We will celebrate Felipe Padilla de Leon’s birth centenary. We will be performing his “Manila Sketches,” a series of characteristic pictures depicting varied scenes in Manila, such “Otomobil,” “Kalye Ongpin” and “Aso’t Pusa.”

Second, we are performing songs by Hotdog (“Manila,” “Pers Lab” and “Ikaw ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko”) and VST

& Company (“Tayo’y Magsayawan,” “Rock Baby Rock” and “Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko”). By the way, we are always debating what VST really stands for. We are also performing a song popularized by the Queen of Disco, the late Donna Summer.

This will be Mon David’s first concert with Faso. What’s in store for the audience?

B: No doubt that Mon is a real artist. I admire his high level of musicianship and professionalism. I really wanted him to be a part of this concert even though he is known more as a jazz singer. The music of the band Chicago was in my mind when I thought about Mon for this concert. So the moment I talked to him about the concept and the songs, we both got very excited. At first we were only going to perform my favorite, “Moonlight Serenade” (from Chicago’s 1995 album “Night and Day Big Band”).

Then after a month, we talked again and I asked Mon if he would also like to sing “Colour My World,” so that we would have two selections from Chicago. He said, “Oh, Bob, that is the reason why I met Anna [his wife]. Yes, by all means.” It’s the song that he sang when he met Anna for the first time. Incidentally, that song is also one of the reasons why I learned how to play the flute.

Then two weeks ago, the very humble Mon called me to ask if he could sing one of the songs from his CD, “I Had a Dream.” I said it might be too late to make the musical arrangements but Mon suggested we e-mail Gerard Salonga, with whom I performed the song in Manila. Gerard was very kind to lend us a copy of his arrangements of the song. Last night, we had our first rehearsal with Mon. He’s amazing.

L: It is such a great honor and privilege to have Mon David perform with us. He is an award-winning Filipino jazz singer. I really look forward to his rendition of “Colour My World.” It’s very memorable for me because this is the song that I listened to when I reached puberty. I am also looking forward to hearing him sing “I Had a Dream,” a truly beautiful, inspiring piece composed by the award-winning, prolific poet and songwriter Gary Granada.

This will likewise be the first chance for people to watch and listen to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Children’s Choir (IHMCC) since it won the silver medal at the recent World Choir Games in Cincinnati, Ohio.

B: Truly, it is all about the youth. We always think of ways to help and support our youth because they are the future and we want to make sure that we expose and engage them in musical artistry and in the right discipline. Early during the competition preparation period of the IHMCC, I extended my invitation for the group to perform a couple of numbers for this concert. This is our chance to hear the choir in a concert environment. Aside from Mirielle, we will also premiere the Faso Youth Strings Ensemble. It will be playing “Viva La Vida” with the rest of the orchestra.

L: We were very thrilled to hear the great news of its win. What a major accomplishment for the choir director Pete Avendaño, the IHMCC, its school, the parish and Fr. Rodel Balagtas. The group will bring much pride and honor to the Filipino-American community. One of Faso’s key missions is to develop and promote Filipino-American artists so we do what we can to support them.

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