Monday, July 28, 2008 The melody maker By Luis A. Quibranza III
HERE is a man with a fountain within him, welling-up with melodies.
For Jude Gitamondoc, the songs just never end. And instead for a cup of coffee, the melody maker settles for a cup of milk for the conversation.
“I might not be able to sleep later,” he said jokingly.
A professional songwriter, he wrote for celebrities Gary V, Piolo Pascual, Toni Gonzaga, Chad Peralta and KC Concepcion.
As of now he has work under progress for Raki Vega and Heart Evangelista. He also wrote a number of musicales showed here in Cebu. These are God in Motion, General Mickey, KM 50, Siddhartha, Zephyrin and Song of Bernadette.
He composed Pasaylo-a Ako. The grand prizewinner of the recent Cebu Metro Pop Music Festival held last Jan. 18. The second prize winner of the festival, entitled Bisan Pa, was a still product of his melody making, with the lyrics penned by Eugene Tan.
Here’s a little trivia: He wrote the title song for the Star Cinema film One More Chance starring John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo.
For someone who’s started in the business, the achievements surpass far greater the years of testing.
He claims to have been musically inspired by his father, brother and American songwriter Diane Warren. He also expresses gratitude to the Salesian priests for their songwriting guidance during his high school years in Don Bosco Missionary Seminary.
So how did he break out in the open?
“I pursued Bachelor of Music Major in Composition in UP Diliman. During that period, I discovered Katha Organization of Filipino Composers. Eventually, I became a member, and it was from the Katha mailing list (in Yahoo! groups) that I heard of the Gary V project; the rest is history,” recalls Jude.
A master of his craft, he makes it sound like a walk in the park.
Eventually, his songs made it on Gary V’s Relevance release in 2007. Not only that, Jude wrote five out of 12 songs in the album.
Who would have thought that a simple guy based from Cebu would rise up from out of nowhere and start writing songs for established artists in the entertainment industry?
By this time, his cup of milk is barely consumed. While my mocha frap is half-empty. And my mouth half-open in awe.
Even if his resumé “brags bold,” he remains most humble. In his free time, he reads books, writes poetry and hangs-out with buddies. He shares how he dreams that one day, the Cebuano music scene will be able to survive by itself.
And yes, in this little coffee shop in the uptown, this genius has shared song secrets. He then puts his cup down.
Suddenly empty by the end of the interview.One secret is out, too: the melody maker loves milk.
