“IF YOU wanted to know how pop music sounded like during the Renaissance period, that was it,” said young soprano Stefanie Quintin, when she ended her first song “Awake, Sweet Love” by John Dowland.
The one-liner was a smart way to start a classical concert, an icebreaker to a musical event that may be perceived as stiff, elitist and too cultured for the masses, to say a few of the genre’s misconceptions.
Stefanie’s remark charmed the audience and put them at ease. She and fellow performer, Anton Luis Avila, a classical guitarist, flowed through the rest of the program.
Stefanie Quintin graduated with a degree in Vocal Pedagogy and Vocal Performance from the University of the Philippines College of Music under the tutelage of Professor Emeritus Fides Cuyugan-Asencio and Maestra Rica Nepomuceno.
Anton Luis Avila attended the University of the Philippines College of Music where he studied guitar under Lester Demetillo. As an ensemble musician, he is active in chamber music as a player and as an accompanist to singers, choirs and other chamber musicians. He’s also a recipient of the Loyola Schools Award for the Arts conferred by the Ateneo de Manila University School of Humanities in 2011.
The guest talents shared the stage with Davao-based prodigy, pianist Martina Audrey Uyboco.
From the Renaissance, Stefanie and Anton’s repertoire led to the Baroque with Lotti, Scarlatti and Bach; the Classical, to which Stefanie’s angelic rendition of Ave Maria was divine; the Romantic eras and on to the 20th century music that included the Kundiman and other Filipino classics.
It’s not often that Davao hosts a musical performance of the classics. Sonata, an evening of classical music and Filipino art songs, was a very welcome affair to the Davao cultural scene. The concert didn’t only entertain, educate and gathered the music lovers, but also raised funds for the Davao Museum.
After Sonata, the first event for 2017, the Davao Museum will continue to come up with new and relevant programs and exhibits with the support of its patrons, private and corporate sponsors, the media, the academe and the Southern Mindanao communities.
Congratulations to the Davao Museum on the success of Sonata, and to the young talents who will be playing sweet music together, this time as an official couple.
Sonata was mounted by the Davao Museum of History and Ethnography in partnership with Marco Polo Davao, and its sponsors were AP Securities, Inc., Dusit Thani, Maria Stella Celi, Damosa Land, Anflocor, Sun Made Brown Rice, One Network Bank, lawyer and Mrs. Joseph Tan, R.A. Hao Group, Mary Ann K. Al-Sheri, Agnes Locsin, and the Locsin Dance Workshop.
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