Teaching music, touching lives

OCTOBER 5 is World Teachers Day. We remember with deep gratitude in our hearts the many teachers whose leadership and positive influence greatly shaped our lives.

Today, I wish to honor publicly one such great mentor, teacher, formator, and musician. His name is Mr. Nelson A. Bitang. To his students, he is fondly called Sir Nelbits. To the entire Padre Pio Home Rondalla Guild he is Maestro, Sir and father figure.

I would like to share five very interesting discoveries about Maestro Nelbits:

1. He didn’t have formal training in Music. His gift is actually pure talent by God’s grace.

2. He was deeply influenced by his father, the late Patricio V. Bitang of Davao del Norte. Papa Patricio was one of the great pillars/pioneers of DavNor Music Ministry.

3. He started serving Mindanao in 1989 as a Passionist Seminarian training his co-seminarians in their choir.

4. He is a Juris Doctor.

5. He started a Youtube page called Nelson Bitang during the pandemic in order to reach as many people in Mindanao through his gift of Music in the religious/liturgical category.

To date, he has uploaded a total of 168 videos for everyone’s religious use.

His sacred story as a musician after God’s Own Heart began in 1969. He was born when Neil Armstrong reached the moon. Thus, the name Nelson was aptly given to him. He was blessed to be under the mentorship of his father, who was a very strong musical influence on his journey. At the age of 10, he started playing the guitar. His papa would tag him along in most of his dedicated service to the music ministry of the parish in Panabo. Thus, no wonder that he carried this same love and dedication that he learned from his papa to his music ministry for Mindanao. 

If charity begins at home, then music ministry begins at home, too. Thank you, Papa Patricio, for having raised a good son in Nelson.

In 1992-1994, Maestro Nelbits taught Rondalla at Maryknoll High School of Panabo. He also trained choirs, composed songs, and formed Glee clubs and parish choirs. In 1994, Ateneo de Davao High School hired him as a music teacher. Together with the late Mr. Ruben Garsuta, they were the only music teachers in the high school. 

Countless number of Ateneans have been blessed by their guidance, mentorship, and gift of music. From 1994 to 2008, Maestro Nelbits taught music at the ADDU HS with passion, dedication, and love.  His former students will attest to that. Geo Ginete, Doc Claire Caina, Jeremy Sarmiento, and Atty. Nicole Batingana all remember him with fondness.

The year 2008 would be the greatest year for Maestro Nelbits. In this year, his life as a musician was amazingly transformed. He met Mrs. Celeste Sanchez in Quezon City. 

Mrs. Sanchez runs a Music therapy school in QC. Nelson became her student of life that year. His experience with Mrs. Sanchez was truly a life-changing moment for him. Thus from just teaching music for music education, it became more of a “deepened music therapy for souls in need of healing.” 

Music then became a tool for a profound love for music ministry. Music touched his life, it also touched other lives as well. The impact of this experience was one with such depth. To teach music and see it as a ministry to touch lives forever.

In 2009, Maestro Nelbits said yes to being the musical trainor of Padre Pio Home Rondalla Guild. He started teaching them. He began honing them to be excellent Rondalla players in Mindanao. 

Week by week, he would be there in Tugbok for practices. More than 13 years of dedicated service from 2009 up to today. Ollien was still 12 years back then; John-John was still 10 years old. Now Ollien, our very own Padre Pio kid is now a licensed social worker. Isaiah John or John-John is now fourth year college, BS Social Work. Both Ollien and John-John are part of the Rondalla Guild. 

I asked these two how and in what way has Sir Nelbits touched their lives through music. I was deeply touched by their sincere responses: “One thing that touches me about Sir Nelson is that he is passionate and proud of us, especially that he teaches us patiently. I was amazed by the talents God has bestowed on Sir Nelson because he really knows everything about music, and I really like music. The greatest effect I felt is that I have a sense of belonging in the Padre Pio Home Rondalla family. Being part of this family finally healed me. Through the gift of music in the Rondalla Guild, I never felt inferior to others. Through this music ministry, I have been exposed to all sectors of Mindanao. We have played for parishes, churches, malls, corporations and for the Ateneo de Davao University. It is always a wonderful adventure being part of this Rondalla Guild,” – OLLIEN P. BANGA, RSW

“Sir Nelson has a unique way of teaching us music. It is more relaxing. It is with a sense of prayer. It is a way of healing and being healed. It gives us peace of mind. This is always a very touching moment which I cannot fully explain. There is power in music. There is power in meditation. You can really reflect and along the way, I felt its incredible effects. Every time we offer a song of thanksgiving to our mission partners, they are touched themselves. They are more inspired to help us in the mission. Lastly, music is healing… Sir Nelson’s music lessons help all of us wounded and broken souls. Slowly, we are able to forgive… music heals us… Through music and its hymns and strums, I may be a broken glass but music helps me, repairs me, fixes me, makes me whole. I am stronger and stronger as time goes by. As part of the Rondalla Guild under Sir Nelson, I have experienced life-changing moments. Music is not only a therapy for us broken children but music is mission and ministry.” - ISAIAH JOHN GUANZON, 4TH YEAR COLLEGE, BS SOCIAL WORK

During the pandemic, Maestro Nelbits never wavered. He continued on to serve Mindanao even if he was constrained to doing Zoom prayer meetings, Zoom prayer services, and online masses.

Praise God, now we are allowed to be back on track with full face-to-face warm interactions. Thus, the Friday music classes at Boystown-Maa began. This year, Maestro Nelbits is back at home in our GKK San Jose and Immaculate Conception Parish in MIntal serving in Sunday masses and giving out sessions on the rudiments of music and the building up of the body of Christ through the ministry of music. 

Even with a Limp due to a basketball injury, Maestro Nelbits steadfastly serves with passion, dedication, and love.

“Music is the exaltation of of the mind derived from things eternal, bursting forth in sound.” — St. Thomas Aquinas. FRANCES NINA FERNANDEZ-BITANG/ Contributor