CAFASinger Concert 2016

Hello CAFAs!  Just this month, a group of Manila CAFAs met up to look at the possibility of a major CAFASingers concert project. This CAFA group (Pearl, Nore, Dero, Dinky and Oni) has become the core team spearheading the project.  The project is an idea for the UP and the UPAA board to support.  It would be a fund raising effort for the College of Fine Arts and also for the College of Architecture.  As we know, the current buildings of these two colleges remain in an unfinished state.

Pearl (Kapunan) Ortega introduced the core group today to her friend Menchu (UP Fine Arts alum and the wife of the current UP President Fred Pascual).  It seems that Menchu and hubby Fred are music lovers who would support a fund raising concert idea.  This is not the first time for such a concert though.  Some years back, the NeoCAFA’s concert at Mandarin Hotel (initiated by Nore and which was well attended despite the steep ticket price) was also for the benefit of the college of Fine Arts.

The initial site for the concert was deemed to be in one of UP Diliman campus' auditoriums.  This was advantageous from the point of view of financial planning (there is a subsidized venue). From out of the meeting with Menchu however, there is a building with a modern auditorium in the Fort that is currently under construction which could be use for the purpose. The building is going to be a graduate school campus of UP Diliman.  The lower 3 floors of the building is already constructed (the auditorium is in the second floor) and whereby the project will be completed in January 2016.

On the matter of the stage show, the CAFASingers shall sing CAFA standard songs in a version that would be as close to the CAFASinger 60s-70s sound as much as possible.  The original song version is good for audience recall (specially the baby boomer audience).  More so, the old harmonies are ingrained in the CAFASingers' memories and which will make it easier for them to rehearse.

Initially, the hurdles to overcome for the CAFAs are: 

1) the availability of the overseas CAFASingers for the set dates; and

2) the process of distant rehearsals for the US-based singers. The tentative concert date is February 2016 when Manila weather is cool.

We hope that most of the US CAFAs can make a “late Christmas season” visit to the Philippines then. For ‘re-learning’ our original CAFA music, we are applying technology.  The prospective musical director has an MP3 system for following song notes. (Dero is Show Consultant who will focus on the music issue).  Once the harmony notes are ‘clean’ again for the singers, then it is just a matter of embellishing the songs with musical expression, style harmonics and perhaps a little choreography (Emi will be Show Consultant for Stage). The latter concerns can be addressed if the CAFASingers can be in Manila for rehearsals at least one week before the concert dates.

Specially if the prospects continue to improve, we will send out more bulletins about this project in the future.  What is good to know is that our Manila CAFASingers, CAFA Alumni (mainly the group of Fe, Emy, Alice, Cynthia, Tina, etc.) and specially the UPFA college (through Menchu) are positive and supportive with the project. The core group is now writing up the project details for presentation to UP and the UPAA.  

We understand that some of the US CAFASingers may have their 2016 vacation plans conjured already.  However, this concert when it happens, is still about a year away. We are hoping that maybe, adjustments can still be made by those who are mulling other plans.  CAFAs, your early comments and suggestions (hopefully a commitment and not regrets) will be appreciated.  The more complete our voices and faces, the better!

Best regards,

Onimayo