Philippine High School for the Arts marks 40th anniversary

The following is a press release from the Philippine High School for the Arts.

DAY 1 (JUNE 10)

The Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) will be celebrating its 40th anniversary at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in Manila as well as at the National Art Center (NAC) in Mt Makiling in Los Baños, Laguna.

Entitled PHSA@40: Ibarang Alumni at the Forefront of Arts Education, the show on June 10 will feature its alumni, more popularly known as Ibarang, who are mostly teaching.

PHSA Ibarang Alumni Association President, Sim Zuniega (1983), an accomplished violinist lawyer himself, said: “After a series of discussions and debate, we come into conclusion that the greatest gift that PHSA has given to the Philippine arts and culture scene is art education.”

On June 10, 2 pm,  at the CCP Little Theater (Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino), National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera; Department of Education Secretary Leonor Briones; National Commission for Culture and the Arts Executive Director Rico Pableo Jr; CCP President Raul Sunico; CCP Vice President and Artistic Director Chris Millado; and Biñan Representative Marlyn Alonte-Naguiat will grace the occasion.

According to PHSA Director Vim Nadera, they prepared a program to pay tribute not just to the jubilarians – namely Batches Aquino (’82), Molina (’87), and Hidalgo (’92) – but to all the alumni who had served, or have been serving to this day, as art educators.

A collaborative effort between the incumbent and former students, the show features Katheryn Alejandrino, Fritzie Ancheta-de Guzman, Christopher Borela, Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino, Jonathan Coo, JM Cordero, Soliman Cruz, Danilo Dayo Jr, Diwa de Leon, Fred de Santos, KL Dizon, Marianne Fajardo-Ward, Grace Garcia Quioyo, Gia Gequinto, Jay Gomez, Otto Hernandez, Ronilo Jaynario, Skyzx Labastilla, Angel Lawenko-Baguilat, Wed Lodriga, Amina Matavia, April Merced-Misa, Camille Noble-Tenorio, Miles Pardalis, Roselle Pineda, Roscel Poyatos, Raymond Red, Je-an Salas-Leavens, Roberta Santos, Ian Segarra, Erl Sorilla, Jessa Tangalin, Mae Urtal-Caralde, Rita Winder, Ronelson Yadao, Greg Zuniega and twin brother Atty Sim. The Anino Shadowplay Collective, another PHSA legacy to the arts, will present Nanay Kong Kalbo. The finale number entitled Alumnayan: Awit at Sayaw ng PHSA@40 – composed by Zuniega, written by Nadera, and choreographed by Al Garcia – will be interpreted by the Musika Ibarang alumni and PHSA dance majors from Grades 8 to 11.

Afterwards, at 5 pm, an art exhibit called Panig will be opened at the Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco of the CCP Little Theater Lobby. It highlights the works of Preciosa Guevarra, Wika Nadera, Elaine Olaer, and Bertha Santos, all incoming Grade 11 students from PHSA’s Batch Joya-Montano (Jarmonya). Curated by Karen Flores in cooperation with the CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division, it will last until July 9, 2017.

DAY 2 (JUNE 11)

Forty years ago – on June 11, 1977 – PHSA was established through the initiative of former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos. On January 20, 1978 a Presidential Decree was signed by former President Ferdinand Marcos formally creating the PHSA whose first Board of Trustees had National Artist Lucrecia Kasilag as Chair with Dr Narciso Albarracin, Dr Esperanza Gonzalez, Dean Corazon Maceda, Professor Virginia Agbayani, Alice Reyes Upton, and Naty Crame Rogers as members.

On July 11, PHSA will have Tuloy Po Kayo, an open house program, that will welcome guests here and abroad in its campus at the NAC in Mt Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna.

At 9 am, there will be parallel sessions called Iskul Kubol where major mates can get to know each other and more: Creative Writing (School Area), Dance (Ballet at Folk Dance Studios), Music (Clubhouse), Theater (NAC Theater), and Visual Arts (Vargas).

At 3 pm, old and new students are expected to gather at the NAC Theater. Such general assembly aims to come up with 10-year career plan – which will be facilitated by the Basic Education and Arts faculty – for the Ang Ginto sa Makiling, the PHSA@50 anniversary celebration in 2027.

At 5 pm, there will be a Salubong to formally welcome the PHSA alumni. It will coincide with the Araw ng PHSA Awards. For 2017, the individual awardees are Senator Loren Legarda, Mr Brillante Mendoza, Dr Elena Villacorta Cortez as well as institutional recipients represented by Atty Josie Baldovino (Association for Philippines-China Understanding), Ms Mary Grace de Leon (Ashok Hall Group of Schools-Kolkota, India), and Ms Millie Dizon (SM Mart Incorporated).

Grace Nono and other PHSA alumni will do the Ibarang Jam as a form of gratitude and prelude to the thanksgiving dinner.

DAY 3 (JUNE 12)

Also in commemoration of Philippine Independence Day, PHSA will have the Araw ng Paglaya, Araw ng Paglikha project, with “No Freedom, No Art” as the theme.

For the Alay kay Inang Kalikasan segment, its annual tree-planting ritual will be held at 7 am, assisted by Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems from the College of Forestry and Natural Resources of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. At 9 am, Konsiyerturo will be conducted by Joey Ayala, a role model for the Ibarangs especially during the 80s and the 90s. Born Jose Iñigo Homer Lacambra Ayala, Joey is a singer-songwriter much-awarded for his songs’ relevance – environment, society, values – and his use of indigenous instruments and influences in his recordings and performances.

For the Alay kay Inang Bayan portion at 2 pm, the current PHSA scholars will present Sulyap Sa Makiling, an intro to their productions and publications directed by Victor Flor. It will lead to its cultural exchange program called Kapatiran with artists from India. Headed by Dr Christine Godinez-Ortega of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology and Dr Pranesh Prasad, the delegation includes R. Benedito Ferrao, Mani Rao, Subashree Krishnaswamy, Sriram Karri, and Aishwarya Manivannan who will give a lecture-demo on silambam, an ancient traditional martial art form of South India.

For the Alay kay Inang Paaralan part, Saranggola kay Maria, a kite-flying rite coordinated by Gerry Leonardo, will be the climax of the 3-day PHSA@40 ceremony.

For details, please visit www.phsa.edu.ph or contact the Makiling Fairy – Ms Cleofe Cabauatan – at 09189017662. – Rappler.com