A Magical Night of Music

A few weeks back, I was asked to produce a promotional plug for the first solo concert of the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra entitled, The Magic of John Williams. I must admit I didn't know John Williams before this project. Apparently, he is a musical legend in Hollywood, who produced musical scores for movies like E.T., Harry Potter, Jaws, Superman, Star Wars, among others.

I was not a fan of philharmonic orchestra concerts since I always associate them with classical music. Though I am definitely a music-lover, I am not into classical music. But, learning about the genius of John Williams and the movies he wrote music for made me interested in seeing the concert. I also knew that my hubby would be thrilled to watch because he loves those movies. So, when I was offered a chance to see the concert for free, I simply couldn't say no.

September 2 was date night for hubby and I, and what a night it was!


The best things in life are free. Thanks to Sir Mickey Munoz for the free front row seat tickets!
I hope I can work on the promo plugs of your concerts to come.

We arrived at Meralco Theater an hour before the concert started. When we got there, we saw a lobby filled with people in costume, you would think you got lost in a Star Wars cosplay event! We took a few photos with the troops and went inside the theater. We saw Sir Mickey Munoz, the executive director of ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra, and thanked him for the tickets. He was saying sorry he couldn't get us better seats but when the ushers led us to our seats, we found out that we were seated at the front row! Surely, it couldn't get any better than that!

When the concert started, it was indeed magic. The orchestra opened the show with the 1984 Olympic Fanfare and Theme. It was the perfect piece to uplift the audience's spirit. After the opening came my favorite part of the concert, the Harry Potter Suite, the perfectly played pieces gave me goose bumps. It was followed by the Theme from Schindler's List and the song "If We Were In Love" from "Yes, Giorgio" interpreted by Nikki Gil and Jose Mari Chan.

The repertoire also included "The Mission", the theme from NBC News, some excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. and three songs from Superman, including the song "Can You Read my Mind", once again interpreted by Nikki Gil. Then, the much-awaited two-note score from Jaws was played followed by the theme from Jurassic Park.

Orchestral concert or cosplay event?

At the end of the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the orchestra took a bow and Maestro Gerard Salonga left the stage. The crowd made a standing ovation. My husband went, "San na yung Star Wars? Bakit walang Star Wars?" (I thought he was going to cry, hehe). A few seconds later, Maestro Gerard went back up the stage and the orchestra started playing Star Wars theme for their encore set. Before the last song, Maestro Gerard took the mic and asked the people in costume to go up the stage. Once again, the crowd went wild seeing C-3PO, Darth Vader, Obi Wan Kenobi, etc. It was the perfect ending for a perfect night.

Watching this concert was much, much more exciting than I expected. The ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra changed the way I feel about orchestral music. After this night, I'll never look at orchestra concerts the same way again.