by Migo Santiago

"Kapag nag-50 tayo, ikaw magdidirek, ha?"

Those were the words that Tita Lennette said to me when we met right after the “Come Alive” concert. I only smiled back at her, but at the same time, I was a little bit pressured because directing was not my forte. In the back of my mind, I was like: "Why would you say no to the person (and also, the choir) that brought you into college? Like, name me a million reasons why you're rejecting Tita's request. I bet you can't name one!" One song from the movie Zootopia said it best: "Try Everything." There are times in our lives that we have no choice but to go out of our comfort zones.

I thought I would direct a concert or a reunion physically, but the pandemic immediately said, “No.”

*Five decades of UPCS with National Artist Ryan Cayabyab singing “Bata ang Bukas,” Aurea Carmina’s finale*

Tita Lennette launched “Carillons a Musique,” the first virtual concert series of the UPCS. She reached out for audio and video editors for the songs for every batch. She reached out to me, and I immediately said yes. It was an honor and privilege to video edit our batch song "Cerf Volant" from the film, “Les Choristes.” I thought it would end there, but no. She tapped me again to video edit the 1991 and 2016 versions of “Awit ni Pulau” for the UPCS website. They also tapped me to video edit “Payapang Daigdig” for the National City United Church, which eventually led me to edit the entire “Aurea Carmina” concert.

Tita Len, Tita Cissy, and Ate Liya told me they needed help stitching the entire concert together. They gave me the necessary materials to piece this whole thing together, and I just let my imagination, creative juices, and my experience as a tech person take over. There were times in our group chat that I saw messages like "hanggang dito lang kaya ng creativity ko hahaha!", "I trust in you (+laughing emoticon)!", "kaya ng skills niya!", and so much more.

With those messages that I saw, I realized the main reason why this choir continues to exist and prosper. It's deeply grounded in cooperation, where you feel an atmosphere of uplifting and supporting one another, even though we're very far apart.

I have to admit that there were days that I was either pissed off, frustrated, burnt out, or had no motivation to edit at all. And no, it's not because of the many comments they gave to me after every draft or video checking! It's simply because of the glitches encountered while the videos continue to export (video editors would probably relate to my situation, I guess). In the back of my mind, I had to deliver for the choir that I love and that continues to love me back even though I'm now an alumnus. It's like the fate of fifty years of history rests in my hands. They've done their part, and it's up to me to bring it to fruition.

And then came the day of the virtual concert.

2021-09-27 Aurea Carmina FB Live Screenshot 9.23pm.png

Those comments that they gave me while editing the entire thing made it more enjoyable to watch. In other words, the pain that we all endured made the victory even sweeter. As they always say, "enjoy the journey more than the final destination." The concert may have been short, but indeed it was superb. It was a culmination of almost half a year of preparation, all packed into an hour celebrating the choir's half-century of existence and sustained excellence.

Like most of us, we miss the loud applause and whistles cheering us on. We also miss those people shouting, "More!" We also miss those times that people either take pictures or videos of us performing. We also miss those times that we get to bond together with different batches, but I guarantee, these things will surely return. As history dictates, pandemics do come to an end or suddenly disappear, but sharing the gift of music never ends.

Raise a glass, UPCS. Cheers to 50 more years of joyful singing!