Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra needs new instruments

This is from the Daily Tribune. Perhaps the Philharmonic could receive money from the infamous fertilizer fund. Many urban politician received money from the agricultural fund so why not use it to grow the renowned symphony orchestra?

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra: Continuously regenerating
By Maripet L. Poso, Staff Writer
SHE SAYS
Dinah S. Ventura
01/28/2008
An old trombone with its slide fastened by electrical tape is a sad sight even for non-musicians. It signifies deterioration, not just of the instrument itself, but of the music industry to which it belongs. And this is exactly what the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), the country’s leading orchestra and one of the Asia Pacific Region’s top musical ensembles, wants to keep from happening.
A recent survey on the condition of the PPO’s musical instruments revealed ratings that ranged from 0-3, with 0 being the lowest and 5, the highest. Considering the ideal national orchestra instrument ratings of 4-5, the PPO musicians must be really good at what they do, performing world-class concerts with musical instruments that are either inferior or worse, obsolete.
“Many of the instruments need to be replaced and repaired. As we all know, the quality of music produced is not only due to the talents of the musicians. No matter how good the musicians are, if the musical instruments are not in good condition, they can’t produce good music,” said Nestor Jardin, president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), during a recent press conference held at the Instituto Cervantes.
To raise the much-needed funds for the replacement and repair of these instruments, the PPO with the help of Zara, the Spanish brand known for its stylish designs; Bvlgari, one of the global players in the luxury market, and ING Bank Manila, a foreign universal bank and a full branch of the ING Group, and through the initiation of Ms. Zenaida R. Tantoco, a member of the CCP Board of Trustees, is coming up with a benefit concert called La Musica Española on Jan. 29, at 8 p.m., at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theatre).
To make the concert more special, the PPO will perform under the baton of Maestro Bernardo Adam Ferrero, a renowned composer and orchestra director from Valencia, Spain. Accompanied by his son, Ruben Adam, who will also be a guest violinist of the PPO, and his wife Amparo, Maestro Adam Ferrero will be coming to the country for the very first time as a guest conductor of the PPO.
With the instrument campaign estimated at P28 million and the proposed repair and maintenance program at P1 million annually, La Musica Española concert is intended to help raise funds, as the PPO had been doing continuously for the past years, to maintain its musical prowess in order to carry on its mission to promote Filipino culture in the national and the international scenes.
“We are lucky to have angels like Nedy who are helping us source the fund,” added Jardin.
Some of the fundraising events that Tantoco has initiated include a benefit concert in 2003 by jazz legend David Benoit, the Alexander Charriol exhibit/painting Sale in 2004, the Vienna Boys Choir Concert also in 2004, the Lacoste 12.12 Auction in 2005, and a generous donation by the San Francisco-Manila Sister City Committee led by Dennis Normandy made in 2006.
With all these efforts, a new tuba, a French horn, a bass trombone and three trumpets have been purchased and some repairs have been done in the past years. Apparently, however, these are not enough.
“I badly need a new, good and decent bow. My bow has lost its flexibility. I have a hard time with all the meticulous bow strokes,” said cellist Renato Lucas, the PPO’s principal cellist, who is regarded as one of the best cellists in the Asia-Pacific region.
“It is difficult to play an instrument with rotten parts that are glued by epoxy, very old keys that are so sharp they are like knives and deformed holes causing dissonant tones. It’s very hard to play,” lamented bassonist Adolfo Mendoza.
“The Yamaha trombone we are using today is absolutely in bad condition and overused. We need to have the best professional trombones to improve our sound,” Cornelio Ramos, principal trombone player, added.
Granted they have the gift and the calling, if their instruments are not at up to standards, their musical talents can only do so much.
With support from Stores Specialists Inc., Philippine Tatler, Instituto Cervantes, Embajada España Manila, Generalitat Valenciana of Spain and The Peninsula Manila, La Musica Española is slated on Jan. 29, 2008, 8 p.m. at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theatre). Tickets are available at P2,000; P1,500; P500 and P300 at Ticketworld (Tel. No. 891-9999) and CCP Box Office (Tel. Nos. 832-3704 or 832-1125 loc 1409).