Culture

The Music that is Loboc

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The pale moon serene on a still night is unmoved by the glare of neon lights that greet our entry to Loboc. Its quiet glow foretells nothing of what awaits us in this province’s most musical town.

A crowd of the seemingly curious already milled outside the Loboc Children’s Theater as Sonieta and her kids, Paul, and I wormed our way to the entrance. The sight that greets our entry is that of over forty kids filling the theater stage each holding a musical instrument that to some looked too big for their size.

“Naay six years old, naay kinadak-an twenty years old,” says Loboc Mayor Leon Calipusan in a conversation prior to the performance.

And this is only a small group, the mayor proudly informed us, of the five hundred and sixty-four young Lobocanons that comprise the Loboc Youth Ambassador Band.

Earlier, a group of the brass band found international acclaim in China after winning the Gold Cup for the Shanghai China International Children’s Choir Festival that successfully cements Bohol’s place in international music and that of the musicality of Loboc.

Determined to maintain objectivity, the symphony of several brass instruments caught me by surprise and brought to fore an earnest appreciation for music and renewed awe for Loboc.

Tonight, the medley of songs played by the orchestra is not only a testament to Lobocanons love for music but also a peep to their joyful nature that flows like the Loboc river.

Their music had the audience pondering on the classics, brooding over the love songs, and finding comic relief in the Wild West tunes as the performers mimicked cowboy duels using their instruments and the movement of horses while performing that tune popularized by Marlboro. Even the theme music from the movies James Bond and Superman were not spared an impish adaptation.

Tonight, however, I would say the band’s rendition of the Impossible Dream is not only the most moving but also the most befitting song played.

And as our merry group left Loboc, I looked up and mused, nothing is impossible even under the moon.

Tags: band, bohol, loboc, loboc band, loboc youth band, marching band, music