The Young Patroness, Sheree Chua
“Members of the SCEI Organizing Committee in their Philippine fashion best during the “When Art Meets Fashion 2” finale – Elaine Villar, Betty Chua, Eni Alba, Consul Helen Ong, Consul Agnes Huibonhua, Mimi Valerio, Marites Pineda, and Sheree Chua [Right-most)." Source: http://manilastandardtoday.com/lifestyle/sunday-lifestyle/199823/unity-in-art-and-fashion.html
Last March 9, 2016, I had an interview with Sheree Chua, one of the three pioneers of the Music Literature Minor Program, who graduated in AB Literature. Apart from that, she is also one of the writers of Blue Sound 2010. She is a young exceptional cultivator of music that inspires enthusiasts through her passion for the art. From a student to a successful innovator this interview might give context to who she was and what she does at the moment. Sheree shares her opinion on her educational background and personal life.
1. How was your educational background on music formed?
"It all started in ‘93 when my father took me to see Cyrano in Broadway, I immediately fell in love with musical theater. Soon after, I began collecting playbills like some people collected stamps. My relatives would mail them over through snail mail from different parts of the world. My most prized possession was a vintage Eugene Onegin performed in Moscow 1990. They became my bedtime storybooks! My passion for music began after seeing The Magic Flute and consecutively watching an old cartoon called, Cedie, Ang munting principe, it was a Japanese cartoon dubbed in Tagalog that aired right after school. I forgot the exact details of the plot but the scene that stuck with me was of Cedie playing the flute on a balcony. I pestered my parents for lessons but forgot about it months later. I took up the flute again a few years later in my mid teen."
2. What was your motivation for pushing a minor in Music?
"I was (and still am) fascinated by traditional Filipino music and was drawn to the course because I heard about Christine Muyco's studies about Panay Bukidnon. At those wide- eyed and eagerly scholarly years, I wanted to do something for the preservation of our melodic culture, folk songs etc. my undergraduate thesis was about the comfort woman's narrative being expressed through songs—how limited and formulaic their literary narrative was and how these oppressed and marginalized women, traumatized by war and stigmatized because of their victimization found solace through son."
3. What have you been doing after life in the Ateneo?
Source: http://www.philstar.com/business-usual/2015/07/20/1478785/new-leadership-scei
"Currently [I am] working in the family business and [doing] extra-curricular activities. I am part of the board of directors from the Anvil Business Club; we host forums with leading businessmen every month. I am also the social directress of Mutya ng Pilipinas, and VP for Performing Arts for the Society for Cultural Enrichment. I am also actively involved with the Philippine Cancer Society."
4. What is your musical background and how does that reflect in your influence towards other people (ex. family, friends, pupils)?
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/a-tertulia-in-batangas/
"Years after having graduated with a minor in Music Literature, I became part of the Society for Cultural Enrichment and we just concluded our awards night fashion show, honoring 6 artists, 2 of which are legendary musicians and icons of their time namely Ryan Cayabyab and Danny Dolor. The proceeds of the fashion show will be given to school teachers and extended to their pupils for art appreciation. Also during my birthday fundraiser last December, we also raised funds for the society for cultural enrichment.
One of the recent projects that we had were a poetry reading, which turned pleasantly into a zarzuela. I had invited Luis Francia to launch his book as well as Krip Yuson, Jimmy Abad and Oscar Peñaranda. Pleasantly in the audience were Tony Pastor and Lydia Reyes who serenaded us with music. Banaue Miclat was also in the audience an d serenaded us with songs from her very own play with SCEI more than a year ago, we were in the ancestral residence of Tony Pastor, where he serenaded us in his historic Steinway, he invited the not yet famous Gerphil Flores to sing for us."
5. In the context of a student, how does one perceive Music Literature, if they have no experience nor are they aware of the rich content of our own music?
"Our music is everywhere, ingrained into our culture from the days of wooing ladies through traditional songs and dances, the Spanish era when men similarly wooed females by singing under their balconies and further on. In masses where the responses are sung, in songs that we have learned from childhood. The lyrical pen pen de sarapen with the customary claps and the beat, the lively bahay kubo where we learned of our vegetables. Most people would recognize some melodies of a kundiman, Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, Dahil sa Iyo or even the more traditional Dang Dang Ay."
“Even our language is rhythmic!”
6. Where does the "noise" or distortion lie to an everyday Atenean, who strives for excellence and pursuing schoolwork, but is not aware of things such as this, the reason maybe because the knowledge are either buried behind books or overtaken by pop culture. What is your opinion on this matter?
"Music, the arts is in one's soul. Striving for excellence would be hollow without soul, you must understand the world and the human condition in order to make sense of it. I've no qualms about pop culture and the like because it's part of the evolution of music, as long as people like what they hear, that's great!"
A young fine patroness of the arts, Sheree Chua continuously inspires the coming generation with her passion driven motivation in promoting our rich culture in our daily lives. In pursuing our dreams, our initial efforts will be the foundation in making those a reality: Sheree Chua did that.
*This interview was conducted online through Facebook messaging.
I am Jason Gerard C. Ruiz, currently a student of the Loyola Schools, taking the course of Interdisciplinary Studies with the tracks of Education and Information Design. As a future educator, I believe that one’s future must hold with their passion for a life that we can say that is well-lived and fulfilled.