Celebrating the Filipino Artist - the Philippine Arts Festival

Philippine Choral

Filipino artists take center stage in the Philippine Arts Festival on June 23, 2012 at the University of Alberta’s Myer Horowitz Theatre.  On its 2nd offering, the festival is a bi-yearly celebration of the arts, life and the spirit of the Philippines.  It is a multi-disciplinary festival of theatre, dance, classical and contemporary music, film, literature, visual arts, design and more.

Filipino-Canadian Saranay Association

A brainchild of yours truly as Festival Director and choreographer Jojo Lucila as Artistic Director, the Philippine Arts Festival aims to increase awareness and promote the public’s appreciation of Philippine arts and culture; collaborate with artists and companies by initiating and producing new work; provide artists of all ages and at all stages of their career with greater exposure, recognition, networking opportunities and professional development; and to forge unity and community spirit within the Filipino community.

So what was the impetus for this project?  Living in another country lends a new perspective on your own culture - things that one tend to take for granted.  I have worked with foreign artists in the past who have remarked on the incredible talent of the Filipinos, and all the while I thought that they were merely paying lip service.  Now, far removed from my home country, I realize that they were simply stating a fact.  And Filipino artists, all over the globe and in various disciplines, continue to give us pride and honor with their work.

Through this Philippine Arts Festival, we salute our artists and provide them a vehicle to showcase their talent, works and legacy.  We remember our country and the people who have shaped our culture through their art and became a voice for society.  We bank on the solidarity and bayanihan spirit that Filipinos are known for, no matter where in the world they may be.  So that at least for a couple of hours, in this festival, when we come together as a community and celebrate the core of our being - we bring the Filipino back home.

This year’s festival will headline the Filipino themes of love and romance, the traditional games of skills, the fiestas (feasts), and the social issue of Filipino migrants.  It will gather about 70 artists from Edmonton, Vancouver and Red Deer.  Featured artists include: Vancouver-based filmmaker Angelina Cantada, who has proven herself in film festival circuits in the US and Canada; the long-standing Filipino-Canadian Saranay Association; musical arranger Geris; the authentic Filipino martial arts Pekiti-Tirsia Kali - Alberta; the much sought after Philippine Choral; the versatile dancers of The Lucila Project; the Pacific Island Dance Troupe; the folk dance sector of the Phil. Canadian Association of Red Deer & District; and Pinoy Singing Sensation young champion Wency Calderon.  Lixmila Serrano of Gala Management and Event Services joins our team as Executive Producer.

* This was written for and published in the April 2012 issue of Pinoy Times.

The Aura of Maura - a Filipina makes her mark in the Opera

Maura Sharkey-Pryma is an established lyric coloratura mezzo soprano based in Edmonton.  The first time I heard her sing in a church concert, I was in awe with her vocal prowess and equally proud upon learning that she was also of Filipino heritage, tracing her maternal roots to Lipa, Batangas.  

So when we were organizing the Philippine Arts Festival in 2010, we knew that it was essential to have her as one of the featured artists.  That production served as her “debut” to the Filipino community and events, and a shining example of the Filipino artist excelling in the global stage.

The span of Maura’s professional operatic career includes appearances with the  Vancouver Opera Touring Ensemble, Edmonton Opera, Manitoba Opera, The Opera Project, Opera NUOVO, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Chamber Orchestra, Edmonton Composers’ Society and a collaboration with Juno award winner Malcolm Forsythe and the University of Alberta Orchestra in Elgar’s The Music Makers.  Described by a critic as “an exuberant Canadian mezzo soprano... shows herself comfortable in all the registers, bursting precision and engraves resonance”, she has essayed roles like Cinderella in La Cenerentola, Mercedes in Carmen, Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte, and the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors.

As a young girl, Maura initially wanted to go into musical theatre but a penchant for classical music and a flute-like voice quality opened up opportunities for her in opera.  A holder of a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Music at the University of Alberta, she is one of those people who was constantly at the right place, at the right time - with offers and opportunities smoothly tossed her way.  This does not imply, however, that she never worked for or deserved those opportunities.  Lucky as she was, she impressed me as a very hard and determined worker, fully grounded and recognizant of her true place in her art.  As attestation, she has won the Western Canadian Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions in Vancouver in 1998; was a two-time awardee of the Johann Strauss Scholarship, and again, a two-time recipient of the Anne Burrows Foundation Scholarship.  She was also the Canadian representative in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels, Belgium in 2004.

In addition to her personal achievements, Maura has generously been sharing her musical skills since high school, starting out as a piano teacher and eventually a voice teacher, coach and adjudicator.  “My purpose is to help each student build a solid musical foundation that will provide him/her a lifetime of enjoyment.  My job as a voice teacher and mentor is to inspire and uncover each student’s potential, and to be a guide-helping to develop and strengthen these gifts.  I am devoted to helping singers discover their voice, and present them in successful performances.”   From her private home studio and her studio at the MacEwan Alberta College Conservatory of Music in Edmonton, she trains ambitious young singers in classical, musical theatre, song interpretation, and extensive breathing and vocal techniques in the Bel Canto method.  She is also a proud member of the National Association of Teachers of Music (NATS), the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators’ Association (CMFAA) and serves on the Board of Directors of the Alberta Music Education Foundation (AMEF).

In an interview I had with Maura, she reminisced about her musical journey and how her mentors have ingrained their distinct characteristics on her; the balancing act between her love for music and her family; the excitement of learning new roles and materials; her anecdotes as a teacher; and her aspirations.  She shared her dreams of having her own music centre, of portraying the roles of Carmen, Suzuki in “Madame Butterfly” and more Rossini operas, and of doing some recordings, especially the Filipino songs.  She proved that she knows her stuff -- what she needs to work on, what she excels at, and acknowledges the realities of her industry.  Her advice to young singers is to find a good teacher & learn as much as they can, ensure always that the voice is technically sound before pursuing a career, persevere, and pay their dues.

Our conversation was relaxed, an exchange of thoughts between two artists.  As we talked about art and other mundane things, she presented herself as a regular human being, yet somehow provided the sense that one has chanced upon someone special - a person cut above the rest.  She spoke with passion and at the same time, with logic.  That she is blessed in talent, wisdom, generosity and humility is palpable, and she possesses this luminosity that I call the “aura of Maura”.  Witness her live in her next performance as the title role in Carmen with the Calgary Concert Opera Company in their 2012 season.

* This article was written for the November 2011 issue of Pinoy Times.