'Tunog Natin' revives OPM sound Moviegoer

source: .mb.com.ph

Just a thought: Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul. – Similar Quotes

MANILA, Philippines -- Tatay, what is OPM?: A singer-friend recalls with amusement laced with sadness an episode involving his son recently.

The boy came home from school one afternoon tasked with an assignment. He was to write a paper on OPM.

“Tatay, what is OPM?” the elementary school boy asked in wonderment. The question floored the father, a singer with a string of OPM hit songs – in English – to his credit.

The episode merely shows how much lower OPM – Original Pilipino Music, and not Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Magsasaka, as my friend’s son had imagined it to be – has sunk in the public’s consciousness.

Young people have not heard or even read about it. The older ones have forgotten it. Despite the proliferation of songs rendered by Filipino singers on air, music fans remain clueless about OPM, both as a sound and as a movement.

Reviving OPM: After having peaked as a movement to Filipinize music in the ’70s and ’80s, OPM is gradually being revived and resuscitated by concerted efforts among concerned, well meaning parties.

Foremost among them is the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mangaawit, whose acronym is also OPM. OPM was formally organized in the mid-1980s by some of the country’s leading singers led by Mitch Valdes and Celeste Legaspi.

OPM, the singers’ organization, has been partnering with other groups or movements that hope to bring back Filipino music on its feet. The group led by Ogie Alcasid has partnered with Pagcor in a talent search for new OPM singers.

It is also behind an effort to teach OPM in public schools throughout the country as mandated by the Department of Education. Ryan Cayabyab has designed the curriculum of such a track.

Tunog Natin: Filipinos bring out their best in times of adversity – and now that Original Pilipino Music (OPM) is slowly fading, Filipino artists and audiences are working together to save it.

Efforts are currently focused on the second leg of “Tunog Natin” free OPM concert series to be held at the grounds of Avida Towers Centera along EDSA Corner Reliance St. on July 23 at exactly 7 p.m.

Presented by Avida Land Corp., the concert showcases the best of Filipino music through the years.

It coincides with the launch date of the second tower of Avida Towers Centera, Avida’s latest condominium offering in Mandaluyong City.

The all-OPM repertoire of “Tunog Natin” will be performed by some of the most respected artists in Filipino music from the 1980s, 1990s to the present.

They include: rock legend The Dawn; pop rock artist Tanya Markova; and pop quartet Kiss Jane; gold record singer-composer Myrus; acoustic prince Davey Langit; and balladeer Faith Cuneta.

True Faith, which performed in the first “Tunog Natin” concert, will be back to please the crowd with their New Wave-pop fusion.

Also in the line-up is singer-songwriter Aiza Seguerra, one of OPM’s biggest stars.

A highlight of the show is the back-to-back performance between Kitchie Nadal and Barbie Almalbis, two of the greatest voices in the alternative pop-alternative rock scene. Kitchie’s edgy, intense vocals are a good match to Barbie’s distinctly endearing singing style.

The legendary Mitch Valdes, one of the founders of Organisasyon ng mga Pilipinong Mang-aawit and currently the organization’s Chairman of the Board, will also be performing.

“We want each leg of ‘Tunog Natin’ to offer something different each time to highlight the richness of OPM. For this second concert, we again exhibit the many genres within OPM,” says Myrus, Project Head of “Tunog Natin.”

(nescuar@yahoo.com)

source: .mb.com.ph