Dumaguete City was swept into a musical frenzy last June 27 for the Himig ng Bayan Recitals and Concert!

The festivities kicked off by a motorcade around Dumaguete City and a press conference lunch at Gabby’s Bistro, where members of the media got the chance to interview the finalists, the judges and the bands that would be performing.

The night’s concert was held at the Lamberto Macias Sports Center with hosts Val Victa and Yes FM DJ Cherrie getting the audience hyped up for the evening. Local band Déjà Vu opened up the night, their performance giving the audience a teaser of what was coming next.

Kicking off the competition was an energetic rendition of the Himig ng Bayan theme song from The Dawn and the finalists before moving on to the individual performances. The judges’ panel included members from the Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino, such as the musical director for ABS-CBN’s The Singing Bee Mel Villena, successful songwriter Nori Villena and Pinoy Dream Academy’s Monet Silvestre. Local representation came in the form of Dr. Elizabeth Susan Suarez, a music professor at the Silliman University College of Performing Arts. Rounding up the panel was Michael Palma, the station manager for Yes FM Dumaguete.

The Vocals category performed first, with the four contestants presenting their own rendition of popular hits.  The Guitar Solo category followed rocked out on their instruments with pieces that showed off their talents. All the performers were able to demonstrate exceptional skills in their category, which impressed the panel of judges. “Being a musician myself, I appreciate the amount of time and effort a singer or an instrumentalist invests to improve his craft,” says judge Monet Silvestre on the selection of finalists. “All the finalists deserve recognition.”

But of course, a winner must be declared. Dumaguete native Jayson Guinit won the judges over with his own take on Jason Mraz’s hit single I’m Yours while 13-year-old Keith Clark Delleva wowed the crowd by showing off his exceptional performance. The finalists received a medal and P10,000 each for their efforts while the grand champions received a plaque and a check for P100,000, which was awarded by Dumaguete Councilor Chikiting Sagarbarria and Negros Oriental Congresswoman Jocelyn Limkaichong.

“Jayson sang in tune, had a good voice, exuded confidence and was able to connect with me through his performance,” judge Eleanor Villena said of the Vocal category’s grand champion. As for child guitar prodigy Keith Clark, all of the judges agreed that his performance was smooth and clean, demonstrating skill that some artists older than him have not yet mastered.

While the judges deliberated and the votes were tallied, The Dawn kept the audience entertained with a set list of old hits, new songs and covers that everyone could sing along to. Because Bamboo was experiencing scheduling difficulties, The Dawn came through and extended their set, despite originally being slated to perform only five songs.

Bamboo closed off the show with a rocking performance, winning over audiences with their collection of popular radio tunes and older favorites that everyone could sing along too. The crowd turned energetic despite the late hour as they watched the charismatic vocalist move around on stage and interact with the audience.

 “I think we have a venue in Himig ng Bayan for artists who want to share their art in a much freer environment,” says judge Mel Villena. Behind the big names and band performances, Himig ng Bayan is definitely for the Filipino artist, giving undiscovered talent an accessible venue to show off their talents. With Himig ng Bayan, musicality is celebrated and untapped artists are given the chance to make a name for themselves in the industry and hopefully move on to become music’s next big thing.

Himig ng Bayan was created through the efforts of Julio Sy, Jr., a businessman who grew up in Dumaguete and wanted to create more opportunities for aspiring musicians. The task of organizing the event was tasked to Alt+Enter Productions, whose president Val Victa addressed the press at the media reveal. Himig ng Bayan is being produced in cooperation with the Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino and the Dumaguete Tourism Board and local government.

 Representatives from the Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino were in attendance, not least of which is the organization’s president John Lesaca. The renowned violinist spoke a few words on the project, stating that Himig ng Bayan is a great platform to inspire local artists from around the country to show off their musical talent.

Also present were guitarist Ira Cruz of Bamboo with manager Pancho Gonzales and The Dawn’s drummer/keyboardist JB Leonor with manager Alvin Rodriguez, bands that have signed on for the nightly concerts scheduled for the four-day festival.

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