Last June 2014, our young guitar heroes performed Classical, Rock, Jazz, and other Contemporary tunes. Sounds of Freedom is a branded music event by Animaguitara, yearly held to bring students from the learning studio to the stage and in front of a community of peers, parents, and friends. It is an environment of positive affirmation and encouragement where musicians can flourish without fear.
The tastes, sounds and sights of Italy and the Mediterranean region, featuring Animaguitara’s Jonathan Agbayani Gonzales and selected artists of Art Tempo Manila. “Mediterranean Sojourn” is guitar mini-concert complemented by an art exhibit, where guests can savor Italian gourmet specialties at the Trattoria Poggio Antico in McKinley Hill, Taguig. Mediterranean Sojourn is indeed a synesthetic experience.
Animaguitara is run entirely by performer-educator Jonathan Gonzales with independent curator Laya Boquiren. The repertoire included compositions by guitar greats inspired by the Mediterranean.
On the other hand, Art Tempo Manila is an art group convened by Juno Parungao. The exhibit featured Cora Patarata and Rex Rosco. Their paintings are inspired by their travels to the Mediterranean. Incidentally, Rosco and Patarata’s works are reminiscent of the colors of the Italian countryside.
About Rosco and Patarata (artist write-ups and paintings from the Art Tempo Manila Website, accessed May 3, 2014)
The colors of Corazon “Cora” Gaufo Patarata’s artworks speak of glee. Cora was born in Manila in 1957; she grew up in Baguio City and had lived and worked in Washington D.C., Beijing, Bonn, Berlin, Stockholm, and Vancouver. These places influenced her color palette and themes. She sees the inner glow of nature as her artworks remind us of our responsibility to take care of our beautiful planet. Cora actively exhibits in Greenfield Business Parks in Pasig. Her past exhibits include Rhythm of Colors, Seasons of Contemporary Art, and More than Flowers and Chocolates in Primos Cuisine and Lounge jointly curated by Minnette Marasigan and Juno Parungao.
Another talented artist regularly exhibiting in Greenfield Business Parks is Rex R. Rosco. Rosco’s art reveals dispositions, emotional transitions, spiritual evolutions as these are manifested in human behavior. His involvement in public service, like medical missions, have instilled in him the ability to understand the complexities of humanity and the human condition. The evanescent evolutions. Rosco strives to capture speak of impermanence and because everything changes,life is nowhere and somewhere all at the same time. Rosco’s background in architecture allows him to capture these fleeting forms in many dimensions. Aside from his several exhibits in Greenfield, Rosco has also exhibited his works in Canada.
Curator Laya Boquiren shares “Mediterranean is Rosco’s last exhibition before his sojourn to the afterlife, where he is now at peace.”
This season, we decided to come up with a simple celebration of young talent. In light of recent tragedies in Tacloban, Leyte, we decided to forego the usual high-impact productions that Animaguitara is known for. This day marks a time of recovery, rebuilding, and prayer. Animaguitara features the guitar students of Jonathan Gonzales and the piano students of Jane Banta with Keys and Strings 2013.
The genesis of Keys and Strings began in 2008 at the Podium. This year marks a return as we generate more challenging platforms for our young guitar heroes.
The 2013 edition of Sounds of Freedom marks Animaguitara’s tenth year in the music industry. We say cheers to ten years of pedagogically sound enrichment programs and productive recreation. We affirm our commitment to the public trust we have been nurturing for a decade. While we have always insisted on quality guitar programs, we have since expanded to other music endeavors — for we choose to remain responsive to the wants and needs of people from all walks of life. We uphold the highest professional standards in music instruction, yet we seek relevance in a contemporary world. We know your pulse.
Last June 2, 2013, we celebrated Sounds of Freedom with the support of JB Music Philippines.
Design by Kat Espiritu. Identity by US-based artist Lene Dee Dragon.
Sounds of Freedom is part of two major shows annually produced by Animaguitara. These shows feature the students, allied artists, and performer-educator Jonathan Gonzales. It is only one of the several platforms provided by Animaguitara, to allow our students to interact not only with their peers but with professional musicians as well. Incidentally, it is also our way of celebrating Independence Month as we extend our gratitude to parents, students, fellow artists, JB Music Philippines, and the public — for supporting independent artists. We brought Sounds of Freedom III to Bonifacio Global City and it was indeed a remarkable experience for all of us.
Cheers to ten years of beautiful music!
We would love to get to know you and share our passion for music.
Dear Reader,
Commercial music studios try to integrate all sorts of creative practice without being able to identify their core competencies. They offer anything and everything.
We are not a commercial music studio.
We are a solidarity of allied artists. We at Animaguitara started in 2003 by providing guitar lessons for individual students, customized according to the uniqueness of the human person, and delivered at the comfort of each home. We still continue that to this very day although we have also grown so much more beyond this. However, our energies have always been concentrated on holistic enrichment through music rather than commercial expansion. Our arts and culture initiatives have always been nomadic by choice as a form of assertion. We have been there — from fringes to extended spaces. From art institutions to alternative spaces.
Our decision not to go mainstream was a deliberate one, motivated by primarily three reasons. First of all, if expansion is prioritized over quality, the learner will neither get real value nor the benefits of having the best materials and resources. Second, a huge percentage of the fees paid by the learner (or parents) WILL NOT go to the instructor but to the huge overhead costs needed to maintain the expansion of profit-driven music schools. As a result, instructors are not inspired to teach, the number of starving artists in the country only keep increasing, and the learner will just become part of the bottom line. Because of the pressure to deliver and seek profit gains, tutors are not quality educators but posers who can be shortchanged. Last but not the least, we believe in genuine learning through the solid programs we provide to individuals and communities.
We insist that talent is important, yet talent alone does not suffice. It must be cultivated and developed to reach its full potential. The student must learn to listen to music, engage in music as a creative discipline, and build one’s confidence through performance. For us, music is a creative leisure — an end in itself that one engages in. On the other hand, we make sure that learning is a fun experience for all ages.
Through Animaguitara’s cultural programming arm, we provide platforms to immerse young people in music and promote arts and culture exchanges that strengthen community solidarity. The communities we serve range from those who simply wish to immerse in the beautiful to those who wish to experience the full spectrum of learning, performing, and exchanging ideas as a form of conversing with and enriching each other.
At Animaguitara, we believe in nurturing creativity and helping people from all walks of life realize their potential as complete human beings who can inspire others in society. Lastly, we believe in making people happy.
Animaguitara is a brand under The Ghetto, a trans-disciplinary platform for creatives. Since 2006, Animaguitara has been providing workshops for schools and select communities in Metro Manila. We may not be as large as commercial music and art studios but we are the first to redefine recreation in the country.
We give regular opportunities for interested students to perform in public. We have mounted shows and featured our students across the broad spectrum of performance venues in Metro Manila. Because we consider our stakeholders as partners, the recital venues are selected by students, parents, and teachers. We are here to help nurture creativity and self-esteem, so that we may contribute to holistic human development. We build lasting friendships with our students, be they young or adult learners.
Our shows and workshops utilize top-of-the-line music gear. Having the right content and technology allow our musicians to be better equipped and inspired to continuously improve their craft and teaching pedagogy.
We have established ties with music experts, maestros, and top session musicians in the industry. We are part of a tightly-knit network of professional musicians, educators, performers, festival organizers, and cultural workers. Aspiring musicians who participate in any of our programs have the benefit of being part of this one big family in the creative sector.
We have a roster of formally-trained musicians who can share a wealth of experiences in the performing arts scene and use extensive instructional materials. We cannot underestimate the importance of formal training as this provides the necessary pedagogy and tools to educate and help young people. We make sure that our teachers are not only highly skilled performers but can actually teach young people of all levels, regardless of any genre, in such a way that their musical sensibilities will be enriched and hopefully, elevated.
We assist talented yet underprivileged musicians who can deliver quality music performance and instruction. As our advocacy, we make sure that we do not add to the number of exploited yet underdeveloped music graduates. It is our vision to nurture culture by giving opportunities for talented, highly skilled virtuosos who will inspire young people to dream. We provide them with platforms to teach and perform across the broad spectrum of music.
This is our commitment. Animaguitara started with the guitar in 2003 but that was only the beginning of a cultural revival. Animaguitara is now celebrating eleven years of quality music enrichment.
Animaguitara 