"The Start of an Event" - BIMCC #1 (8th-9th July 2018)
This blog series details my experiences as a composer-fellow for the "2018 Banaue International Music Composition Competition" ("BIMCC").
For the full blog series, click here.
On May 7th 2018, the 20 semi-finalists were announced:
Christian Joshua Ansale (Philippines) - "Tugtugin para sa mga Supling ng Pinagsapin-saping Lupa"
Bracha Bdil (Israel) - "Water Steps"
Theodoros Broutzakis (Greece) - "Symphonic Suite ("Archipelagos")"
Jan Neland Enguio Cabuguas (Philippines) - "Beyond the Mountains"
Caterina Di Cecca (Italy) - "From Wonder into Wonder: Green Steps to the Sky"
Jimmuel Dave Tumala Dagta (Philippines) - "Pegpapanumbalik"
Avner Mordechai Finburg (Israel) - "Pugaw"
Leon First (Slovenia) - "The Story of Ifugao"
Eduardo Soutullo Garcia (Spain) - "Lightning Storms on the Terraces"
Stefano Giannotti (Italy) - "The Ifugao Cloud"
Mario Alfredo Oyandel Guinez (Chile) - "The Harvest of the Rice"
Eteri Kourbanov (Israel) - "Hymn to Nature"
Lee Jin Jun (Singapore) - "Terraces"
Michele Masin (Italy) - "Symphonic Poem: The Rise of Banaue"
Charles James McCarron (USA) - "Balituk: The Divided Child"
Raquel Sanchez (Spain) - "Banaue Symphony"
Alessandra Salvati (Italy) - "Hudhud"
Jonathan Michael Shaw (UK) - "The Hills of Banaue"
Jem Robert Bautista Talaroc (Philippines) - "Kabunyun"
Miran Tsalikian (Greece) - "Crossing the Rice Terraces"
The 20 semi-finalists - the composer-fellows
And just yesterday (July 8th - 9th), I began my 19-hour trip from London Heathrow to Manila, Philippines (with a brief connection in Dubai).
This will be the first time I've traveled alone, and indeed the first time I've ever been to the Philippines, but the excitement far overcame the anxiety as this will also be my first time rehearsing my own music with a live orchestra - a dream for every young composer.
The first flight - an Emirates Airbus A380
Liftoff!
The classic, "Trivia Pursuit"
The night cabin
Approaching target: Manila
On arriving at Manila, I - along with a few other of the composer-fellows whom were also on the same flight - were greeted with a delightful welcoming crew, gifting us with an exquisite necklace I believe to be crafted out of the "Sampaguita" (the national flower of the Philippines) and followed with a lavish dinner at the "Peninsula Manila" (our hotel for the first few days) with the other composer-fellows and members of the BIMCC committee.
The welcoming necklace
The "Peninsula Manila" lobby
The road to the room
It was an exceptional first day - the other composer-fellows are just as excited! - but for now, I need to catch up on some sleep for the conference tomorrow - until then!
