Welcoming Address for the UP College of Music Graduation Rites : April 23, 2009

Aside: I was given only four minutes! Hehe so this was what I managed to cram into that small amount of time.

Good afternoon everyone! On behalf of the faculty and staff, it is my honor and privilege to welcome you to the 2009 Commencement Exercises of the UP College of Music. On this historic day, we are gathered to witness one of the greatest rites of passage that Life has to offer… Today, you young men and women entered this hall as students, and will leave as graduates.

I look on at this promising batch with great pride. For such a small number of graduates, you have in your midst 10 cum laudes and 6 magna cum laudes. And each individual amongst you has passed the rigorous demands of the finest music school in the country. Be proud of your achievement, for not everyone has the talent and brains to pull off what you have accomplished.

Each one of you has gotten here through a mixture of hard work and sheer hard headedness. But despite all your individual efforts, you would not be here today if it weren’t for the unfailing love and support of your family. Graduates, please rise and join me in giving your number one fans – your parents – a standing ovation.

A year ago, I stood in your shoes. I was still feeling relief at completing that final recital, and at the same time, I felt apprehensive at the uncertain future that lay before me. For when I was a student in the College of Music, I lived in an ideal world full of unselfish people, where hearts overflowed with generosity and where musicians helped their fellows out for altruistic reasons. Everyone had his/her own place, and I felt safe, loved, and comfortable in mine. Graduation, however, meant facing ‘reality’ and for the first time, I felt insecure about my place in the world.

I’m sure you’ve had experiences of people asking you about your course, and when they learn that it is Music, they usually say one of two things: 1) So, magaling ka kumanta? And 2) Anung trabaho makukuha mo pagkatapos ng college?

If today’s society places little or no importance in our calling, do not be disheartened. It is a sign of how far our current society has fallen. For as Venezuelan musician and pedagogue Jose Antonio Abreu says, the world is now suffering from a spiritual crisis, and only religion and music can offer proper answers to humanity.

Dear students, you are so much more than world class composers, conductors, performers, scholars and teachers. Every time you conduct 30 strangers put together to form a choir, every time you coax young fingers to play an instrument beautifully, every time you successfully record or create an addition to the body of Filipino musical works… you achieve a small miracle made possible through coordinated effort and a common vision. You are agents of social change, of social development in the highest sense. Through your efforts, you transmit the noblest values of solidarity and unity. In this world of apathy and chaos, you are ambassadors of compassion and harmony.

You carry with you our hopes and prayers. Go forth and show everyone that UP Music graduates can change the world. Never stop believing in the promise that the triumph of the human spirit is inextricably linked to the transforming power of art. Be not afraid to set new standards of excellence, and to define greatness for your generation.

Graduates, we salute you!