MUSIKAT celebrates 15 years of Thomasian music
The University of Santo Tomas’ official university-wide music organization, Musikang Sikat ng
mga Tomasino (MUSIKAT), conducted “Quindeci La Musique: The 15th Year Anniversary Concert” on Tuesday, April 12 as its culminating activity for their very first MUSIKAT Fair, to celebrate honing and harboring Thomasian music for the last 15 years since its establishment in 2006.
MUSIKAT’s President and one of the event’s project heads, Michael Uy, explained that conducting a concert was the best way to celebrate this momentous occasion as it has always been the organization’s trademark to highlight the artistry of its members through various events. Nicole Quing, MUSIKAT’s Auditor and project head, also claimed that apart from celebrating the talents of their artists, the concert was conducted for the enjoyment of the organization’s members.
“Apart from the anniversary, our goal has always been incorporated with all of our events, and that is to make our members and artists showcase their talent and enjoy them freely. We want them to expose their own music and express feelings publicly without being invalidated,” she added.
The concert was broadcasted live on their Facebook page and was hosted by Anna Mae Paño from the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management and Rommel Sales from the Faculty of Arts and Letters. The event was kicked-off through the introduction of a raffle draw sponsored by Polachrome and Adonia & Co. Minor prizes included vouchers while the much-awaited major prize included a polaroid camera in care of PolaChrome. Winners of the vouchers will be picked through actively participating in the event across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram while the winner of the polaroid camera will be randomly selected from the attendees who registered to join the raffle draw through Google Forms.
Succeeding the announcement of the raffle draw’s mechanics came the main attraction of the event—the performances of the organization’s talented artists. The first set of performances was graced by Mikaela Cruz’s rendition of Minsan by Eraserheads, Epiphanie’s rendition of Settled by The Ransom Collective, and Nard’s rendition of See You Again by Charlie Puth. Following this first batch of performers were Rain Ventura with his cover of Madali, Aurora Danielle with her self-produced song Starshine, CB Lagapa with her rendition of Paparazzi, and Dotty’s World with their back-to-back performance of With a Smile and Mismo. Through these performances, both the first and second set of performers have equally lived up to the organization’s diversity of homegrown talents. With the energetic live comment section filled with the audience’s show of support for their favorites, the performances were a treat for both performers and the audience alike.
“Being invited to perform in the concert was really beneficial for me, especially because those are the things that help me progress and continue my passion for music.” Rain Ventura explains when asked about his concert experience as one of the performers. In between these performances, a trivia game about the organization was conducted to serve as a commercial break before the second batch of performers was introduced. It was then followed by a video prepared by the alumni of MUSIKAT in an effort to commemorate the organization’s 15th anniversary as well as reminisce its past. Former MUSIKAT President, Miles Fajardo, stated that having been part of MUSIKAT meant a lot to him as it served as his stress reliever during his college student days. Joey Marc Arnedo, another alumnus, adds that being a member of MUSIKAT allowed him the opportunity to meet other people who had the same
interests as him and it also gave him an outlet to express his musical feelings. Moreover, Miel Campomanes claims that he had a lot of unforgettable moments in MUSIKAT.
“Nae-enjoy ko kasi yung trabaho ko. Di ko siya nakikita as work or something na responsibility na parang inutos sayo. Iba kasi pag feel mo trust yung binigay sayo and iba kapag parang utos lang yung binigay sayo. Natuto kasi ako sa mga experiences ko na yon.” Campomanes adds. As the concert comes to an end, it is evident that the hype does not seem to die down as curiosity has reached its peak—who could be the lucky person? At last, the hosts finally announced the winners of the trivia game, raffle winners of vouchers, and the much-awaited major prize of a Polaroid Camera.
“Super unexpected, actually! I just answered without hoping or expecting that I’ll win … I was just shocked when I heard the other technical staff members screaming my name saying ‘Catherine, nanalo ka ng camera!’”, explained by Catherine Tejada, one of the lucky winners of the major prize.
The concluding act of the event comes with a bang through the premiere of the organization’s Summer Station ID entitled Sorbetes; written by Ylla, Brent David, Dims, and BAND NI CAT and performed by various MUSIKAT Artists. From ballad renditions of pop songs, to rock band ensembles, and up until large-scale song productions, MUSIKAT truly has it all. Paying homage to the organization, current-president Michael Uy concluded the event as a night of the past, present, and future: “Reminisced the past and all the achievements that MUSIKAT had attained in the past 15 years, acknowledged and appreciated the present moment by thanking everyone who had made the event possible, and welcomed all the more years of MUSIKAT.”
Quindeci la Musique and the many acts of MUSIKAT Fair have been one hell of a ride for music enthusiasts. Uy adds “A week-long event would be ideal for experimenting with a variety of activities for the Thomasian community and the entire organization.” Variation in showcasing Thomasian artistry was certainly manifested—from the music and production workshop conducted by AJ Manalac Navarro and a songwriting workshop led by Aurora Danielle, a 4-day alumni interview series entitled MUSIKAlumni, and until the 3-day streaming of artist performances through MUSIKAStream.
MUSIKAT is home—a statement that deeply resonates with the sentiments of its members. Quing cites that the proponents of the event had worked hard towards the same goal of the event’s success—all while enjoying the process. The success of the event comes with the goal of providing a sense of belongingness, as Tejada expressed the outcome of the event, “MUSIKAT made everyone feel welcome and loved through our shared passion.”
“It’s not that kind of organization that you just join and you just feel nothing or the kind where you just join and you leave right away. It most certainly feels like home. So today we celebrate our home” — Michael Joseph Uy, MUSIKAT President A.Y. 2021 – 2022
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