Faculty-alumni Glee Club

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Part of The Carolinian

Title: Faculty-alumni Glee Club
Creator: Yap, Elisa
Language: English
Year: 1959
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Fulltext: ^fy^ce/Wanea • by ELSA YAP • Fac ul t y, al umni glut A HANDFUL of music enthusiasts was conceived the idea of the Faculty-Alumni Glee Club. Like most organizations of this sort, it too had an impetuous beginning, before it finally attained its present status of a genuine, active organization. It was two weeks before College Day when Dr. Paras, being the treasurer of the USC Alumni Organization, was asked to present a number in the College Day Program. The idea of organizing a chorus struck him, with faculty members as choristers. The faculty grape-vine spread this startling news to all the faculty members. Without much ado, nineteen energetic, teachers ardent lovers of music presented themselves. The rehearsals were held daily, either in the AudioVisual Room or way out in the Music Room, depending on which room was empty. The catch tunes of the native lyrics which Dr. Paras himself had composed were eagerly learned by the members who drifted in to rehearse, half a dozen at a time, a different group each day. Came the much-awaited day. The members, dressed up in ternos and barongs, sang with dignity and seriousness. The spontaneous reaction and loud applause of the audience struck a responsive chord in the hearts of the members. . Why not create a faculty glee club with the small group of trail blazers as the nucleus? This idea, form in the head of Mr. Cesar Dakay of the Chemistry Department, when given voice was enthusiastically seconded by Mrs. Avelina Gil of the English Department and Mrs. Crispina Tan of the Normal College. Two weeks later, the club was formally organized at the home of Dr. Paras, who had invited the members to a "little" supper. The elections were held in due time. Dr. Paras was unanimously elected president; Mr. Dakay, vicepresident; Miss Villoria, treasurer; Miss Guangco, secretary, and Mrs. Gil, PRO. A provisional constitution was drawn up, to be worked out later by Mr. Doronio. The club was to be composed of faculty members and alumni of the University of San Carlos; annual and monthly fees are levied to build up a fund that will cover the cost of the snacks served during every rehearsal. Rehearsals are held weekly, although when the club is due to sing in a program, rehearsals may be called for daily. Throughout the summer months the club met desultorily for weekly rehearsals. Dr. Paras, the conductor and director, sweated out his weekly vigil of waiting for members to come to rehearse, for the club was to present a musical program in honor of the Rector, Very Rev. Fr. Kondring on his birthday, June 8. The plan was ambitious. With six songs for the chorus, rehearsals had to be held oftener than once a week, and as soon as enrolment started, Dr. Paras called for daily rehearsals. The club members sensed the urgency and appeared more regularly; and participation being painted in most alluring hues, new recruits who fell for the high pressure sales-talk swelled the membership to thirty. Each rehearsal became a frenzied discussion of crescendo versus fortissimo, of holds and slurs and staccatos, also of the temo versus the balintcrwak, of cottons and silks and tulle. On June 10, the program was held. Dramatically, the curtain opened on a darkened stage, lighted only by the flickering candles held by the choristers, impressive in their gala attire. The opening notes trembled in the hushed atmosphere; then the members sang the Invocation. The singing was so inspiring that everybody, the members included, was amazed. Before the last notes faded, the audience applauded. Tickled pink by the thunderous applause, the members felt amply rewarded for the sacrifices and frustrations during the gruelling rehearsals. A piano selection, a dance number and some thought-provoking remarks from Father Rector capped the program. The performance was a tiemendous success, beyond the (Continued on page 34) Pa g e 22 THE CAROLINIAN Science Listen, Palawan is Calling (Coni'<1 from page 33) so far reached the outside world because of the rarity of researchers or lepidopterists in the Islands. Palawan is so rich in butterflies that even the moistureless summer days failed to affect their abundance in the lowland jungles and the mountainous areas. Our party encountered them along watercourses and in the woods bordering streams and creeks. The daily hunt by the four members of the expedition resulted in a rich haul of exotic species, adding about one hundred new species to the steadily expanding USC collection. In past expeditions to other islands, the field team invariably found themselves in a mood for celebration whenever they could return with even twenty new species. One can then imagine the significance of this venture into Palawan, considering the wealth of knowledge and information it will add to the present record of local lepidopterists. The party left Palawan just when the May rains began, and fresh and lovely, newly emerged butterflies were just commencing to stir. You can imagine with what reluctance our party packed up for the return journey, unwilling to leave behind them flower buds ready to burst under the blessed showers and mild sunshine of early June, which will, naturally, send forth legions of multicolored wings to dance and romance in the atmosphere while food lor the imaginal and immature stages are in abundance. Hence the title of this article. Faculty-Alumni • • • (Cont’d from page 22) fondest dreams of Dr. Paras, whose happiness, incidentally, spilled over to the HE kitchen where a sumptious dinner was served. News of that success must have reached the ears of some city officials, for the club was invited to take part in the Independence Day Celebration. Once again, the choristers buckled down to rehearse the songs. At present the club is again busy rehearsing for the Rector-Faculty Day in September. Now that the club has proved its worth, it has justified its reason for being and offers, among others, a channel for promoting brotherly understanding and closer friendly ties among faculty members and alumni of the university. With the wholehearted cooperation ol its members and with the vigorous moral support of the university administration, the organization looks forward to success in carrying out its multifarious plans, which are kept in cold storage in the mind of Dr. Paras, the Brains of the Club, ft Indeed Palawan is calling. . . calling those who have the means and time to continue the hunt, the observation and study of the seasonal forms of all the stirring life in its jungles and mountains. It is calling for virile young men and women to swerve from popular but overcrowded vocations and turn to the fertile fields of science where much pioneering work awaits them. Bright young minds are needed to fill the many gaps left by earlier researchers whose missions did not warrant their staying in the Islands long enough to complete what they had began. What little inconvenience one suffers in the field is amply compensated by the endless fascination of the work, meeting friendly and charming people, the contact with variform customs of different ethnic groups, the constant reunion with one's true self without the artificial mask is often won in the city, and the realization how generous in lavishly filling this little world with so many beautiful and interesting creatures. Not having tried it, no one can justifiably say that a life dedicated to science is not for him or her. A genius may lurk in an unsuspected crevice in your cranium, which the song of a bird, the sight of misty mountains or the aroma of sighing forests may jerk suddenly from its lethargy and perhaps give us a Filipino naturalist of the brilliance and enthusiasm of a Henri Fabre or a Karl von Linne. ft Entirely Personal (Continued from page 11) made a big jump from three stars to 13th place, as tne results of the last tactical inspection showed. The glamour that was the USC ROTC died an instantaneous death with that extraordinary "feat." No explanation is needed, but something snould be done about the instruction the cadets are now getting. • The Registration Procedure, as conceived by the "brains" of the Office of the Secretary-General, worked out quite successfully during the last enrollment season. Only a few troubles cropped up, although the system can stand some improvement. A suggestion was made that those in charge of the enrolment, especially those assigned in the issuance of classcards, should be properly briefed on their duties so that they will know how to advise the students. Another, a sort of liaison section should be created. New students found it very difficult to enroll without the help of one familiar with the registration procedure. No major complaints were heard, except that many students said our public relations were questionable. How some people managed their offices led some student to think they were facing a lion. A number wanted to enroll here but for one reason or another found it safer not to. • Of the total enrollment this semester, 62 per cent are women. A bystander said that it is no wonder there is so much noise in the campus ever since the classes have started in full swing. But that is entirely personal. • The organization of debating, dramatic and speech clubs is a healthy sign of an intellectual awakening on the campus. For years, this aspect of university training has been neglected either because there was no interest on the part of the studdents or there was no encouragement from the faculty. It is about time to give the organization a shot in the arm by way of joining it or giving it the facilities that it needs. • One of the most convincing proofs of our partiality for basketball is the fact that eagers get more applause, more privileges than writers do ... ft Pa g e 34 THE CAROLINIAN