The music of George and Isabel

Ruffy Magbanua

“Music can change the world because it can change people.”–Bono

A YOUNG  Cagayan de Oro couple has been teaching kids how to sing, play the piano, flute, guitar and violin and other instruments – all for the love of music.

With music as their passion,  George Benjamin Roa and Ma. Isabel Pacot are homegrown talents who spend time together mentoring young children how to become creative through music.

In his late twenties, George earned his music degree from Liceo de Cagayan University major in music education while his partner Isabel, a 20-something millennial is also a music degree holder from the same school with concentration in piano.

George and Isabel, both pure-bred Cagay-anons, shared their passion for music and teaching, their creative ability to motivate  and excite students, and their desire to spread the love of music and learning to musically inclined children and adults.

Anchored on their shared vision to make a difference in the lives of today’s millenials, George and Isabel pooled their resources together and put up a music studio to cater to their  growing clientele of music lovers, young and old alike.

Over the weekend, a recital  for 45 school kids and some adults was conducted to the delight and awe of the audience composed mostly of parents and friends who came to watch and listen contemporary and classical music rendered live by students of George and Isabel.

Some of whom have the making of a diva like Lea Salonga, Kuh Ledesma, Lani Misalucha, Charice or Sarah Geronimo. Or the making of a balladeer like Martin Nievera, Gary V, Mark Bautista or Jed Madela.

And so we asked: How many times have we heard a song that  suddenly transformed back to the place we first heard, or shared it with another person?

During the recital night, a lady-lawyer   performed so well that brought us back down memory lane. Her name: Atty. Zerah Marie Absin, the singing lawyer of the Court of Appeals.

Or meet John Paul Romero, a   heartthrob in the making who sang his own version of “Matud Nila” and “Smile.”

And consider this upcoming young singing sensation in town: Isabel Santos, a fourth grader whose innocent yet very powerful voice has the making of a Lea Salonga or a Kuh Ledesma.

To appreciate, watch Isabel perform her two favorites: Phantom of the Opera and Defying Gravity. Backing her up is newcomer Kiera Angelika, also a fourth grader who is gunning for more from the tutelage of George and Isabel.

George and Isabel define music as a universal language that can be shared with people everywhere.

“This is one of the many reasons we are passionate about sharing our God-given talent with young people,” explain George and Isabel.

Music joins people together in a unique and lasting way. As an artist, one  must be able to convey and share the emotion of the music to the audience.

One must first feel the passion of the music from within himself and then deliver it in a creative way that can relate to every person in the audience.

Music plays a great role in everyone’s life. It keeps us busy in spare time and makes our life peaceful.

If you’re dead serious about music, there are fundamental concepts we need to understand and master. Music  101 will therefore set us on our way.

George and Isabel have already helped countless students build a solid base of musical knowledge.

And they’ll do the same for you, supported by class discussions, interactive tools, and personalized feedback that will help you put these theories into practice every day.

George and Isabel are enjoining a community of beginners to engage in hands-on activities that will help them appreciate the elements of music like never before.

Read and write musical notation. Play notes on a piano keyboard. Let the music play on.

Music is meant to be shared, indeed.

E-mail: ruffy44_ph2000@yahoo.com