So say these multi-talented Toronto-based Filipino-Canadian musicians and performers.
Toronto, Canada: It is not difficult to bring together musicians and performers as celebrated and as accomplished as these seven musicians. While each one of them tread their individual musical paths and have built a name for themselves, they all welcomed the idea of performing together in one show—Celebrate Music with Josie.
“Life without music is like having your lover but without love in the relationship,” Karen Tan, one of Josie’s co-celebrators, speaks from a woman’s soul. “Music soothes the life inside each of us and expresses our feelings everyday. My life is a continuous melody of love songs that I share with all of God’s creatures.
Jules Tinsay maintains that “life without music is simply living without any story to tell. With the busy life that he has, Jules says “music is soul food to go! Music brings solace to one’s soul.”
Giving credit to his Dad for his musical gift, Marvin de Guzman says, “I grew up with music around me. My dad was a musician and I suppose I inherited his musical genes. Music has always been my passion and I just can't imagine life without it.”
“I would celebrate music because it’s really a large part of being human, of humanity. We people celebrate occasions like birth, marriage, national days of independence, holy days and even sexual orientation. I celebrate music everyday in my profession,” adds Mikey Bustos.
Leander Mendoza on the other hand, confesses “My life without music would be meaningless. Music is what defines me as a person because I relate to people and life experiences through music. I communicate through music-- sometimes better than I do through speech. My life with no music means not living at all. My spirit thrives in music therefore I cannot live without it. Music is a gift from God. It is my great desire to bring back the glory to Him as I sing and make music because He is the Artist of my soul.
Musical director for Celebrate Music with Josie Mon Torralba, amidst his various engagements, is anticipating working on Josie’s music line up which Torralba is expected to ingeniously elevate to a level that the musicians themselves will perform from their heart and soul and that the crowd will enjoy and remember.
For her part, Josie de Leon enthuses “I am thrilled, anxious, privileged, humbled to be working with greats like Karen, Jules, Mikey, Leander, Marvin and of course, to have Mon Torralba for my musical director. I have done shows separately with these guys but this is the first time they are collaborating with me in my own show. And I can only promise, that with talents as immense and as celebrated as them, autumn will be a most welcome season when we Celebrate Music together.”
Celebrate Music with Josie takes overall direction from Jing de Leon. “This show,” de Leon says, “is to celebrate the gift of music. We are not celebrating WITH music but we are actually celebrating music for what it is.”
Celebrate Music with Josie is produced by Studio Six and will be seen on stage October 10, 2008 at the PC Ho Theatre at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Scarborough. For tickets, information please visit www.celebratemusic.ca or call 905-785-7538.