Features: BIPOLAR hits the College of Nursing

After a year of being dormant, the Nursing Chorale (NC) – the official and only chorale ensemble of the UST College of Nursing, once again faced the limelight and hit center stage as they brought to you ‘BIPOLAR: Clash of the Extremes’- the 2009 Nursing Battle of the Acoustic Bands and Nursing Chorale songfest.

Last November 20, 2009, seven qualified bands composed of students from all year levels competed for the championship title at the St. Martin de Porres Cinematorium where they were judged according to originality, creativity, and musicality. But before hitting the stage, the different bands had to go through a rigid screening process under the Nursing Chorale choirmaster, Mr. Emerson Hernandez.

Bipolarity

Bipolar disorder is actually a mental disease characterized by episodes of mania, depression or mixed moods. “The bipolar theme was really from life experiences, I think everybody has experienced a time wherein one moment they feel like they’re in cloud 9 then feel like 6ft. under the ground… I think that’s what the bipolar theme is all about: Showing both sides of the equation, experiencing the extremes”, said Nursing Chorale (NC) President, Micah Danao.

From the very first battle of the bands, the chorale included in its songfest mechanics a “No amplifiers nor any electronic musical instrument allowed” item, producing only plain and simple acoustic music. According to NC Auditor and senior member, Jeremiah Chua (IV-3), “This was to separate it from the NCBS Battle of the Bands who used to have a full band competition”.

Originality speaks

The participating bands were asked to make their own rendition of songs, turning an originally upbeat song to one with a slower tempo and vice versa. Once again, innovative ideas were showcased by the bands coming up with their own version of songs such as Blank Static Screen, Lovedrunk, and PapaPoker (a slower acoustic mix of Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi and Pokerface). The panel of judges was composed of Paolo Villanueva, Angelica Eslava, and Lester Delgado, all hailing from the UST Conservatory of Music.

Overall, the event was a success. Attendance was quite satisfactory. “Actually, the show started with less people than expected but that didn't affect the performance of the chorale. Still, the opening numbers are presented of what was planned: funny, crazy and with class”, says Geneva Langurayan, a junior student. 

The awarding of the event was held in the Big Night. 6 Strings emerged as the champion of the competition while Unprepared and Paracousia were the 1st and 2nd runners-up, respectively. Another band, Tagum, was recognized wuith the People’s Choice Award.

By: Raymond John Naguit