l’mPULSE, the First Asia-Europe Music Camp, was held from 2nd-5th February, 2005 at the premises of the National Arts Centre in Los Banos, Laguna, the Philippines and jointly organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the Cultural Centre of the Philippines (CCP).
With a conscious aim to provide a process-oriented atmosphere for creative exchange, 18 young musicians (4 composers and 14 instrumentalists) from the ASEM member countries converged for a period of seven days, sharing a collective experience under the guidance of invited music professionals – Dr. Robert Casteels (Belgium) and Prof. Josefino Chino Toledo (Philippines). Experts Dr. Rahayu Suppangah and Aga Mayo Botocan facilitated workshops on Indonesian game/an and Philippine kulintang ensemble respectively. The camp activities engaged participants in rehearsals, workshops, lecture-demonstrations, concert performance and recording.
Flautist Caroline Peeters (Belgium), composer Shen Ye (China), percussionist Anastasis Charlambides (Cyprus), violinistTuuli Talvitie (Finland), trumpeter Tobias Hauusig (Germany), violist Erzsebet Palojtay (Hungary), Irish harpist Sile Denvir (Ireland), clarinetist Fausto Corneo (Italy), hae-gum soloist Ye-Jin Kim (Republic of Korea), double bassist Ignas Juzokas (Lithuania), composer Nilo Alcala, kulintang player Grace Bugayong and violinist Maurice Ivan were in attendance.
Saraza (Philippines), cellist PiotrMazurek (Poland), composer Goncalo Lourenco (Portugal), composer Americ Goh (Singapore), percussionist Roberto Oliviera (Spain) and piano player Pattara Komkhum (Thailand) were the first batch of music camp participants.
The concert premiered Alcala’s Dancing Delusions, Lourenco’s Icore, Goh’s En Route and Shen Ye’s Shades of Opera with the special participation of Grace Nono, a renowned Filipino performing artist, featuring musical arrangements by Bob Aves’ Binalig, Panangpit and Holdoyon Kuy Diwata. ASEF Philippine Governor, Ambassador Jaime Yambao was present among members of the diplomatic corps and music enthusiasts from Manila.