Are you looking to reimagine your music-listening experience? Maybe you want to add a regal touch to pop music like the Bridgerton soundtrack did, or hear the music from your favorite movies and games as the performers play them live. Join the concert to be performed by the same orchestra that arranged a waltz version of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” and a combination of the theme song of Somewhere in Time and Variation 18 of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
On May 4, the Blue Symphony Orchestra is set to perform its 2025 year-end concert, Bring It On!, at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater in Ateneo. Just like in its previous year-end concerts, almost all—if not every—piece to be played is not classical in nature. Game medleys (like Genshin Impact’s and DOTA 2’s), film scores (such as Somewhere in Time’s and Studio Ghibli movies’), OPM (like Filipino disco music and songs by Eraserheads), and songs from musicals (such as Mamma Mia and Wicked) are the usual picks, with the intent to cater a vibrant night to students as well as a nostalgic sound trip for older audiences.
For over a decade, BSO has been grounded on the motto “More than an Orchestra” and embodies this through focusing on community-building rather than the pursuit of musical perfection. Because of this, BSO accepts any musician regardless of skill level, and Irwin Theater’s stage will come alive as a space where beginners and advanced musicians—despite having different parts to play with varying difficulty—perform together.
Challenging the Norm
Besides performing various genres outside classical music, BSO also welcomes musicians who play instruments not traditionally included in orchestras. Drummers, saxophonists, bassists, and electric guitarists play crucial roles in the pieces performed during the year-end concert. The saxophone took center stage, for example, in BSO’s rendition of Parokya ni Edgar’s “Mr. Suave” in last year’s concert Strides, and the drums led thrilling transitions in various medleys.
The audience, too, got the opportunity to participate. Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” was sung along to by both the audience and the performers in different segments of the song. In “Mr. Suave,” the audience was also conducted to sing as the orchestra harmonized with them. Gimmicks like these are something to look out for in BSO’s year-end concerts. With the musical freedom given to the orchestra, 2017’s concert featured Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be” with a water bucket as a crucial instrument, and 2023’s included a small wooden frog.
In its 16th year, the theme was decided to center on BSO’s identity. Each piece from the carefully curated repertoire set to come alive in Irwin reflects a sliver of the orchestra’s journey, as it continues to recommit to the same values and principles. Bring It On!, as the title suggests, is a message that Blue Symph hopes to stand by—the culture it has built in its year-end concerts will carry on in the years to come.
Would you like to celebrate this year’s concert with us?
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