Written by Abigail Altamirano for the Ateneo Musicians’ Pool
AMP’s festivities for its 25th anniversary go beyond a single day, planning an entire month to celebrate the years that have passed. From a docu-series to a music conference, the Ateneo Musicians’ Pool gave a grand encore last June 10 and 11 with Synergy, a two-night fundraising concert in partnership and collaboration with 123Block and Big Baby Studios.
The concert aimed to raise money for the outsourced workers of the Loyola Schools who fall victim to the “no work, no pay” system in light of online classes. Synergy featured 22 artists for some back to back jamming, many of which included The Itchyworms, Rusty Machines, The Cohens, and many more!
“It’s the silver anniversary!!! How could you not be inspired to perform in such a monumental time for AMP?” (Julius Montano from We Do Care). It truly is a monumental moment for fellow AMP members, so what bettey way to honor such a special occasion than to be a part of the celebration itself? So many talented artists honored us with their own music, sharing with us a piece of their lives just as Ben Marasigan did with his own set. “Okay my set list is just 2 original songs: I got U and Sweet. they were really chosen because they were the most realized songs I had at the time I Had to record for the gig but I just felt like it was best to finally share another aspect of myself to the world, my songwriting.”
The silver anniversary became the perfect moment for our performers—unleashing a side of them that’s been hiding till the right time, just as Mavi Avendaño from We Do Care did for AMP 25. “My bandmates and I got together for a project we never finished in AMP24. We really jived back then, we just didn’t have the time to finish our project. It feels right to do something together for AMP’s 25th.”
Getting some behind the scenes of Synergy, our performers have showed their best memories recording their sets such as losing their voice recording as Ben Marasigan recounted, “Losing my voice while recording “I got U” after the 11th or so take, and then having to speak some lines instead of singing them and it actually sounded good by the end of it.” Some performers even gave tribute to their wardrobe credits, where Julius Montano from We Do Care shared with us the original owner of the dress he wore for his set, sharing that his costume was indeed his mother’s. “Having to wear my mom’s dress for our performance of “I want to break free” by Queen. It just felt so fun to wear a dress!!”
The fun and excitement didn’t just stop with the performers, but fellow core team members gave their fair share of fun memories such as making the trivia quiz, something Programs member, Julius Montano enjoyed doing. “Making the trivia quiz was fun! Gets ko na kung bakit nag-eenjoy minsan mga prof sa paggawa ng quiz: you can put some funny answer choices, and watch the test-takers realize it and enjoy the quiz even more.”
The two-day concert was not only a way to raise money for a cause close to the hearts of the Ateneo community, but it was a moment for performers and attendees to unite in their passion for music, and unite it did with 2,460 viewers that came to both days of Synergy. From the good times and laughable moments that were shared by all the people that made this concert possible, we can already say that Synergy was a success, but our host, Yani Lopez seals this sentiment with a heartwarming thought: “I would always expect AMP’s members and alumni to give a performance way beyond the standard. Not only setting the bar, but being the bar itself. And as always, they did. As it is also a celebration for AMP’s 25 years, it would have been great to have more people come, but to the 30-40+ who stayed and consistently engaged ’til the end, no matter the number, AMP will truly always be bigger than the sound.”
AMP has tirelessly shown its love for music in many different ways over the past 25 years, Synergy being defined proof of that passion. Though if there is one takeaway we can get from this grand finale to close off our celebrations, it is that AMP finds away to honor the community around them by using music to help others in need. Just as Yani said, AMP will truly always be bigger than the sound.
