Global Cooling: the first Mothers for Peace Singout and Songwriting Competiton

The songwriting competition enjoined women songwriters around Mindanao to write and sing about peace in Mindanao and the world. It was the contribution of the Mothers for Peace movement to the Mindanao Week of Peace 2007 celebration.

Organized by the Mothers for Peace movement and Mindanao Commission on Women with support form the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the project was launched in September and culminated on December 5, 2007.

The top 10 entries were performed at Taboan, Matina Town Square, Davao City.  Originally, there were top 12 finalists but 2 entries were disqualified after two weeks due to lack of communication from the winner.

Criteria for judging included:

1. Melody 25% – Uniqueness, freshness, not “borrowed” or copied, rhythm, memorability or recall, creativity
2. Lyrics 25% –  Flow, story/theme development, rhyming skill, emotional connection, creativity
3. Arrangement 25% – How voice and instruments weave together harmoniously; creativity
4. Interpretation 25% – Strength, power, and confidence in vocal delivery; clarity of words

l-r: lynne prieto-bustamante, sheila labos, gauss obenza, maan chua

One thousand (1,000) copies of a music album CD were produced out of the top 10 entries.  The CD came out in January 2008.

The entrants were judged by the following jury:

Preliminary Round
Gary Granada is Gary Granada, the famous singer-composer-arranger who has 13 albums (and musicals) to his credit and over 200 recorded songs.

Angelica Balbin-Imson a.k.a. Angel Balbin is a famous voice in the jazz music industry, one of Davao’s earliest claims to musical fame nationwide.

Ava Patricia Avila is with the Mindanao Young Women Leaders Forum, and erstwhile Youth Coordinator of the Mindanao Commission on Women and now works as a research analyst for the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrrorism Research at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.  Ava sings as a serious hobby.

Rowena Nazareno was the youngest member of the famous, now defunct Davao Concert Choir, was member of the Ateneo Glee Club, sang in various musicals, and was lead singer in the early Davao chapter of Bread of Life (now Soli Deo Gloria).

l-r: geejay arriola, cookie chua, patrick seras, cynthia alexander

Final Round
Patrick Seras is a voice instructor, composer and arranger, musical director, and sound engineer.  He was Grand Prize Winner of the 1st Davao Music Festival Songwriting Competition, and currently general manager and proprietor of Patrick School of Music and Patrick Recording Studio.

Cookie Chua is vocalist of Color It Red and other bands such as Affinity Jazz Band, Buhay of Tots Tolentino, and Bluesviminda.  She was 1995 Awit Awardee for Best New Artist, 1998 Awit Awardee for Best Performance in a Duet with Wency Cornejo, and 2003 Katha Music Awards Best Performance in Rock Category.  She recently released the album “Unforgettable Kisses” for Hershey’s 100-year Anniversary, and is currently doing her 4th album under Alpha Records.

Cynthia Alexander is a singer-songwriter and music producer-arranger rolled into one.  She won Best Bass Player in the 1989 World Band Explosion Finals in Tokyo.  In 1996, she went solo and released her debut album “Insomnia and other Lullabyes.”  In 2000 she released “Rippingyarns,” which won Album of the Year, Producer of the Year, and Song of the Year awards, among others, at the 2001 Katha Music Awards. In 2005, she released “Comet’s Tail,” which won her Producer and Guitarist of the Year at the NU 107 Rock Awards.  She is NU 107’s first Female Icon (2004), and was MTV Lokal’s Artist of the Month of May 2005.