This was one grand summer recital I wasn’t about to pass up. I knew no one from the children and teens who were having their culminating activity with The Aller School of Music at the Forest Wing, part of the John Hay Hotels in Baguio City. Yet I wanted to see them bare their souls.
All I knew was the school’s founder, tenor and music teacher Emmanuel Aller, has a vision for the city—that every child, no matter from what station in life, will have a chance, if he/she so wishes, to get a music education, to play a musical instrument, to sing his/her own song. To him, music isn’t just a luxury or something a certain socioeconomic class can afford to pay for.
‘A fundamental necessity’
Music “is a fundamental necessity,” Aller said. “I say this because I know exactly what it feels like to look at the world of classical music and arts education from the outside. I come from a depressed area in Bacolod. I know what it means to have humble beginnings, where a career or even a simple education in music felt like an impossible, distant dream. I originally took up physics education, thinking that was my set path. But my life was completely transformed because people chose to look past my background, see my potential, and champion my journey.”
Aller, 28, a graduate of the University of Baguio’s music program, continued: “Too often, I see society look at music lessons as a pleasant hobby—just another extracurricular activity to keep children busy. But if my journey has taught me anything, it is that music is not an ‘extra.’ It is essential. When a child picks up an instrument or opens sheet music, it triggers the brain’s equivalent of a full-body workout. Scientific research proves that intensive music training accelerates language acquisition, sharpens cognitive processing, and builds deep emotional resilience. When I watched our students practice this summer, I saw them learning how to sit with frustration, how to master discipline, and how to find a voice when words simply were not enough. Music trains the mind, but it anchors the soul.”
“Unlike so many youth activities that are eventually outgrown, music is lifelong,” he added. “It is a companion that will walk with these children into adulthood—their comfort in sorrow, their expression in joy, and a safe harbor for the rest of their lives.”
And so I sat and watched as kids with the oddest names confidently strode to the platform to play an instrument or show and tell about their artworks.
While observing the young performers being called to the stage and their names flashed on a screen, I couldn’t help thinking how today’s parents seem to have chosen the quaintest names for their progeny. I saw a Zajara, a Skylar, a Ysean Rainne, a Jayreen, a Marienea, a Shanaia Elicia, an Iker, a Gon, a Zacc, a Heira, even a Nashiea Bree Cassiedy.
But there they were, the girls in frilly, sometimes sequined, dresses, the boys in coat and tie or at least a vest over their white polo shirt—their Sunday best, in short.
The children’s small, square paintings depicted flowers, sunsets, silhouettes, birds, green fields, or, as one child put it, “secret places where people can feel warm and safe.” Another child said, “Art taught me to be patient and to use my imagination.”
When ‘a spark caught’
The months-old school was “just a vision” in Aller’s mind. He took his young niece for a frappe at Café Marie on Aspiras-Palispis (formerly Marcos) Highway. While there he noticed an open but empty cubicle at Gracean Building.
“The moment I looked at it, a spark caught,” he recalled. “I thought to myself, ‘This would be absolutely fitting for a small music studio.’ What started as a spontaneous thought in a café quickly became a whirlwind of passion. I worked tirelessly, poured my entire soul into it, and set my heart completely on establishing this space.”
“And who could have known?” he said. “Three short months after our grand opening, that single studio cubicle blossomed into a massive, vibrant music community. It became a true school.”
The school this summer past had 300 enrollees.
At the recital, Aller announced the “Send a Kid to a Music School” scholarship program, a community-based initiative aimed at giving deserving children and youth the chance to receive a music education through the help of sponsors.
For a donation as low as ₱300, which covers a session, a student not just gets a music lesson but also develops discipline through constant practice and hard work to reach his/her goals. Aller is aware that among low-income families, the priorities are food, housing and schooling, with little or no budget for music lessons, instruments, or learning materials.
Through this program, Aller and his faculty will seek recommendations from Baguio’s barangays on who are the promising and potential music students who can avail themselves of the scholarships.
“We are doing our absolute best every single day to offer the finest, highest-quality music education here in the city,” he declared, even as he admitted that he “never actually imagined putting up a whole music school.”
He expressed thanks to those who had guided and supported him since he started performing with the Baguio Vocal Ensemble in 2019.
For this non-recitalist/observer, it was reassuring to hear him speak these words: “Do not worry about playing perfectly. Play with your heart. Let the music speak for you.” CS
For information on the Send a Kid to Music School scholarship program, write to allerschoolofmusic@gmail.com.
