Dipolog international fest fetes gong, bamboo music

Vietnamese duo of Ho Khac Chi and Hoang Ngoc Bic. Lord Norven Namoc

THE MUSIC BORNE out of playing gongs and bamboo instruments cannot simply be dismissed as an obfuscated form of entertainment, for it has always been a mirror of “a life of spirituality, subsistence, and of communing with nature in this part of the world,” said National Artist-designate Ramon P. Santos during the first international gongs-and-bamboo music festival, held Feb. 19-22 in Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte.

“There’s a need to trace the roots of these musical traditions in Southeast Asia to fully appreciate and explore their significance,” he added.