A THOMASIAN band with four Artlets musicians snagged the title in this year’s Tunog Tomasino and will take the stage with two other homegrown talents in the grand Paskuhan concert on Dec. 20.
The “Tunog Tomasino 2024: In Full Volume” featured six Thomasian groups from different colleges through its annual battle of the bands at the UST Practice Gym on Friday, Dec. 6.
COALESCENCE was hailed champion in the competition, followed by JYVE! and Miktinig. They will perform before Thomasians in the much-awaited Paskuhan concert that will cap off the University’s month-long festivities.
The bands were evaluated based on their performance (40%), originality (30%), technicalities (20%) and audience impact (10%).
In an interview, members of COALESCENCE expressed their excitement to play their own rendition of songs at one of the University’s most anticipated events.
“I’m so happy that we got here as our authentic selves…but we are also pressured because there’s going to be a lot of people hearing our songs, and hopefully, dancing with us,” Journalism senior and COALESCENCE vocalist Ethan Christensen Cardaño said.
Cardaño’s band is composed of Journalism student and lead guitarist Jianzen Deananeas, rhythm guitarist Von Zyron Alimorong and bassist Janssen Anne Versy Mendoza from the Literature program and Music Technology student and drummer Mavie Comia.
Cardaño, Deananeas and Alimorong are also staffers of The Flame.
The two other winning bands shared the view, describing the opportunity to perform for Paskuhan as a big milestone for local artists like them.
Based in the Conservatory of Music, five-piece act JYVE! is made up of Miguel Bibares, Yuan Galindo, Vasyl Guevarra, Jan Viernes and Iñigo Zapanta.
Meanwhile, Miktinig consists of College of Information and Computing Sciences students Laurenz Nicolo Briones, Gilberto Miguel Buot, Alexander John Dimalibot and Dominic Savio Mangio; Rowelle De Mesa from the College of Rehabilitation Sciences and Riefengel Chavente from the Faculty of Engineering.
Each band pulled off an original song and a cover by an artist. COALESCENCE sang its original track “Pantomime” and its rock rendition of Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” JYVE! performed its song “Lila” and “This Love” by Maroon 5, while Miktinig showcased its song “‘Wag Kang Mag-alala” and Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are.”
Organized by TOMCAT-UST, the media production student organization of the University, this year’s theme for Tunog Tomasino centered on amplifying the power of music and showcasing the talents of Thomasian artists. F – Rachelle Anne Mirasol with reports from Riana Laurice Fajardo
