TO CELEBRATE her 70th birthday, Maria Victoria G. Gibson (Mary V. to loved ones) played choice pieces from her favorite musical instrument, the piano. Her performance at the Ayala Museum was an absolute treat, attended by family, friends and classmates from Maryknoll College.
Mary started playing piano early in her childhood. At 4 years old, her mother, Liberata Tanchoco-Gutierrez, taught her the basics of playing piano. Her second piece at her concert was an ode to her mother. She recounted that her mother would play Mendelssohn-Liszt’s “On Wings of Song” in the evening, and the music would fill her room, slowly lulling her to sleep.
Soon, she would be taught by well-known piano teacher and her aunt, Maria Lourdes Gutierrez. Mary notes that all the families in Malabon would go to “Auntie Maring” for their piano lessons. She recalls that her cousin and fellow Malabon native, University of the Philippines professor Lydia Rodriguez-Arcellana, also took her first piano lesson from Auntie Maring.
While studying at Maryknoll College, she continued playing the piano. Her father would bring her to her piano lessons at the Music Conservatory of the Holy Ghost College in Mendiola.
Myriad delights
After moving to New York to work at the United Nations (UN), she met her future husband, John Gibson. It was in New York, Mary recounted, that she became truly passionate about music and the arts. Influenced by her husband, who was a poet, Mary was introduced to the myriad delights of New York’s literary, art and musical scene.
She and her husband were 25-year subscribers at the Metropolitan Opera. She was introduced to romantic composers like Chopin, and to productions like “The Ring Cycle” by Wagner. Her exposure to the arts in New York increased her love for her true passion, the piano.
While working at the UN, she enrolled at Mannes College of Music. She was also taught by a teacher from Juilliard, and another instructor from Russia.
In her final year at United Nations in 1999, Mary performed in a UN staff concert at the General Assembly area. In December of that same year, she left UN and New York and returned to the Philippines.
Now back in her native land, Mary still sought to feed her passion for music and the arts. In the Johann Strauss Society she would meet her current instructor, Raul Sunico.
Mary recalls that while playing for fellow members of the society, the man who played after her performance was Sunico. She was so enchanted and amazed with his playing that after his performance, she asked if he would agree to teach her, which, of course, Sunico did.
And so, a few days before her birthday, Mary treated her guests to six musical pieces at Ayala Museum. Watching her play “Ave Maria” and “On Wings of Song,” it is as if her fingers were flying; music poured out like honey to the ears.
She followed these two with Liebestraume by Liszt, Liebeslied (Widmung) by Schumann-Liszt, and Nocturne Op. 48, No.1 and Ballade No. 4, both by Chopin. Mary noted the need to “caress” the keys of a piano to create beautiful tones.
She also observed that although her Steinway Grand Piano at home was clearly superior to the Seiler Piano she used at Ayala Museum, the Seiler had its own good points. One can clearly see the passion that Mary has, a passion that translates into the artistry and musicality that she creates.
Mary proved that dreams and hopes can be fulfilled, and even at 70, it is never too late to nurture your passion and share it with those you love.
