l

What motivated you to become a musician? How did you learn to

play/sing/produce?
I started singing at a very young age and its probably because of my fathers
influence. He is not a professional musician but I know that playing music is one of
his passions. At the young age of six, my parents started enrolling me in musical
theater workshops and that was when I realized that singing and performing fulfill
me as a person (well, as a kid at least, during that time). I was blessed to get
accepted at the prestigious Philippine High School for the Arts where I began my
formal training in classical singing and music in general. Those four years of high
school was spent in honing and improving my craft and after graduating, I decided
to continue my studies and pursue music in college. Now, I am on my last 2
semesters and already looking forward to start a career in performing and music
making.
Please tell us about a favorite collaborative project (with musicians or
other artists) that youve worked on in the last year, and describe this
creative process.
Probably my favorite collaborative project that Ive worked on in the last year was
Ang Bagong Harana. It is a show produced by The Philippine Opera Company that
features and promotes Philippine Musicfrom ethnic, colonial, folk to modern and
mainstream pieces. The production consisted of fellow singers, musicians and
dancers and it was amazing how every artist contributed something to the table. I
have had the opportunity to learn from my colleagues in the different art disciplines
and seeing each one of them at work every single day for a few months is just
inspiring. Those late nights spent rehearsing; the lack of sleep and the idle social life
were all totally worth it. I would have never traded this experience for anything.
Please describe how you have used music to address social issues, and/or
make a positive impact on your community. Please provide specific
examples.
After high school I was lucky enough to get in a scholarship program with
Kalinangan Youth Foundation (Kalfi) that trains young women in leadership. Kalfi
LEAD became one of the platforms I used in performing my social responsibility. I
was a volunteer in their ARAL study program where I teach music appreciation to
street children. We spend afternoons singing songs and learning about music. I am
pretty sure that this project took over the possibilities of them doing drugs, stealing
or just wasting their time doing nothing productive. And just seeing the smiles on
their faces during sessions are more than proof that music gavegives rather, a
positive effect on each of them. And I believe that impact, just like change, starts
with the smallest unit.

Another memorable experience that Ive had was when I gave a talk on Arts
Advocacy to young leaders of different indigenous communities in the Philippines
(NTFP-EP Indigenous People Youth Camp). It was a great experience to share
possibilities on how they can use their art and cultural traditions in voicing out
whatever they believe in, support or stand for.
Describe a musical process that would enable collaboration and
composition between a small group of musicians from different musical
and cultural backgrounds.
I think itll be a good start to find the common grounds of everyones musical and
cultural backgrounds. As soon as they are figured out, itll be much easier to start
on a composition where everyone can certainly put in something to the table.
Probably there are some similarities in terms of instrumentation, rhythmic patterns,
scales, etc. These similarities will definitely serve as the string that binds every
musician involved in the collaboration. And whats incredible about this is there
would be an automatic cultural exchange together with the creative process of
music making.
During OneBeat, we encourage Fellows to develop ideas for creative
projects that address issues within your community. Please describe a
creative project that you would be interested in developing during
OneBeat.
Poverty has always been my countrys leading issue and sadly, this issue serves as
a cause to several problems such as drug addiction, teenage pregnancy and
education disparity. What pains me more is that the youth are the ones who get
really affected by this. I have experience in volunteering as a music teacher to
street children and it would really be great to continue in this pathway. I want kids
to be exposed in music making. I want to setup a project that promotes music
education and performance to unprivileged children. I know that there are plenty of
potential hiding in the small bungalows and dark streets of Manila (and other cities
and provinces here in the Philippines) and for this to be discovered, introduction,
exposure and experience to music is the key. This may not be a direct solution to
the issues that I raised but imagine if every street kid spends his/her time making
music instead of stealing, doing drugs or just being beaten up by their parents
because they werent able to sell enough cigarettes on the streets; how much
different can each community be?
Briefly list some of your main musical/creative/artistic influences.
MUSICAL THEATER: Laura Osnes, Natalie Weiss, Kelli OHara, Lea Salonga, Megan
Hilty
COMPOSERS: Jonathan Reid Gealt, Kerrigan & Lowdermilk, Jason Robert Brown,
Alan Menken

MAINSTREAM ARTISTS: Jason Mraz, Phillip Philipps, Sam Smith, Michael Buble,
Rascal Flatts
MEDIA
'Rue's Lullaby': The song is basically about that moment of struggle to find peace in death. When I started
composing the music, I immediately thought of Rue's peaceful death from the Hunger Games. I really felt
that her character matched the piece's intentions. (Composed and interpreted by Melisa Camba; Text by
Anonymous from 'Lullaby'; Accompanied by Jeff Manalo) November 2014
Lipad (Fly) : Lipad is a collaborative work by sister and I composed in time for the FIBA Asia 2015 finals.
Its our simple way to show our support as Filipinos to our Philippine National Team, GILAS PILIPINAS.
(music, text and vocals by Melisa and Meeko Camba ; guitar accompaniment and mixing by Melisa
Camba) September 2015
'Be Proud' : This song was composed for Teachers Month and was originally part of a self-produced
album that was never released. (composed and produced by Toto Camba ; Interpreted by Melisa Camba)
February 2009
When You Smile : This beautiful piece of music by Dan and Laura Curtis is truly one of my favorite
compositions. The text and music jive perfectly together with the genuine emotion that the song has. It
really pierces through the hearts and souls of anyone who listenswell at least thats what happened to
me. Also, I am very blessed to be given a chance to sing this wonderful arrangement by my dear friend,
Airra Punzalan. (Melisa Camba, soprano ; Airra Punzalan, conductor / arranger ; UST Symphony
Orchestra ; MARC, videographer) November 10, 2015
Hi! Im Melisa Camba from the Philippines! I am turning 23 this April and Im currently on my last 2
semesters at the UST Conservatory of Music. I started singing at the early age of 6 and had been active
as a musical theater performer all throughout my childhood. I was lucky enough (and so blessed) to get
into the Philippine High School for the Arts where I started my training as a classical singer. I became
exposed to other genres of music such as opera, rondalla, ethnic, and a lot more. This is where I got to
meet fellow young artists like me who came from different backgrounds and cultures and to be with these
amazing people for four years is just surreal. Imagine living with ballet dancers, theater actors, visual
artists, creative writers and fellow musicians in a mountain school. Its just wonderful. Probably the best 4
years of my life. When I graduated, there was no hesitation that I wanted to pursue music, still. So, I
entered the UST of conservatory and of course majored in voice. Some question my decision in choosing
music. They say that this a very unstable career, that I would not be financially stable and I wouldnt be
able to support myself, Ill just end up as a struggling artist well, these statements are.. well they could
be true, yes. But when I weighed everything, Id rather face the challenges of being a musician that not do
music at all. Music has been part of my life ever since I can remember and it has been a very huge part of
who I am as a person. Melisa would not be Melisa if it werent for music. I can literally say that music is
my culture. Its my way of life and I just could not imagine facing each day without it.
To be part of this fellowship means more experiences, more challenges, more learning, more friends,
more music making, more cultural immersion, more growth. I think that OneBeat would definitely an
incredible opportunity to develop myself not just a musician but as a person. Also, I really want to be able
to contribute something in my country in terms of arts awareness and cultural preservation. Music and the
arts are not that valued here as compared to the other fields and its just sad if it goes on that way. I

want to change that and I think these types of opportunities would greatly contribute on how Ill be able to
propose projects and solutions that would untangle this web.
Looking forward to be part of OneBeat!