ISS Remarks of Circumstance re: Donation to DLSU Taft Libraries

On 21 January 2019, Ingrid Sala Santamaria donated a collection of books, CDs and DVDs to the Libraries. In line with this, she gave her Remarks of Circumstance focusing on the purpose of life. She recalled how she been organizing and collating these materials in the spirit of documenting how she lived her life.

Below is a copy of her Remarks of Circumstance delivered during the Turnover Ceremony.

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ISS Remarks of Circumstance re: Donation to DLSU Taft Libraries

Turnover Ceremony

Monday, January 21, 2019 4 PM

The  Learning Commons, Henry Sy Sr. Bldg., 9th Floor, Mezzanine

(INTRODUCTION)

Brother Ray Suplido, DLSU Officials, Beloved Friends and Family, Good afternoon.

It is such an honor and a great privilege for me to stand before you today on this significant occasion.

(EARLY BACKGROUND)

An anonymous author once said, and I here quote, "Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it."

As a 5-year old, my mother Pilar Blanco Sala gave me my first piano lessons with which I obediently complied.

At age 10, I gave my first SOLO RECITAL, then called the Premiere Recital, something every budding pianist aspired for.

At that recital, I clearly knew what I wanted to do in life ---- to be a performing pianist on stage.  I HAD FOUND MY PURPOSE!

Between that Premiere Recital and today, there are nearly 7 decades --- 7 decades of my giving my whole heart and soul to my purpose.

My whole artistic life and activities have been adequately, perhaps too excessively, chronicled in all manner of media --- newspapers and magazines, coffee table books other than my own, radio, television and now more recently, for a decade, on YouTube.  This probably could be attributed to the fact that in our country, as in most, it is customary to announce and comment on artistic, cultural and musical happenings --- and truth to say, I have given a thousand or so piano performances here and abroad in the past 5 ½ decades, officially, since 1962.

The sheer number of performances then would account for the voluminous amount of newspaper clippings, magazine interviews, concert programs and posters, hundreds of appreciation certificates and some awards and plaques of recognition --- all these, not to mention my passion which extended to collecting miniature pianos --- and there are a few hundred of these too!

(DOCUMENTATION)

The past few years, I have been organizing and collating these materials in the spirit of documenting how this life I was privileged to have and live, was in fact, LIVED.

With the help of several fiends and associates, we have been able to condense our collections into several categories of big, hard-bound books.

We have also been able to produce 4 coffee table books:  My Four Seasons, The CYSO Story, Peace Philharmonic Philippines, The Romantic Piano Concerto Journey Tours.  A 5th and Final one, is envisioned for the immediate future, perhaps to be named:  "The Eternal Spring"...?

(AUDIO - VISUAL:  CDs and Videos)

Apart from the PRINTED WORD, on the auditory side, besides the hundreds of live concert recordings, I felt compelled recently to produce official, digitally recorded discs of some major piano concertos.  This endeavor resulted in the recording of 11 piano concertos with the Manila Symphony Orchestra.  They are contained in 6 discs.

After this, I went to the Cultural Center of the Philippines and requested for copies of 6 concertos, all different from the previous 11, that I had performed there over the past decades.  I had these 6 vintage CCP recordings remastered to enhance their sound quality.

Then, of course, there are the hundreds of videos I have from so many other concerts both here and abroad, many of them now uploaded on YouTube on my two Channels.

(YOUTUBE)

Ten years ago, I discovered YouTube.  I found out we could upload any number of videos at NO COST.  YOUTUBE THEN BECAME MY NEW WORLD STAGE ONLINE!

My original Channel, the Ingrid Sala Santamaria Channel, has some 900 subscribers and over 300,000 views worldwide.

Midyear last year, I decided to open a second YouTube Channel, the Dr. Ingrid Sala Santamaria Channel, starting with the officially recorded concertos with better sound quality.  Additionally, in this new Channel, we have been allowed to upload WHOLE concertos as opposed to 10-minute segments allowed 10 years ago.  This makes it more convenient to view whole programs instead of cup-up versions as was the case when we started 10 years ago.

(PRESERVATION OF MEMORABILIA)

So, wading and wallowing through all this memorabilia for years, it has now come to the point of my seriously thinking of a good way to conserve all these for the next generations, possibly and hopefully, for inspirational purposes.

Surrounded by La Sallites all my life ---- my husband Joe, his brothers and other family; my son Joey, daughter Cecile, son-in-law Senic; 7 of my grandchildren; and myself being an honorary La Sallite, I looked to De La Salle University Taft, one of the most revered educational institutions in the whole world, to help me conserve some aspects of my so-called Memorabilia Collection, to graciously agree to display and make the Collection accessible to its students, faculty, staff, administration, and other visitors.

(ALIGNMENT OF VISION)

I would like to think that this act would align with St. John Baptist De La Salle's vision of completing and enhancing one's education with the knowledge and love of the arts, culture and music.  As someone once said, "While it is well enough to leave footprints on the sands of time, it is even more important to make sure they point to a commendable direction."

During the intensive and extensive Sala Foundation Ten-year Music Development Program I spearheaded, my biggest personal sacrifice was NOT to perform on stage, so that I could totally focus on producing excellent young artists.  I felt that if I succeeded in doing this, I would have multiplied myself a hundredfold.

This indeed, all modesty aside, would make my footprints point to a worthy destination ....  and I honestly feel that St. John Baptist De La Salle would SMILE and see this endeavor as an extension of his holistic philosophy of education.

(DONATION AND ASPIRATION)

With this hopefully aligned educational aspiration then, I wish to donate this modest representation of a purposefully lived life, in an earnest wish that those whose lives these will touch, will be inspired to fulfill their own fullest potential, not necessarily in music, but in their own chosen fields.  I would wish for these young adults to aspire to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in their lives and in our world because they experienced a TORCH lighted at DLSU Taft Libraries.

(TURNOVER)

Brother Ray, I hereby TURN OVER this Collection to you, to DLSU Taft, and to anyone you may wish to welcome in your wonderful LIBRARIES to share them.

THANK YOU for leading and lighting the way, Brother Ray. ANIMO LA SALLE!!!