With its 31st year of uncovering Authentic Atenean Music, Awitenista once again opened the doors for aspiring songwriters and performers during their Soft Launching event held at the Arrupe Hall yesterday, November 15.
Awitenista is an annual songwriting competition produced by Kalasag- Ang Taunang Aklat ng Unibersidad ng Ateneo de Davao. It is one of the major and most awaited events in the Ateneo community since 1987.
The said program officially marked the beginning of the submission of entries for the competition. Performances from last year’s Awitenista were shown during the earlier part of the program. The audience was entertained by performances of Paol Lofranco, Jed Concha, Pauline Tolentino, Jayrah Kaye Adeva and other artists who received awards during the Awitenista 30.
Pauline Tolentino of Salt and Paper Band, an enthusiastic participant of the annual competition, expressed her excitement for this year’s Awitenista. She is expecting a new wave of composers and a new set of well-written songs.
“Ang Awitenista kasi is for the Ateneo community. It’s the about the life of the Atenean. Yun yung nakaka-excite. Yung mga bagong story line nila na pwedeng ma-share sa mga Atenista at sa mundo,” Tolentino said.
“Writing a song, hindi yan madali. Kailangan talaga ng inspiration. May mga feelings ka sa loob mo na gusto mong i-express or i-share. Feel free to write it into a song. Combine the melody and the right lyrics para maihatid mo ang message mo at maiparamdam mo sa kanila yung kanta. Just feel free to express yourself,” the performer added.
Awitenista 31 Steering Committee Head, Loren Gokotano, also shared her thoughts regarding this awaited event of the year. According to her, there are great things to expect and planned surprises for the Ateneo community.
“Honestly, doble ang pressure sa amin for this year kasi we celebrated the third decade last year. Bongga na iyon kaya gusto naming malevel-up pa. Isa din sa mga inaabangan talaga during Awitenista, aside sa mga magandang kanta, is ‘yung mga celebrity guests or judges. Wala pa talagang confirmation, pero maraming dapat abangan ang mga Atenista.”
Bona fide students, faculty members, and non-teaching staff are invited to take the risk and join the competition. The deadline for submissions for Awitenista 31 will be on December 8, 2017.