“We truly wish that whatever we taught you today won't be used ever,” Vargas said. “In that way, we know you are all safe. But it would never hurt to be prepared.”
The two OPM artists stressed that a songwriter should be “specific, clever, and honest.” Authenticity of the stories told in songs are most appreciated nowadays, and as Nicolas puts it, “write what you know.” This is best reflected if the inspiration of the songwriter came from one’s experiences. “Gumawa ka ng kanta na wala na, o wala pa,” Nicolas said.
Right now, Sam is working his way through a whirlwind of academics and gig life. Besides being an active musician and a junior MINT Music Business Management student, he also heads the school’s official music org Herbabuena. He is also tapped from time to time to go to production sets to do sound and mix engineering.
“Your trademark [is your own] way of interpreting it and ‘owning’ it,” he said. “[Your style] should be that no matter where it is placed and faced; you would know that it came from the person who originally thought of it.” - Elwood Perez, director
“I would like them to also see and appreciate how much work, skill and craft are required to get a production ready for an audience.”
— Mr. Dennis Marasigan,
MINT Theater Arts program head and theater actor