OUR featured artist today possesses a rare musical combination as a conductor, composer, arranger, performer and educator. Professor Herminigildo Ranera (Herme for short) obtained his Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Sto. Tomas (UST); his Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado (with the Dean’s Citation for Graduate Excellence and National Graduate Award) and Doctor of Philosophy Major in Educational Management from Cagayan State University.

He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at St. Paul University, Manila, where he also serves as a faculty of the Graduate School.

As a conductor, Herme has led the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO); California State University Orchestra; Long Beach Symphony Orchestra; San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra; Manila Philharmonic Orchestra; UST Symphony Orchestra as well as the Transylvania Philharmonic Orchestra in Club, Romania.

His composition “Philippine Symphonic Folksongs” was performed by the Orchestra Nipponica Tokyo (Japan) in 2013 and by the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra (Peoples’ Republic of China) in 2020. His orchestrations were recorded by the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra.

We recently interviewed Herme in our radio program, Culture Carousel — aired over 98.7DZFE-FM, the Master’s Touch, every Saturday from 12 noon to 1p.m. — and here is that interview.

Which among your many roles fascinates you more and challenges you everyday?

I love conducting, composing, arranging, performing and teaching, but teaching fascinates me more. Teaching is sharing your knowledge, thoughts and experiences. It is for everyone: young, old, amateur and professional. It is the art and science of helping others to grow. But teaching is not easy. It requires dedication, patience and hard work. Helping students/musicians to hear, grow and develop is very rewarding. Each day, we, teachers face new challenges that inspire us to be creative and flexible.

What do you think makes you an inspiring artist and educator?

My adaptability and flexibility. I know that each student/musician come from different backgrounds and with individual personalities and different levels of intelligence. Not all teaching strategies work with them. I have to be flexible. I create a conducive environment where everyone enjoys participating in the learning process in music making. I try to inspire and challenge them to perform at their highest level by being supportive and positive-not intimidating, destructive and negative. So as an artist, I want my fellow artist, to feel comfortable and accepted.

What legacy do you want people to remember you by?

My answer is ‘positive impact in the lives of others.’ I want people to remember me as a simple, kind person. I just hope that I am able to share my knowledge, love, friendship and return the kindness that good people have shown me by doing good deeds to my fellowmen.

How do you put excitement and a fresh approach to a musical piece that you have conducted so many times?

As I said, I am just a simple person. I just apply the 3H Principle: Humanize, Humorize and ‘Herminize.’ You know, I use my name ‘Herminization,’ to ‘Hermanize’ people, it’s a combination, a hybrid to simplify things. Some teachers, when they explain, they want to do it in the hard way. But in my case, I simplify it. I ‘Hermanize’ it, I make it easy. So that is the 3H principle. Humanize, meaning I ‘m easy to deal with. I am approachable. when we have rehearsals, it’s important that you communicate with your students, it’s not a one-way thing, so they can always ask questions, share their thoughts, or even suggest, I welcome suggestions. So I’m flexible. And I make my class fun, Humorize. In that way, we can accomplish a lot in a fun, easy and simplified way.

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