Let There Be Light

Latin Grammy winner flutist Nestor Torres was in Kuala Lumpur for his inaugural performance at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas. Dinesh Chandren writes about his enthralling encounter with the jazz musician who is also a SGI-USA member.

In December 2006, I attended a SGM Youth Division Leaders’ conference involving youth leaders from all over the country. During a small group session discussing leaders’ and organisational development, I asked my group members, “Have you done anything new in the last six months?” The answer - silence.

In the six months preceding that meeting, I have watched a serious play for the first time (Anike by Wong Phui Nam), seen the world’s best choir in action (Little Stars from Croatia) and watched the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in action for the first time. I also tried paintball (nearly killed me - but it was great fun!). These were some of the new experiences I tried out.

My point is, new experiences enrich our lives, and adds colour to our personal development. If we are unwilling to try something new, how can we ever improve ourselves and our surrounding? Trying something new does not mean going for something extreme like, say, bungee-jumping. It could be something like listening to new CD, watching a foreign-language movie for the first time, or even reading a new book.

Without new experiences, we will never be able to savour the full flavour of life. These experiences give our lives hope, and inspire us towards higher achievement. But I also admit that some things are too good to change, like ordering Triple Play to start off every time you’re at Chili’s Restaurant.

One moving experience I had is listening to Latin Grammy award-winning flutist Nestor Torres perform at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) conducted by Jacomo Bairos. The show was titled Latin Jazz Fiesta which showcases Latin jazz music, whose centerpiece was Nestor’s flute performances. Most of Nestor’s pieces were from his last album, Dances, Prayers and Meditations for Peace (2006).

Well, I’ve been aware of Nestor Torres for some time now, considering he is a SGI-USA member. Thing is, I don’t really know much about him or his music. What is Latin Jazz anyway? I have never chanced upon his CDs in record stores.

On the night before, September 4, Nestor paid visit to WKSGM. The charismatic Seko Ong conducted an impromptu discussion meeting. Before the session started, Nestor joked that for those sitting higher up, it’s easier to leave.

A member of the audience asked why he practised Buddhism. He simply answered, “Because it works. It’s logical, and it answers the questions about life.” He went on to add that “We make decisions based on fear. We live our lives based on fear.” I thought that was a great insight, and also reflects a great part of how I, and many other people, live our lives. So often, we fear losing what we already have.

Someone then asked him what he thought of human revolution. He replied, “It’s a hassle; it’s painful; it’s not nice - but it’s the only way to change myself.” Spot on.

Throughout the discussion meeting, Nestor gracefully answered questions from his audience. What most of the audience probably didn’t know is that during that discussion meeting, he finished two huge mugs of strong coffee. He probably just landed from a long flight, and made his way to WKSGM with little or no rest. On top of that, he had to attend rehearsals with the MPO the next day and probably leaving soon after his concert. Despite his punishing schedule, he made time to greet and provide encouragement to SGM members. He was also gracious enough to perform three of his pieces at the meeting. What a first-rate human being!

Now we go to the next day, the day of his concert. Several weeks before the concert, we tried to get tickets. At that time, there were only ten tickets left, and the seats were scattered all over the hall. That surprised me; I thought Nestor was relatively unknown in this region, but his concert actually sold out.

The concert began with the MPO playing El Cumbanchero, a rousing piece from Argentina which Jacomo Bairos, the conductor of the night, described as cowboys riding their prancing horses. The MPO, who were in superb form that night, played some more. This is the second time I’m listening to the MPO live, and each time I am left marvelled by the beauty of their performance.

Then the star of the show came on. Nestor Torres came on and played El Condor Pasa backed up by the orchestra. Most of us might know is as the Simon and Garfunkel tune but this is not their original composition (it is a Peruvian folk song, by the way). Even by that very first piece, he had begun to magnetise the audience.

After that song, the MPO played some more tunes, once again in brilliance. It is such a joy to listen to good music performances. You feel like you couldn’t listen to anything else.

Then Nestor came on again, and by this time the crowd was eating out his hand. It was like he was on fire, and we came to watch him burn. I never did imagine that a man with a demure-looking instrument as the flute could project so much energy, movement and spirit. There was this young lady sitting in the row in front of me who was so enthralled by Nestor’s performance that at one stage, she was “conducting” the orchestra from her seat!

At this stage, Nestor played mostly from Dances, Prayers and Meditations for Peace. He performed tunes such as Le There Be Light, Till Forever and Rhumboso. This album was inspired by two events : the September 11 tragedy and the Dalai Lama’s lecture For the Dalai Lama’s lecture he had composed a piece called “The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law”, which has as its backbone, the recital of gongyo (prayer liturgy) as practiced by Nichiren Buddhists around the world.

September 11, 2001, was the day Nestor was to receive his Latin Grammy. However, the 9/11 tragedy occurred, and the awards show was cancelled. Nestor himself wrote on the album jacket, “…but against the backdrop if such evil, something so important to my career seemed meaningless.”

During the period following 9/11, Nestor went to various houses of worship to play his flute. “It was my intention to a conduit for whatever energy was present in the city at the time, and channel it into music that could transform grief to acceptance, anger to courage, and despair to hope. From those improvisations, emerged most of the songs included here.”

At one point, he even led the audience in clapping, which we gamely followed. Then he stopped and wordlessly chided us for clapping out of time. The audience laughed to that and followed back in step.

At the end of his performance, many people were on their feet, including yours truly and his editor. I was deeply moved by Nestor’s spirit, and the audience was moved too. The applause went on and on, and the people were shouting “Encore!” and “One More!”. Nestor had left the stage by then, but the audience’s rapturous reaction made him come out and take a curtain call.

He said that he is happy to be here, especially just a few days after we celebrated Merdeka - yes, he said Merdeka. We are such a complex and paradoxical nation, with so many races living in harmony. This, he remarked, is like the rainbow after the storm; that rainbow appears not in spite of the rain, but because of it. “I am really impressed by Malaysia, a nation which is relatively young but is yet rich with so much experience. It is this marriage of experience and vigour that will surely bless this nation for years to come. I am honoured to be here with you during this season of celebration.”

What beautiful words! I find it deeply moving that a foreigner seems to know more about the beautiful things in this country that we Malaysians sometimes allow ourselves to see. While there are people striving to drive a wedge within our rich diversity for their own twisted vested interests, and while we ourselves see things as “us” and “them”, Nestor reminds us that this diversity is what makes our country so beautiful, like the colours of a rainbow. He reminds us that being human is more significant than any difference that we may have.

When I saw Nestor in WKSGM the day before, he seemed exhausted. At the DFP, when he spoke, he had a raspy voice, and probably had an infected throat, but he still spoke with great vigour. Every time, he finished playing, he ended as if he had expended great energy and effort into his tune, closing his eyes, and letting out a deep breath each time. You could see the tremendous life force he had when performing.

During the performance, the conductor, Jacomo Bairos, told us about how this concert came to be. About 15 years ago, when he was still in high school in Homestead High School near Miami, Florida, Nestor Torres came to his school to give a master class. Jacomo was so inspired by that encounter that he decided to pursue his dream of a career in music. Since then, he has had a distinguished music career, and is currently Principal Tuba in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO).

In August 2006, Jacomo met up with Nestor at, of all places, the Singapore Soka Association (SSA) headquarters. Jacomo then told Nestor how he was inspired by that encounter years ago. Other than being a tuba player, he has also been developing his career as a conductor. From then on, they began to work together on Latin Jazz based concerts. Jacomo also co-founded the SOKA-New Century Orchestra, which is fully supported by SSA. How mystical it is that a single encounter can inspire a person and change the course of his life to work for peace! President Ikeda has always stressed the importance of treasuring very person we meet, and this is why.

Both Jacomo and Nestor praised the MPO for being a world-class orchestra.

During intermission, I purchased the two Nestor Torres CDs that were on sale. The first was the Dances album, and the other one was Sin Palabras (Without Words). After the concert, we all rushed out to meet with Nestor and to have our various stuff autographed (CDs and programme books). By the time we got out, a long line all the way up the stairs had already formed. This showed how much we loved his performance. I was convinced that what he did that night gave full expression to the term Buddhism equals daily life. Through faith, he is actively pursuing his passion, music, and contributes towards bringing people together.

I managed to get up close to him and congratulated his performance, and we shook hands. And he praised the batik shirt I put on that night. “Nice shirt!” Up close, he was really humble, warm and friendly. He was still so gracious even though he was probably really spent; he greeted everyone with a warm and brilliant smile.

He smiled like someone who can finally say, “I have won.”

[ Courtesy December 2007 Cosmic]