THE ROAD TO success was never easy for Ian Resurreccion who used to play music on the dusty streets of Alfonso Town in Cavite. In time, the lesser known musician slowly made a name for himself — and now performs in concert halls and symphony orchestras overseas.
However, climbing up the ladder of success and reaching musical stardom wasn’t easy for Resurreccion. The first saxophone he held was not his own and like most children in his hometown’s marching band—the San Miguel Banda 8—he practiced using worn-out instruments passed from one player to another, some dented and others with missing parts or both.
Still, those battered instruments changed Ian’s life of poverty to that of triumph and fame. He is now based in Texas, helping ensure that the next generation of Filipino children will no longer be subject to the hardships he experienced but will begin with better opportunities.
Every now and then, Resurreccion packs a balikbayan box with second-hand musical instruments bound for his hometown in Cavite.
Using his extra money, Ian scours garage sales, flea markets and Facebook Marketplace in Texas for affordable finds—collecting saxophones, trumpets, clarinet and other instruments before shipping them home to aspiring young musicians in Alfonso town.
“Para sa akin pinakamalapit sa puso ko iyong bandang pinanggalingan ko. Doon ako nagsimula. Way of giving back ko (ito)… dahil nakikita ko sarili ko sa mga batang nagsimula doon,” Resurreccion said.
Word about his initiative spread quickly among fellow musicians in Texas and friends from orchestras and bands who learned about his project started donating instruments stowed away in their homes, probably forgotten.
“I have friends here in orchestras and bands who know that story. They remembered that they have a collection of instruments that they don’t use anymore. They’re donating them to our band in the Philippines. I collect them until I can fill a whole box,” he recounted.
Many arrive scratched, dented or no longer playable—but that does not worry Ian: “Although the instruments that I collect are old and broken, we have a lot of talents in the Philippines who are resourceful and repairmen.”
For the Caviteño musician, every repaired instrument represents a chance for another child to discover music. He knows this to be true because once upon a time, he depended on that one chance himself.
“I remember how hard it was in the Philippines. We were sharing an instrument. It was hard to buy, especially for my group when I was a kid in a small town. Our instrument was broken. It was lacking. The effect on a group is big when the instrument is complete. Different sounds. The sound you produce is better. Then, you learn more,” he recalled.
Ian was only 12 when he joined San Miguel Banda 8 after watching it perform during a local parade. He wanted to learn the flute, but there wasn’t one available, so he didn’t insist but picked up a saxophone instead—a decision that eventually earned him admission to the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music.
His audition, however, came with a challenge. The orchestra already had enough saxophonists and if he wanted a scholarship, he would have to learn the bassoon in its place. Resurreccion accepted the challenge.
The scholarship made it possible for Ian to pursue a music education degree despite his family’s doubts about music being able to provide for him a stable career.
Learning the bassoon also posed another hurdle and at the time, the conservatory owned only a single instrument that was actually shared by three students.
Professional bassoons cost around P2 million while student models range from about P600,000 to more than P730,000—price that is far beyond the reach of most Filipino families. This is why Ian only got to afford to buy his own bassoon in 2024.
But the challenges he hurdled and triumphed over gave him inspiration as music became his passport to achieving his dream. As a child, music first took him to neighboring towns across Cavite. As a member of the UST Orchestra, it brought him across the Philippines.
Music also gave Ian a series of firsts—his first airplane ride, his first international performance and his first trip abroad to Hiroshima, Japan, for a New Year’s concert.
So, the boy who once shared a broken saxophone in a small-town band had become a professional musician performing beneath the bright lights on international stages.
After graduating from UST, Resurreccion received another scholarship to pursue a Master of Music degree at Texas Tech University. But when he returned to the Philippines during the Covid-19 pandemic, opportunities for professional musicians had largely disappeared. Rather than wait, he returned to Texas to pursue a doctorate degree in music under a scholarship.
While completing his studies, he worked as a teaching assistant and performed with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, Big Spring Symphony Orchestra, Amarillo Symphony Orchestra and Roswell Symphony Orchestra.
He now looks back to those years of labor with teary eyes. He never imagined that music would one day take him to the top. Yet every visit home reminds him that his story began with a borrowed instrument.
Whenever he returns to Cavite, Resureccion goes back to the same community where he first learned to play. Surrounded by children holding instruments that once crossed the Pacific inside balikbayan boxes, he teaches them the same lessons that changed his own life.
For Resurreccion, each donated instrument carries more than notes and melodies because it carries the possibility that another child from a small town may one day discover that music can take them farther than they ever imagined.