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Nestor I. Zamora
Photo courtesy of Zelne Zamora |
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| Nonoy Alsaybar |
Prof Nestor I. Zamora, a highly respected and well-loved musician who devoted his entire career serving God and the Church, passed away on August 2, 2021 in Loma Linda, California. He was 86. A humble and intelligent man with broad and wide-ranging interests and abilities, his versatility brought him near-legendary status among generations of students and colleagues in the Philippines, Singapore, and the USA.
He could sing, play and teach piano, organ, stringed instruments (notably the cello), woodwinds, brass, and percussion. He composed and arranged music for choral groups, string quartets, school bands, and smaller ensembles. He wrote method books for beginning and intermediate violin. He directed choirs and conducted bands and orchestras. But his gifts were not limited to music. He was an excellent caricaturist, calligrapher, and painter. His youngest and only surviving brother, Eddie, said that his Kuya Nestor spent a summer with Dr. William Richli in Mountain View College (MVC) experimenting on how to make organ pipes using a type of wood from the nearby forests.
He was born on October 31, 1935 in Artacho, Sison, Pangasinan to Pastor Meliton Zamora and Fortunata Ibiel. His father was then Treasurer of the Northern Luzon Mission. He spent his elementary years at Northern Luzon Academy. When his father was reassigned to the West Visayan Mission, Nestor attended and graduated high school from West Visayan Academy. He then went to Philippine Union College (PUC) where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree, major in Music Education in 1957. On March 15, 1960, he married his high school sweetheart, Zelle Hilado, a dietitian. On the same year they moved to Singapore where their two children, Zelne and Ray, were born.
Prof Zamora taught music courses at the Southeast Asia Union College. He also directed the band and choir at the Far Eastern Academy where children of American missionaries attended school.
Returning to the Philippines in 1964, Prof Zamora taught music and headed the Music Department at PUC. He also continued cello lessons with Prof. Martiniano Esguerra of the UP Conservatory of Music. Prof Zamora joined the UP Symphony Orchestra in a grand All Beethoven Concert at the UP Abelardo Hall Auditorium in 1967.
He and the family migrated to the USA in 1968 where he taught at the San Gabriel Academy, California. In 1971, he went to Andrews University in Michigan where he received a Masters in Music degree, major in Music Education in June 1972. He returned to southern California where he taught band and choir at La Sierra Academy until he retired in 1998. While busy at school, he found time to serve his alma mater by being active in AWESNA during its formative years (when it was then called WESNAC). He was the First President of the La Sierra Chapter, and served as Vice President of WESNAC during Dr. Eliseo Bautista’s term (1992-95). He enlivened many annual retreats and conventions through his participation as choral and orchestra conductor, pianist, and organist.
During the 1990s he served as Music Director for the annual Filipino camp meetings organized by the Filipino American Ministers Association of North America (FAMANA). Upon retiring from La Sierra Academy in 1998, he became Music Minister for the Central Filipino Church (CFC). He revitalized its music program and together with Juanito “Ito” Afenir lll, started yearly Christmas concerts of Handel’s Messiah. Nonoy Alsaybar and his violin students served as resident ensemble for the project, designed to raise the musical standards of the church choir.
The maestro loved cross-country driving in the summer, visiting relatives in the East Coast and visiting tourist spots like the Luray Caverns, Yosemite, the Statue of Liberty, Smithsonian Institution and other famous spots in Washington DC. He recalls that in one of those trips, he attended the Fred Waring Workshops in Pennsylvania. Here he learned how singers should behave on stage, enunciate clearly, and put together a professional looking program.
Prof Zamora’s wife Zelle predeceased him in 2013. He is survived by two children, Zelne and Ray; two grandchildren, Daphne and Daric; and a brother, Eduardo, a retired Chemistry professor. Two other brothers, Oseas and Crescente, passed away within a day of each other last November 2020. Zelnelu, DNP, is an Associate Professor at the Loma Linda University (LLU) School of Nursing. Ray, an RN, teaches at the Summit Valley College and is a clinical instructor at the LLU School of Nursing.
In a brief one-page autobiography, Prof Zamora disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2004. Reminiscent of Beethoven’s resignation to his total deafness, Prof Zamora wrote in a similar vein, “Although I didn’t shake, muscle coordination continued to slowly deteriorate each day which included my ability to walk, play the piano, organ, strings, woodwinds, and my speech became affected. My brain functions are okay, although the rest of my body takes longer to respond to what it commands. I am able to do one-finger typing and so I continue to write music (NoteWorthy Composer).” In the face of such a dire predicament, he remained courageous and unbowed. He expressed gratitude to God for the many gifts bestowed on him. He ended his autobiography by declaring, “I will continue to serve Him as He mercifully allows me.”
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L-R: Zelle and Nestor, daughter Dr Zelne Lu Zamora, son Ray Colin, grandson Daric
June 19, 2010, Loma Linda Univesity graduation
Photo courtesy of Ray Zamora |
Tributes and Remembrances from Close Colleagues
We asked a few of Prof Zamora’s closest colleagues to give us an “up close and personal view” of the man. Collectively, the tributes are a treasure trove of biographical details on Prof Zamora. Unfortunately, space limitations did not allow presentation of tributes in unabridged form. Delio Pascual’s excellent piece on the formation of the PUC Orchestra is a valuable contribution to PUC music history. Dr. Nobleza Pilar’s introduction to “Singapore Memories” emphasized the importance of God’s leading. Among others, the late Nestor Zamora was instrumental in leading her to Southeast Asia Union College.
Raymond L. Puen
Renaissance Man
I was in the 5th grade in Artacho's Northern Luzon Academy, Nestor in the 6th, when we participated in a piano trio for a school recital. Eunice Malqued played the left-hand bass while Nestor played the more demanding runs of Le Secret on the right side, and I was scrunched in between, playing the oompah-oompah middle section between the two of them.
We went our separate ways, he to the Visayas, I to Baesa. The next time I caught up with him, we were in college. If ever there was a Renaissance man in my life, it was Nestor. He could do all the music things the other accolades will detail, plus draw, invent puzzles no one could figure out and tell jokes in a unique way. We numbered our jokes and, to save on time, he would just call out a number, cock his head to pretend to scroll down his list of jokes, and then let out a laugh. No matter how shallow our initial laugh was, it was rip-roaringly genuine by the time our sides split in laughter for the silliness of our invention.
We parted ways again when I came to the States but kept in touch by sending each other musical quizzes of our fertile imagination. He suggested a serious collaboration of my lyrics to his music for a cantata on Revelation but we never pulled it off. Our collaboration on the 1985 General Conference theme song was the closest we came to publication, but for the poorly-timed departmental reassignment of the music chairman who had selected our submission.
I persuaded School Music Coordinator Lorne Jones of our Southern California Conference to hire Nestor when he arrived in California, and that's how he switched destinations from Florida to San Gabriel, California. Indeed, a man for all seasons, Nestor stands tall in my personal pantheon of PUC alumni who have made a difference in people's lives.
Delio V. Pascual
A Brief History of the PUC Orchestra
I met Nestor Zamora the beginning of the school year 1953-1954. I was a junior in the academy while Nestor was a freshman in college. It seems like our friendship “clicked” right from the very start. I think that our love for music bonded our friendship.
He was a music major and had a vision of forming a school orchestra. He started with a small string ensemble with less than a dozen kids playing violins. From the beginning Nestor laboriously wrote the music for each section of the ensemble. Our repertoire was mostly sacred music and simple arrangement of classical music. I give him credit for enhancing my love for classical music.
From that small ensemble, a viola and a cello were added to give a new sound. Later on addition of brass and wind instruments enhanced even more the sound so that it was then called the PUC Orchestra. Nestor really put a lot of time and effort in developing this orchestra. He spent a lot of time writing music for each musician. Not only that, he also taught students how to play the instruments eventually added to the orchestra. To me, a great highlight of the orchestra happened in 1956 and 1957 college graduation when the orchestra replaced the organ to play the processional and recessional. This was a most satisfying experience for me.
Out of this orchestra, the PUC String Quintet was born. I believe it was Thanksgiving weekend, 1955, when Nestor informed me that a new String Bass was purchased by the Music Department and he offered to teach me how to play it. I gladly accepted the offer and the opportunity to learn a new instrument. So after a couple of lessons, a new ensemble was formed. The PUC String Quintet prepared to participate in the annual Christmas program. We played the “Hallelujah Chorus” from George Fredrick Handel’s Oratorio, The Messiah. This happened a mere three weeks from the time I learned how to play the string bass. This group was composed of Eliseo Bautista, first violin; Shirley Pastor, second violin; Elias Miguel, viola; Nestor Zamora, cello; and Delio Pascual, string bass. After that first performance, we drew quite a few invitations to perform in churches and some civic venues. Transportation was a problem due to the size of the string bass. Once, we were invited to perform in a military venue. They offered to provide the transportation. You can just imagine our surprise when we saw this military bus pull into the campus to pick us up.
Nestor and I had so much fun playing piano duets together. We received quite a few invitations to perform for different audiences. We recorded a few of our duets and I will always treasure these recordings. Playing piano duets is one of the memories that I miss the most. Nestor had touched hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of lives through his music. We all have missed his presence throughout his illness. Now, God in His mercy, has given him a temporary rest until Jesus comes when he will be resurrected never to suffer pain and sorrows. Undoubtedly, he will have a prominent role in the musical activities in heaven. Good night, my dear friend. I look forward to seeing you again beyond the river.
FAR EASTERN DIVISION OUTLOOK, VOLUME FORTY-SEVEN JULY, 1961 NUMBER SEVEN pp 8, 9
A New Home for the Newest Department
By P. G. Miller
President, Southeast Asia Union College
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| L-R: SAUC Pres. Daniel Tan, Dr Amador Gensolin, Nobleza Pilar, Maggie Tan, Leonore Gensolin, and Dr Reuben G. Manalaysay - Singapore, 1963 |
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| Nobleza Pilar singing a cultural song on Singapore TV, 1963 |
Nobleza G. Pilar
Singapore Memories
It was the Summer of '62 - I remember it well. I just completed my undergraduate music studies
at Philippine Women's University and was thoughtfully contemplating my future which at this
point seemed absent of direction. However, there were two possibilities that loomed vaguely,
neither prospect worth pursuing: an extended vacation in another country, and early on, an
unexpected proposal and wedding in three months. I prayed, my family prayed and my father
offered much needed counsel and spiritual direction. God heard and answered our prayers and
with all Heaven's power took charge to save me from a self-destructive life's choice.
One day, soon after, while my mind was going in endless circles I received a message from Pastor H. W. Bedwell to see him at his office where I was given the most life-changing invitation and letter from Philip G. Miller, President of Singapore's Southeast Asia Union College, to serve as a music teacher in SAUC and Far Eastern Academy. My heart stopped beating...and when it started again, I was engulfed in an atmosphere of joy and the cloud in my brain lifted! This was God's answer to all the uncertainty in my quest for a future. I could not contain the happiness that flooded my heart and I sang out my affirmative answer, "Yes, thank you Jesus!"
It was not until a few days later that the mysterious working of the Spirit was made known to me. Behind the scenes of human endeavor and earnest prayers there were three faithful Adventists who were directly involved in the new direction my life was about to take; they were, Nestor Zamora, Dr. Reuben Manalaysay, President of PUC, and Pastor Daniel Tan, President of SAUC. I thank them all for giving me the honor and privilege to serve as a missionary and opened a continuing desire to share God's saving grace. Every detail of the Singapore call moved rapidly and smoothly. In a few weeks I was ready to move on and the flight schedule and housing arrangements were completed.
I bade goodbye and left with the blessing of my prayerful and beloved Father and Mother, family and friends and looked forward with confidence knowing that I was fulfilling God's will for me and assured of His blessings. Arriving safely in Singapore after a flight through a terrible thunder storm, it was exhilarating to be welcomed by President Philip G. Miller, Pastor and Mrs. Daniel Tan and Nestor Zamora, his wife, Zelle and Baby Ray together with other Filipino missionary families.
From Day One, Nestor was the loyal friend and colleague, totally supportive and always appreciative of whatever I contributed to his music ministry and academic endeavor to build the Music Programs of SAUC and Far Eastern Academy. A gifted and all-around musician, Nestor dedicated his talents to serve God, enhancing the church worship, teaching and developing the potential musical gifts of young people in his choral and band programs. He inspired both youth and adult. He was "patient as Job" believing that 'Practice makes Perfect". He loved God and God loved him. He was deeply appreciated by all who came to know him, especially those who had the privilege of learning from him and performing with him. He was a much sought-after pianist, organist, cellist, and conductor all his life and career. We miss him. I, personally miss him, his kindness, his Christian grace and generosity, his sweet spirit and love for Jesus. We miss him in this mortal life but we will see him again, when we hear the trumpet sound at Christ's return. We will honor and worship our God and Savior with music - Nestor will be there, as usual, bright-eyed and in his place ready to use his talents and swell the glorious music of the Redeemed!
Tita Rose Villanueva Rada
MISSING MY MUSIC-MAKING MENTOR
I learned that Prof Nestor Zamora went to his temporary slumber (until Jesus’ return), shortly after midnight, August 1, 1971 at the Aloha Care Home, his Loma Linda residence for the last seven years of his life.
It saddens my heart to lose my beloved piano teacher, our PUC band master, an excellent musician—teacher of various musical instruments, choral and instrumental conductor, mentor, arranger & composer—and I never even got to tell him “good-night” nor “good-bye.”
Excerpts from a feature article “These Were His Sons” in the December 18, 1975 issue of PUC’s College Voice:
I first met Mr. Nestor Zamora when I signed up for piano lessons with him. I was only eight years old at that time and he was still single then.
Once he saw my amateurish scrawls and childish illustrations in my music assignment notebook, he mislabeled them as “artistic talent,” and proceeded to teach me how to draw better. He taught me how to use a pantograph, a device that one could use to enlarge pictures or illustrations.
I became quite hung up on him and each piano lesson was an occasion to look forward to. His lessons were not confined to imparting to me note-reading, rhythmic counting, the technique and skill of finger dexterity and velocity on the piano but included lessons in life and an introduction to the world of art and math as well. The most memorable lesson was when he gifted me with my own GUESSER, a game he had invented. His inscription inside read:
Because you love art
Don’t waste your talents
Dedicate them ALL to God’s use!
When we’d meet for lunch at the college cafeteria with his girlfriend, Zelle Hilado, I would be drilled by them on memorizing multiplication tables in between mouthfuls. Apparently he was impressing on me that math and music were important and somehow related. It wasn’t long after, that he and Zelle got married and I was heartbroken when he did. But it was okay. He was still my piano teacher anyway.
When the Zamoras left for Singapore to be missionaries, I didn’t have the heart to take piano lessons again for a long time. They returned to PUC five years later with a little boy and girl in tow, Ray Colin and Zelne Lu, and they were the most lovable toddlers on campus.
When Sir Zamora formed the PUC band, I signed up to be one of the clarinetists. We played for: out-of-town churches’ Sabbath services, on-campus programs and PUC’s jubilee year (1917-1967) festivities. Not long after, together with his family, he left for the US to further his music studies.
We didn’t meet again until a trip with his family took him back to the Philippines. I introduced him to my then-college sweetheart Henry Rada, and told him we were planning to get married soon and asked him if he could be our “ninong” (male wedding sponsor). He told us he would be honored and we were delighted. Although he participated ‘in absentia’ at our wedding, we knew we had his blessings.
Our paths did not cross again until Henry and I migrated as a couple to the US. We would see him conduct the La Sierra Academy orchestra during the performance of some of their academy musical plays and when he would be in charge of the musical activities of the PUC alumni convocations, as well as at the Loma Linda Filipino Church and Central Filipino Church where he conducted the church choir, ladies ensemble, started a rondalla, a tone chimes ensemble and a string ensemble.
When the Zamoras relocated to Loma Linda from La Sierra, I would visit Uncle Nes and Auntie Zel occasionally at their mobile home. When Auntie Zel passed in 2013, Uncle Nes moved to the Loma Linda Springs condos and eventually to the Aloha Care Home where it was a delight to pay him visits with other musicians and friends. A few of us brought lunch and cake to celebrate his birthday on November 1, 2019. His son Ray joined us and it was our last memorable time of togetherness as a group of musicians. At other visits he would share with me his recent musical arrangements which he painstakingly put together with the aid of his electronic keyboard and a note-writing computer app. I noted at each visit the progressive inroads of Parkinson’s Disease affecting his speech, mobility, gait and balance but his mind was still clear as he painstakingly strived to put his words and ideas across to us in his feeble, unintelligible and frustrated manner.
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, that put to a halt our monthly visits with him as care facilities clamped down on visitors to prevent the spread of the virus to their residents. But the Vendiola couple (owners of the Aloha Care Home) allowed me to have occasional “zip in and zip out” visits which allowed me to drop off some of his favorite desserts. During the last week of November 2020 Uncle Nes’ older brother, Pastor Oseas, and Crescente, the brother next to him passed away within days of each other; the former, of Covid, in San Bernardino, the latter of complications from a hip fracture, in Pampanga, Philippines.
in the Philippines. In mid-July of 2021, the Covid-19 virus finally caught up with him and recovery from it because of his PD became an elusive hope until he finally succumbed to it. Only the youngest brother, Eduardo “Eddie”, is now left of Pastor Meliton Zamora’s four sons. Now that Ninong Nestor is gone, I’m left with a few precious mementos and memories of him.
I will always remember that throughout his life, he was supportive of young people developing their musical gifts whether it was playing an instrument individually or collectively with an ensemble, or developing their vocal ability as a singer or in a choral group. He was all for nurturing musical growth and dedicating them to be used in ministry for God’s glory. He and his music-making will be missed at many church and alumni gatherings but his life of loving music and leaving a music legacy will live on in the lives and music-making of those he taught, touched and lit with the spark of his gift of music!
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| Balintawak Memoirs, PUC Golden Jubilee, 1967 |
Corazon Arevalo Coo
My Benevolent Boss
I first heard about this musical “Wonder Man” when I was still a young girl. It didn’t take long for me to be able to watch him from a distance. I was still in 6th grade when music was offered as a major in PUC. For the first time, in 1953, we had missionaries, Prof Colin and Ruth Fisher, who came primarily to develop our Music Department. Of the first PUC Music graduates, Nestor was one who continued to pursue music as a lifetime occupation and personal mission.
Interestingly enough, among the fewer than ten 1957 Music Education alumni of our school, Mr Zamora was reputedly the only one who could perform and play well enough on any musical instrument as well as conduct a vocal choir, band and orchestra, compose and teach! Soon after graduation he was called to Singapore to lay the foundation for a music department at the Southeast Asia Union College.
Following a term of service at SAUC, he returned to chair the PUC Music Department starting in the school year of 1965-1966. Three years prior to his arrival, I was teaching piano part time on commission for the school. Thus, I got to learn more about Nestor Zamora, as my Boss, up close and personal.
My Boss challenged me to do things I never would have tried on my own. I will never forget the time when he assigned me to conduct the choir for Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. I had already been directing children’s choirs, but most of their songs were in unison or easy 2-part arrangements. Reluctantly, I complied. He assured me I will make it. So, in front of a mirror I practiced the cues for the entrances of each part, dreamed about it, wishing it was just a nightmare from which I would wake up. Through my ordeal, he encouraged me. A BIG Thank you to my Boss for not giving up on me. Knowing the basics of choral conducting equipped me and gave me a measure of confidence to step up to the plate, especially when there was a particular need for someone able and willing to do the job!
My Boss, however, was not bossy. He was benevolent. He impressed me as one who truly believed that music is a gift from God to be used primarily to praise the Giver. He was thoughtful. He believed a piece of music one practiced for hours should be listened to intently and not used as background sound. Inviting someone to provide music while the rest are eating or chatting was a No, No! People must be seated, meditating, not whispering or walking around during the Prelude in a church service. For worship, “Songs must be in the language that people understand. They must get the message!” He insisted that choir members understand what they sing about. I look forward to that glorious morning when my Boss will continue praising the Lord with his music or listening to others’ music with joy and gratitude.
