Translate emotion into melody: composer of Hong Kong Metropolitan University student anthem writes music to cope with stress
- If Joanalene Mallari is processing thoughts that are tough to say aloud – for example, when she came out to her parents about being bisexual – she turns to songwriting
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Joanalene Mallari posts some of her songs on Instagram, where she has more than 6,000 followers. Photo: HandoutEvery night, Joanalene Mallari cannot go to bed before spending time strumming on her guitar.
“I just have to. I’m busy during the day with school ... At night, it’s the least I can do for myself,” said the 23-year-old who is in her last year studying criminology at the Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU).
The soothing routine is a way to release her emotions by translating them into melodies. Despite having struggled with bullying and relationships, the Filipino-Hongkonger is resilient as she has found her coping mechanism in writing music.
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In September, the budding songwriter gained recognition for composing her school’s student anthem. The catchy tune is now played around the campus.
“It’s me, it’s her, it’s him, it’s you. And we are all HKMU,” read the song’s lyrics.
“[Before this] no one had really trusted me so much with something so big,” the student said.
Holding on amid instability
Growing up, Mallari did not have a lot of stability.
“I would move from school to school,” she said, explaining that during her primary school years, her parents were deciding whether to settle in Hong Kong – where she was born – or in the Philippines.
It was tough enough to constantly adapt to new environments, but when she entered secondary school, she faced such intense bullying that she and her family went to the Philippines for a year so she could recover.
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“It’s very vague now because I don’t like to think about it ... It just took a toll on my mental health,” she said without going into details about her past.
That was the time she found refuge in music, writing her first song, “Hold On”, about finding her identity.
“I was just struggling with my life at that time,” Mallari recalled. “[I wrote the song] to figure out how I can get myself back.”
Just make a song out of it
Now, Mallari has written more than 50 songs. Though most of them are kept in her phone’s notes and voice memos, she posts some on Instagram, where she has more than 6,000 followers.
Similar to journaling, songwriting is how she combs through thoughts that are hard to say out loud.
“Having Filipino parents, you don’t really get to really open up about your problems and everything. So it was my way of coping with stress and problems – just making a song out of it,” said Mallari.
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One of the most challenging topics for her to express, especially to her parents, is her sexuality.
“I’m bisexual, and it’s not something that all parents would understand,” she said, adding that her Catholic father and mother were not accepting when she told them she was attracted to people of both genders.
In “Even Just on Christmas”, she sings about longing for her parents’ acceptance: “My someone is waiting outside getting through the cold. I can’t let her in ’cause we can’t be in the open ... I wish I could bring her so mum can finally meet her, but I know that I can’t.”
Beautiful wake-up call
After returning to Hong Kong to finish secondary school, Mallari lost touch with her music as she struggled to catch up with what she had missed.
“At that time, it was a struggle for me. I had a lot going on,” she shared. “And that’s when I was going through a lot with my parents.”
Earlier this year, she revisited her passion for music when coming across an audition for a school musical at HKMU.
She recalled thinking: “Why not? It’s been a while since I’ve been on stage performing.”
“It’s like a reminder of what I actually like and ... love to do. It’s just a wake-up call.”
The show featured various drama, dance and music performances from HKMU students. Octavian Saiu, the professor behind the project, wanted to end the event with a student anthem and gave Mallari the job of composing it.
“From the first moment I met Jo, there was no doubt in my mind that she could do a lot of great things in music,” Saiu said. “So I trusted her more than she trusted herself at that stage. And I proved to be right.”
During the show’s finale, Mallari and all the performers danced together as they sang the anthem, titled “We Are All HKMU”.
“What’s a wave will wave away. Love is all that will remain,” read the heartfelt lyrics about inclusivity.
“We worked on this together, and we came up with something beautiful,” Mallari said.
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