Definitely one of the biggest hits of the year, Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” has sold over 5.6 million copies in the US alone and has reached number one in 17 countries with over 105 million YouTube views on the original version alone.
Yes, the song has also been covered countless times by individuals as varied as Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Cookie Monster, Manny Pacquiao, Petra Mahalimuyak, US President Barrack Obama and everyone in between.
Early this month, a pair of classically trained musicians formed what they call “a volunteer pickup ensemble” of 60 instrumentalists and singers who decided to call themselves the 3Penny Chorus and Orchestra.
Together, they recorded and uploaded their own choral symphony version of “Call Me Maybe.”
What should make this version of particular interest to us is the fact that its conductor, 22-year-old Arianne Abela is actually a Filipina, a niece of noted stage actor Bart Guingona. Arianne’s parents migrated to the US before she was born and she also has a 14-year-old sister named Krista who actually edited the video.
In a 2008 article published by the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Arianne was born with physical disabilities brought about by a rare condition called amniotic banding syndrome, which caused her left leg to be amputated. Some of her fingers on both hands are either missing or fused together and there are toes missing on her right foot.
Thankfully, those physical defects didn’t stop her from pursuing a career in music successfully as she went on to graduate at the Yale School of Music and Yale Institute of Sacred Music.
In choosing to perform Carly Rae Jepsen’s monster smash, Arianne’s American collaborator Colin Britt told the New York Daily News, “Like everyone, I have heard this song a lot for the entire summer. And I, like everyone—whether they want to admit it or not—have the guilty pleasure of enjoying it.
“The string riff is perhaps the most recognizable instrumental thing about the original version. When I heard it I thought it would be fun if a real orchestra played it.”
And it turns out Colin was right. He wasn’t the only one who had fun with the video.
“We had a blast putting this together, and we’re amazed at the enthusiastic reaction the video has gotten online,” he later posted in his own website.
