Text by: Jennifer Manongdo

Photo provided by UP Manila Chorale

 UP Manila Chorale members and conductor John Steven Verrosa (center in black) receive their award during the 10th International Festival of Choral Song in Miedzyzdroje Poland.

UP Manila Chorale’s moving interpretation of popular chorus tracks landed them the grand prize in the 10th International Festival of Choral Song in Miedzyzdroje Poland. Twenty-five members of the chorale bested other groups in the oldest choir festival in Poland on June 20, 2024, under the guidance of music director John Steven Verrosa.

The multi-awarded musical group performed the following repertoire for the Musica Sacra Competition: “II. Crucem Tuam Adoramus, Domine” composed by Polish composer Pawel Lokaszweski, “Gapas” by Eudenice Palaruan, and “Benedicto” by Urmas Sisask. For the main competition, the group performed “Memento Mei, Domine” (from Two Lenten Motets by Lokaszweski), “Pagtulog Na, Nene” (arranged by Dr. Arwin Tan), “Love’s Tempest” (from Two Choral Songs, Opus 73, by Edward Elgar), “Soneto de la Noche” (text by Pablo Neruda, composed by Monten Lauridsen), and “Kudot-Kudotan” (arranged by Ruben Federizon).

The group bested 11 other competitors for Musica Sacra and bagged the Gold Diploma and the Main Prize (Amber Halo of St. Peter the Apostle) for the said category. Aside from this, UPMC also bagged the Gold Diploma for the Mixed Category and the Grand Prize for the whole festival.

UPMC has been reaping awards in the past years such as the top spot in the Polyphony Category of the 61st Torrevieja International Choral Contest for Habaneras and Polyphony in Spain in 2015. The group also won the first Gold Prize in the Contemporary Category and the second Gold Prize in the Mixed Category of the second Tokyo International Choir Competition in 2019. These achievements earned the group an invitation to the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo where they serenaded diplomats and Japanese government officials during the ASEAN Month in August 2023.  

Previously, UPMC received the 2014 Most Outstanding Student Organization of UP Manila and the 2016 Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honors) for Music from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).