University of the Philippines Singing Ambassadors

Recognitions

51st Certamen Internacional de Habaneras y Polifonia de Torrevieja
August 2005, Torrevieja, SPAIN

• 1st Prize – Polyphony Category
• Best Interpretation of a Habanera
• Premio del Publico (Prize of the Public)

3rd Int’l. Choir Competition of Sacred Music “Musica Sacra Praga”
July 2005 Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC

• GRAND PRIZE Winner / Laureate of the Festival
• 1st Prize – Mixed Choirs Category
• 1st Prize – Chamber Choirs Category

44th “C.A. Seghizzi” International Choral Competition
July 2005, Gorizia, ITALY

• Best Interpretation of an Obligatory Piece
• Public’s Prize & Jury’s Indication – Folkloric Category

28th “Prof. Georgi Dimitrov” International May Choir Competition
May 2005, Varna, BULGARIA

• 4th Place – Chamber Choirs Category

17th International Festival of Academic Choirs July 2002
Pardubice, CZECH REPUBLIC

• 1st Prize – Tribute to T. Morley Competition
• 2nd Prize – Folkloric Category
• 3rd Prize – Mixed Choir Category

14th European Grand Prix for Choral Singing
August 2002, Arezzo, Italy

• FINALIST / Arezzo Representative

Started in Arezzo in 1989, The European Grand Prix (EGP) for Choral Singing is a gathering of the Grand Prize winners of Europe’s top six* major choral competitions. The U.P. Singing Ambassadors (UPSA), represented by right, the most prestigious Arezzo competitions by winning the GRAND PRIZE at the 49th Concorso Polifonico Internazionale “Guido d’ Arezzo” in 2001, in Arezzo, Italy.

Philippine choirs have been consistent participants in the EGP, having won the Grand Prizes in Tolosa, Spain (Phil. Madrigal Singers – European Gran Prix winner,1997 EGP – Tours Edition) / Gorizia, Italy (UST Singers, 1999 EGP – Varna Edition) / Tours, France (Ateneo de Manila Glee Club, 2001 EGP – Debrecen Edition) and Arezzo, Italy (UP Singing Ambassadors, 2002 EGP – Arezzo Edition).

• Europe’s top six choral competitions are in: Arezzo, ITALY / Tours, FRANCE / Tolosa, SPAIN / Varna, BULGARIA / Gorizia, ITALY & Debrecen, HUNGARY

XLIX Concorso Polifonico Intenazionale “Guido d’ Arezzo”
August 2001, Arezzo, ITALY

• GRAND PRIZE WINNER (Gran Premio ‘Citta’ d’ Arezzo’ 2001)
• 1st Prize – Mixed Choirs Category
• 1st Prize – Folklore Category

Internationale Koorwedstrijd van Vlaanderen-Maasmechelen
Sept. 2001, Maasmechelen, BELGIUM

• 1st Prize – Mixed Choirs Category

XIX Festival Internacional de Musica de Cantonigros
Aughust 2001 Cantonigros, SPAIN

• 1st Prize – Folkloric Category

Grand Prix Slovakia 2001 International Choir Competition
July 2001, Trencianske Teplice, SLOVAKIA

• GRAND PRIZE WINNER
• 1st Prize / Cum laude – Mixed Choirs Category
• 1st Prize / Cum laude – Folklore Category •

2nd Johannes Brahms International Choir Competition
June 2001, Wernigerode, GERMANY

• 1st Prize | Goldenes Diplom VII – Mixed Choirs Category
• 1st Prize | Goldenes Diplom VI – Folkloric Category
• Diregentenpreis (Conductor’s Prize)
• Sonderpreis – Best Interpretation of a Hungarian Composition

Festival Choral International de Neuchatel
1995 Neuchatel, SWITZERLAND

• 1st Prize – Mixed Choirs Category

24o Florilege Vocal de Tours
1995 Tours, FRANCE

• 4th Place / Finalist – Open Programme Category

Festival Internacional de Musica de Cantonigros
1995, Cantonigros, SPAIN

• 3rd Prize Folkloric Category* Premio del Publico

Nederlands Int’l. Koor Festival
1995, Arnhem, The NETHERLANDS

• 2nd Prize, Mixed Choir Category

XL Concorso Polifonico Intenazionale “Guido d’ Arezzo” 1992, Arezzo, ITALY

• 1st Prize Folklore Category

Nominee to the International Music Council (IMC) UNESCO International Music Prize
2005, Paris, France

2004 National Consumers’ Award (Who’s Who in the Philippines)

• Outstanding University Choir

Aliw Awards 2002, Manila, PHILIPPINES

• Best Chorale Group

Folk Arts Theatre’s “Karnabal Grande” Choral Competition
December 1985, Manila, PHILIPPINES

• 1st Prize

U.P. Himig ’85 Choral Competition, Quezon, PHILIPPINES

• 1st Prize

National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) ’85

• 1st Prize, College Choirs Category, Regional Finals (National Capital Region)
• 2nd Prize, College Choirs Category, National Finals

National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) ’83

• 1st Prize, College Choirs Category, Regional Finals (National Capital Region)

U.P. Himig ’83 Choral Competition, Quezon, PHILIPPINES

• 1st Prize

Battle of the Best Chorales, 1980, Manila, PHILIPPINES

• 1st Prize

5th European Tour & Competitions

Significantly, UPSA’s 5th International European Tour and Competitions, with its Outreach Programs carried on while in Europe, is a major highlight of its Silver Anniversary Celebration.

The group’s efforts had been rewarded with several major prizes and awards obtained from four (4) Competitions in which it gladly participated. For one, among twenty-three (23) other competing choirs in SPAIN, it won Three (3) Prizes in the 51st Certamen Internacional de Habaneras y Polifonia de Torrevieja: First Prize, Polyphony Category; Best Interpretation of a Habanera (“Tu”); and Premio del Publico.

In the Czech Republic, the choir also won First Place in both Chamber Choirs and the Mixed Choirs Categories (Gold Zone Levels) in the 3rd International Competition of Sacred Music “Musica Sacra Praga,” and was hailed as “The Laureate of the Festival/Grand Prize Winner.”

At the 44th “C.A. Seghizzi” International Choral Competition, in Gorizia, ITALY, UPSA won Best Interpretation of an Obligatory Piece and the Public’s Prize & Jury’s Indication in the Folkloric Category; and reached the Finals in the Mixed Choirs Category and won 4th Place in the Chambers Choirs Category at the 28th “Prof. Georgi Dimitrov” International May Choir Competition, in Varna, BULGARIA.

The Group also had the honor to be invited in grand and historic festivals like the Arezzo Sbandieratori Medieval Feast and the 37th Festival Internazionale del Folklore in Aviano-Piancavallo, both in ITALY, and the famous 13th Festival International de Chant Choral de Nancy in FRANCE where UPSA earned accolades and received standing ovations in their performances.

Other highlights of the UPSA tour are the visits they made to institutions like homes for the aged in Luzern, SWITZERLAND, and Ville, Alsace Region in FRANCE; the Cancer Institute in Aviano, ITALY; and the Regional Prison in Strasbourg, FRANCE. UPSA also visited many schools for children and did workshops for them and some choir groups in Nancy, FRANCE, Sora, ITALY and Athens, GREECE.