University of the Philippines Singing Ambassadors

2005 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 all 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.