The Philippine Madrigal Singers in shaping the country’s choral music culture for 60 years and beyond

“As a conductor and teacher, what I am most proud of are the singers who have sung with the group under my care,” Carpio shares with Tatler. “They continue to spread the love for singing together and inspiring others through music,” he adds.

Indeed, many Madz alumni have moved on, becoming conductors, soloists and teachers. Its roster includes Anna Abeleda-Piquero and her husband Edmund Piquero, Jr, Saunder Choi, Nilo Alcala, Robert Delgado, Christopher Borela and more, who became choral arrangers and composers. Some of them also became choirmasters, musical directors and solo performers like Elmo Makil, Evelyn Mandac, Francisco Aseniero, Noel Velasco, Jonathan Velasco, Arwin Tan, Ervin Lumauag and Bianca Camille Lopez, to name a few.

“We always say that winning competitions is secondary to our mission of touching lives through singing. But among our victories, I’m most content with the one in Torrevieja, Spain,” recalls Carpio, pertaining to the International Habaneras y Polifonia Competition, his first competition as Madz conductor and which was also graced by Veneracion’s presence.

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Besides touring the world, either for competitions or concerts, Madz is also known for cultivating the choral music community in the country. It spearheads the Andrea Veneracion International Choral Festival, a choral competition for Filipino and non-Filipino choirs; the Madz Et Al Network, a community of choirs with roots to the Madz alumni and annually culminates in a choral festival; the Sing Philippines Youth Choir, a music camp handled by the Philippine Madrigal Singers, the Andrea Veneracion Sing Philippines Foundation and the Cultural Center of the Philippines through its cultural exchange department; and other outreach programmes and workshops.

Carpio shares that the Madz Et Al, in particular, was initiated by Veneracion in the Eighties. “She gathered the choirs conducted by Madz past and present members and made them sing together. That started the idea of making more and more people sing together. When she was still alive, she would also go to different places, bring along the Madz and conduct workshops with the local choirs and conductors. In the end, all the choirs performed together with the Madz. All these led to her dream of the whole country singing together—a ‘Singing Philippines’,” Carpio recalls.

Singing is deeply ingrained in Filipino culture. This is evident not only in the number of professional singers we produce locally and internationally but also in our sheer love for music.

“I’ve always believed that we are a singing race!” exclaims Carpio. “The voice is the easiest musical instrument to learn. We bring it with us wherever we go. To someone who tells me that his or her voice is not beautiful, I reply, ‘You should join a choir’. It’s in the choir where you can develop this skill, where you don’t have to sing alone. In fact, many times, singing with someone else makes you sound so much better.”

Carpio relays that research studies about choral singing have shown that the practice of singing together improves breathing, posture and heart rate regulation. It is an effective pain killer, helps sustain a healthy immune system and improves mental health. It helps reduce stress levels and improves our sense of happiness and well-being.

“To top it all, choral singing brings people together! It is not only good for the singers but also for the people listening to them. In the choir, we listen to each other in order to produce a blended and harmonious sound. This is what we need to do now—learn how to listen to each other. In the end, we all become better!” the choirmaster adds.

Lauded already as the most acclaimed choral group in the country and respected internationally for its longstanding record of excellence, the Philippine Madrigal Singers still aspire to be better and explore more options of contribution to the musical community. This year marked the first time for the revered choir to travel through Canada—from Vancouver and British Columbia in the West to St John’s, Newfoundland in the East. “This is a milestone! In the past, we would only visit a few Canadian cities from a US concert tour. Now, we were able to participate in five music festivals that happened in different cities,” says Carpio. “We were also able to connect with a lot of Filipino communities and make them proud of their heritage. What makes us feel even better are the comments that we get from Canadian audience members,” he adds.

Immediately after their Canadian tour, the Philippine Madrigal Singers joyfully reunited with its former and current members and dearest fans to continue the 60th-anniversary celebrations. On July 9, they commemorated the 11th death anniversary of Veneracion. This was followed by a private recording at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez of the album, The Sound of Sixty Years, which lasted until July 10. On July 11, the choir joined the first National Choral Day celebrations by also remembering their late founder’s 96th birth anniversary. Together, members of the choir visited Ma’am OA’s resting place at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, calling the poignant affair “Pagdalao”, emphasis on the last two letters. The following night, the alumni and current members celebrated the milestone with a themed dinner at the Metropolitan Theater’s ballroom, calling it “Intensixty Madrigal Dinner”. The celebrations culminated in the Sound of Sixty Years concert at the Benito Sy Pow Auditorium, UP College of Architecture, making it their homecoming to the premier state university.

To continue the celebrations, Madz held regular hands-on choral workshop with the CCP, including a special concert at the Ayala Museum in September. Recently, this month, a closing concert of the choral group’s 60th anniversary was held, titled IntenSixty. The Sing Philippines Youth Choir (SPYC) is now headed to Spain for the 55th Tolosa Choral Competition from October 28 to November 4, where they will also perform goodwill concerts for Filipino migrant communities in Valencia, Barcelona, and Madrid from October 23 to 27 and November 5 to 9. Madz resumes its tours in November, starting with Malaysia, in time for the Sada Kenyalang Festival in Kuching. Finally, the European Grand Prix batch 2007 will have a concert at the Theatre at Solaire in December.

“I always say that there is still a lot of beautiful choral music out there waiting to be performed and listened to,” Carpio says. “There’s still a lot of Filipino composers whose works ought to be shared throughout the world. There are still a lot of Filipino choristers and conductors who are hungry for more knowledge and skills. I would like to reach out to as many as I can so there will be more of us who will contribute to a better society, a better world, by singing together beautifully. And I plan to do all these with Madz!”

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