The beaming conductor, founder and choir master
Ed Manguiat (center, in maroon barong) with his
group.
Acclaimed choir named Champion in recent international festival
The beaming conductor, founder and choir master
Ed Manguiat (center, in maroon barong) with his
group.
The UP Singing Ambassadors (UPSA) earned the Grand Prize at the 4th International Choir Festival Mundus Cantat Sopot 2008 (MCS 2008) held in Poland in May. For the distinction, the group was awarded the prize trophy which was a statuette of the Sopot Seagull.
The resident choir of UP Diliman’s College of Arts and Letters, UPSA was founded in 1980 as a simple group of former Kalayaan Dormitory residents. Over the years, it has blossomed into a multi-awarded, internationally renowned group especially known for its exciting concert repertoires, heart-tugging renditions and world-class performances. The choir is composed mostly of students and alumni from the different colleges of the University, its members have no formal background in choral singing, but have been trained by Ed Manguiat, its founder, Musical Director and Conductor.
The choir earned the grand prize by garnering the first place in the competition’s three categories, namely: Sacral Music; Folk Music; and Gospel, Jazz and Spirituals.
UPSA bested 18 choirs from different countries in the Sacral Music category, earning the Gold Diploma for the highest at 96.8 pkt. Two other choirs were awarded the Gold Diploma in the same category: Madrigal de Brasillia from Brazil (90 pkt) and Maribor from Slowenia (90.4 pkt.)
Seventeen choirs competed in the Folk Music category, where UPSA again earned the Gold Diploma for the highest rating of 98.4 pkt. Three other choirs were also awarded the Gold Diploma, namely: Soul from Sanok, Poland (90 pkt,); Maribor (90.8 pkt.); and Madrigal de Brasillia (96.4 pkt.)
UPSA competed with five other groups in the last category and was awarded the Gold Diploma for topping the tilt at 97.2 pkt. SOUL also received the Gold Diploma for garnering 90.4 pkt.
This is the third time that UPSA received international acclaim. In August 2001, the choir was named Grand Prize winner (Gran Prenio Citta d; Arezzo 2001) in Arezzo, Italy. At the same competition, the group also bagged the 1st Prize in the Mixed Choirs and the Folklore categories.
In July of the same year, the choir also earned the Grand Prize at the Grand Prix Slovakia 2001 International Choir Competition at Trencianske Teplice, Slovakia. The group was also named 1st Prize in both the Mixed Choirs and Folklore Categories.
In 2002, UPSA was chosen as Aliw Awards’ Best Chorale Group. Two years later, the group received the National Consumers’ Award Outstanding University Choir.