Founder of Madrigal Singers dies

MANILA, Philippines - National Artist for Music Andrea Veneracion, founder and former choirmaster of the internationally acclaimed Philippine Madrigal Singers or Madz, passed away late Tuesday night, two days before her 85th birthday today.

ABS-CBN reported that Veneracion, who had been comatose for several years after suffering a stroke, died at 10:50 p.m. Tuesday. She was 84.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) said in a statement that her remains will be cremated today before being brought to the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cubao, Quezon City.

The CCP is set to pay tribute to Veneracion in a necrological ceremony Sunday morning at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo. Interment will follow at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Born on July 11, 1928, Veneracion was named National Artist for Music in 1999 by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in recognition of her contribution to Philippine music. She was also a recipient of the Outstanding Filipino Award for Culture and the Arts in 1997.

Veneracion also founded the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music Chorale and was credited for spearheading the development of Philippine choral music.

She earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano and Voice at UP Diliman where she graduated cum laude. Years later, she became a professor at the UP College of Music and an honorary chair of the Philippine Federation of Choral Music.

In 1990, she became the vice president for Asia of the International Federation for Chorale Music. She was hailed as the Artistic Chairperson of the International Choral Festival in Caligiliari, Italy in 1996 and chair of the International Choral Festival in Taipei in 2001. 

She served as adjudicator in international music competitions and was the accompanist of another National Artist for Music, Jovita Fuentes, for a number of years.

Veneracion also joined the Philippine swimming team.

The UP administration and the UP Madrigal Singers have yet to release statements on the death of Veneracion, who was fondly called “Ma’am OA” by her students and colleagues.

Mark Anthony Carpio, who replaced Veneracion as choirmaster following her retirement in 2001, posted a photo of him with a smiling Veneracion in his Facebook page.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Ma’am OA, for everything! We all love you very much!” read the caption of the photo posted by Carpio.

A number of people also posted messages on the Facebook page of the Madrigal Singers, who changed their profile photo to a sketch image of the deceased National Artist. 

International Choral Festival

She died a month before the start of the Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival organized by the CCP.

CCP said the festival, which would feature 20 selected choirs from seven countries that will compete in various categories, was organized to honor Veneracion, whom the CCP dubbed as “one of the pillars in the promotion and development of choral music in the country.”

The festival was also organized in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Philippine Madrigal Singers. It would run from Aug. 7 to 10. 

UP Madrigal Singers

Veneracion established Madz in 1963 following her return from the Indiana University School of Music-Bloomington where she pursued a Master’s Degree in Voice as a Fulbright scholar. It was at the American university where she encountered the Indiana University Madrigal Singers who rallied the music of the Renaissance period. – With Evelyn Macairan