Awards will affect entries’ ranking

For sure, the results of the Gabi ng Parangal the other night will dramatically change the ranking of the seven entries in the Metro Filmfest, with the three winning movies (Yamashita with 10 trophies, Bagong Buwan with five and Hubog with three) drawing in even bigger crowds.

Although a bit turned off by Cesar Montano’s acceptance speech when he received his Best Actor trophy (for Bagong Buwan), a lot of people took everything with a grain of salt, no doubt due to the "positive vibes" of the season (you know, goodwill to everyone).

The three films mentioned divided the major awards among them, including the Best Picture and Best Director (Chito Roño) for Yamashita; the Gatpuno Antonio Villegas Cultural Award (Second Best Picture), Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Ronnie Lazaro) and Best Child Performer (Jiro Manio) for Bagong Buwan; and the Best Actress (Assunta de Rossi) and Best Supporting Actress (Alessandra de Rossi) for Hubog.

Gross-wise, Bahay ni Lola (still leading as of yesterday) will be the biggest winner of ‘em all. That movie was done on a mere P4-million budget, so in its Metro Manila run alone, it has already recouped its capital and continues to rake in profits. As they’d say it in showbiz lingo, tubong-lugaw.

Cheers to UP Singing Ambassadors

I won’t let the year pass without making an honorable mention of the UP Singing Ambassadors (UPSA), with Ed Manguiat as conductor, which won all the grand prizes in choral competitions in Europe recently. The UPSA paid The STAR a surprise visit upon their return from Europe and serenaded us with some of their award-winning numbers. The group’s victory wasn’t played up in the local media, but it’s never too late to do it now. The UPSA deserves a big pat on the back, with its shining triumph in Germany, Slovakia, Spain, Italy and Belgium.

Highlights of the 3rd UPSA International Concert Tour is besting other world-class choral groups, bagging the Gran Premio Citta D’ Arezzo – the dream of every choir and every conductor in the world. The grand prize came after clinching first prizes each in the Mixed Choir and Folkloric Categories in the XLIX Concorso Polifonico Internazionale Guido d’ Arezzo 2001 in Arezzo, Italy, considered the Olympics in choral singing.

Earlier, UPSA garnered eight awards in the 2nd Johannes Brahms International Choir Competition in Wernigerode, Germany, including the Conductor’s Prize (Dirigentpreis) for Ed and the Sonderpreis for the Best Interpretation of the Hungarian piece Eli, Eli! by Deak-Bardos Gyorgy. They won First Prizes and Gold Diplomas in both the Mixed Choir (both topping the Sacred and Secular sub-categories) and the Folkloric Categories.

Another Grand Prix was won in Trenciaske Teplice, Slovakia, in the Grand Prix Slovakia 2001 International Choir Competition. This was in addition to winning First Prizes, with the distinction of Cum Laude (the only choir to receive such) in each of the Mixed Choir (Open & Compulsory sub-categories) and Folkloric Categories.

The UPSA thus earned the privilege of performing the Grand Prix Winner’s Concert at the 500-year old St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava, where coronations of European kings and queens were used to be held. Old and pioneer art lovers and musicians raved that UPSA is the best choir that has performed in this church, to date.

UPSA’s winning streak continued as it won First Prize in the Folkloric Category in the XIX Festival Internacional de Musica de Cantonigros 2001. Ever the audience’s favorite, it earned the honor to be the lead choir in the Closing Ceremonies of the Festival. Conductor Ed Manguiat led the Festival Grand Choir composed of 42 international choruses.

After the grand prizes in Arezzo, Italy, the International Koorwedstrijd van Vlaanderen-Maasmechelen, Belgium was a big challenge. Participated by strictly screened choirs from all over Europe, UPSA’s winning the First Prize in the Mixed Choir Category was a glorifying and fulfilling success!

Now on its 21st, the UPSA is the University’s Official Performing Group for Choreographed Choral Music. Its repertoire covers various types of music – from classicals, spirituals to international songs; kundiman and ethnic top Broadway, English favorites to Filipino pop and even rock they did a back-up for the rock band – Wolfgang in the Acoustics concert at the Music Museum last year.

The group has performed extensively in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the US. It has consistently won honors and top prizes for the country in some of the world’s most demanding choral competitions and festivals such as the Florilege Vocal de Tours in France, the Festival Choral International de Neuchatel in Switzerland, the International Koor Festival in Arnhem, the Netherlands and the Zimriya World Assembly of Choirs in Israel.

Last year, the UPSA represented the country in the World Voices Australia, an international choral festival participated by 18 choirs from 11 countries as part of the drum-up activities for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, held at the world-famous Sydney Opera House. The UPSA earned the distinction of being the only choir to receive a standing ovation for each of the three songs allowed of each choir.