The University of the East Chorale bagged the Grand Prix of the 2006 Busan Festival and Competition that took place from November 16 to 18. Their victory, however, was put in the shade after boxing champion Manny Pacquiao conquered the ring yet again on November 18 after bringing Mexican fighter Erik Morales to his knees in record time.
Nevertheless, the UE Chorale was honored in Malacañang earlier this month and the group stood tall among the Filipinos who have brought honor to the country, including the athletes of Team Philippines and young scientists who have earned international recognition for their achievements.
The UE Chorale was adjudged the Busan Festival’s best choir, bagging the competition’s top prize, as well as two gold medals in the contest’s pop competition with their renditions of Queen’s "We Will Rock You," "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid movie soundtrack and "Lady Marmalade" as sung in the movie "Moulin Rouge," as well as a silver medal for their renditions of the songs Pater Noster (The Lord’s Prayer), Swedish composer Robert Sund’s "Magpie’s Dance" and Korean composer Geonyong Lee’s "Santus" in the classical category.
The festival categories were pop, classical and ethnic, with competing groups allowed to participate in two categories in a run-up at the Samsung Church and the Busan Cultural Center. The contest’s judges consisted of officials of the International Federation of Choral Music (IFCM), the official representative for choral music of the International Music Council of the UNESCO.
During the span of the competition, the UE Chorale and other participants in the festival also sang at an "encounter concert," a free show held at public venues in Busan. The UE Chorale serenaded commuters at the Yeonsan Subway station along with Taipei’s Praise Singers Choir.
The Busan festival saw the participation of 42 chorales from all over the world, including four choirs from the Philippines.
Competing on a paucity of funds, the UE chorale was in Korea for 33 days, many of which were spent literally singing for their supper.
Choirmaster Anna Abeleda recalls, "We had sponsors for part of our stay, but there were 15 days when we had no hosts or sponsors, when we had no performances and it was very frustrating and discouraging."
During these days, she and her chorale kept the faith and "lived as frugally as we could. I eventually paid for our lodgings of 5 euro a day per person using my credit card." While 5 euro is not much for a single person, she adds, the costs stack when you are looking at a large group of people.
These moments of discouragement, she says, were made easier to bear by looking at digital photos of her infant son which she keeps in her cellular phone.
Abeleda is also a member of the multi-awarded Philippine Madrigal Singers and, because of the UE Chorale’s victory at the Busan festival, Abeleda was even invited by the Korean Chorale Institute to participate in the Asia-Pacific Choral Summit.
UE Chorale business manager and singing member Darwin Varga smiles as he said: "God has been good though; we prayed constantly and, eventually, there were sponsors who saw us through. We went to (the cities of) Inchon and Daegu, where we were sponsored by church organizations." In those cities, the UE Chorale sang for Korean audiences "that at first did not respond–they were reserved and, probably, waiting for what we would do and see how well we could sing."
They eventually won the Korean audiences over, Varga adds, "with our intensity and our soul–and with the sincerity of our singing. Many singers sing well, but it is the Filipino who can instill a depth of emotion in his or her singing. It seems to be our native talent and our trademark. The Koreans liked that and we soon saw familiar faces when we would perform."
He also wondered at Korea’s cities, which he said are "very conducive" to the development of musical talent. "In Daegu, which is considered a small city there, there are eight conservatories that are not attached to any universities. One of the church hostels where we stayed had a (music room) that was fully equipped and where we could practice with everything we needed."
"We were confident we would sing well," Abeleda said. "It is what we set out to do. Pero kinabahan kami sa kapwa Pilipino na kasali sa competition. Iba kasi talaga ang Pinoy kumanta, buo ang puso, buo ang damdamin (We were worried about the other Filipinos in the competition. It is something else when a Pinoy sings–it is all heart, all emotion)."
The UE Chorale also acted as unofficial ambassadors of goodwill for the Philippines, Varga says: "When we first arrived in Busan, hindi maganda ang tingin ng mga Koreano sa Pilipino o sa Pilipinas (the Koreans did not have a good opinion of Filipinos or the Philippines). So we did our best to put our best foot forward, to show that Filipinos are very good people and that we are very talented people. We were on our best behavior because we represent our country as well as the University of the East."
After winning the competition, the UE Chorale rendered a winner’s concert at the Busan Cultural Center where they received their awards.
When they sang the national anthem, the other participating Filipino choirs sang with them in what Varga described as a moment that "felt so good for us because here were our countrymen singing with us, celebrating our victory with us because they knew the victory was for the Philippines and not just for us."
Back home, Varga and Abeleda says their experience in Korea has "enriched" them and given them a chance to take the measure of their strength and determination and their love for singing.
"Grabe for us to have gone through that and still love the music," Varga says. "This is our way of reaffirming our love for singing."
"You know, there are times that I look at the UE Warriors (the school’s basketball team) with wistfulness, kasi sila may sariling bus at kwarto sa UE. Kami, kung saan ang tambayan, dun din ang practice at kanya-kanya kami ng pamasahe papunta ng mga venue namin (they have their own bus and room in the UE campus. We just sing where we hang out and we pay our own fares when commuting to our singing venues)."
He adds that "despite this, we love the music and we will keep singing. Besides, we won this competition and we have shown the world that Filipinos are wonderful singers. We have shown them the Filipino soul and that is worth the sacrifice."
"Of course, support is always welcome," Abeleda says with an engaging grin. "We can use all the help we can get and we promise to keep doing our best to make every Filipino proud of us."