UST Singers top California choral fest

MANILA, Philippines – The University of Sto. Tomas Singers took top honors at the recently concluded 2009 California International Choral Festival and Competition held at the Performing Arts Center at San Luis Obispo, California.

The group took first place in the Required Pieces and Folk competitions, as well as the coveted People’s Choice competition.

The choir, led by conductor and founder Prof. Fidel Calalang Jr., has won more than 45 top prizes in various international choral competitions.

The five-concert, three-day festival and competition, held from June 26 to 28, featured six choirs from the Republic of Congo, Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, the United States (two entries from California colleges), and the Philippines.

For the three competition concerts, choirs were first asked to sing the same two pieces to enable the judges to determine the strengths of each choir; then to perform a suite of folk songs from their respective countries during which choir members wore their national costumes; and finally, each choir was allowed to perform a 12-minute program of their best pieces, after which the audience were asked to vote for their favorite choir.

The UST Singers won the first two categories, and although they did not win the Choir’s Choice award (the St. Zlata Meglenska choir of Macedonia won this award), they won over the audience’s hearts and emerged the people’s favorite. The Judges’ Special Award was given to the Sikana Choir of the Congo. 

The group has won the Choir of the World Grand Prize and four first prizes at the 49th Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales, United Kingdom in 1995. They also won the Gran Premio “Citta di Gorizia” and four first prizes at the 37th Concorso Internazionale Di Canto Corale “C.A. Seghizzi” in Gorizia, Italy in 1998, which entitled the choir to represent Gorizia at the 11th European Grand Prix for Choral Singing held in Varna, Bulgaria in 1999. The choir has triumphed at the 27th Florilege Vocal de Tours in Tours, France, winning two first prizes and the Prix du Public.

They have done 15 concert tours in Europe, the USA, Canada, Mexico and Asia, and have also sung for Pope John Paul II, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain, Luciano Pavarotti and four Philippine presidents.

Established in 1992, the group consists of a unique blend of singers who are mainly students and a limited number of alumni representing the different colleges and faculties of the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas, and has continued to impress audiences, encompassing music of different genres and from all periods.

Judges at the second California International Choral Competition were Dr. Ginger Colla, professor emeritus and former director of Choral and Vocal Studies at the California State University; Christian Grube, professor for choir conducting at the Berlin University of Arts; and William Hatcher, national president of the American Choral Conductors Association.