Children's choir bags gold in German tilt

Updated 11:16pm (Mla time) July 31, 2004
By Jocelyn R. Uy
Inquirer News Service

Editor's Note: Editor's Note: Published on page A23 of the August 1, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.


EVERY choir may have its own success story, but for this group, victory definitely didn't come with age and popularity.

Last July 12, the Hail Mary the Queen Children's Choir, composed of chorale members from Quezon City and San Juan, ran off with the gold medal in the Music of the Religions category at the recently concluded Choir Olympics held in Bremen, Germany, besting other tested groups with adult memberships.

"We hadn't participated in any competition, not even here. It's a big feat for a small group," said Walter Cheng, executive director of the Ave Maria Children's Choir Foundation.

The Hail Mary the Queen Children's Choir, a merger of the 5-year-old Hail Mary Children's Choir of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cubao and the 2-year-old Mary the Queen Children's Choir in Greenhills, was formed in May 2003 in answer to the call of the latter's parish priest, Fr. Ben Sim, S.J., for a voluntary liturgical choir.

The group then became the backyard choir
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of the two parishes, said lawyer Ulan Sarmiento, chairman and president of Ave Maria Foundation.

Sarmiento and his wife, Dina, who accompanied the children to Germany with choirmasters Theresa Vizconde and Jude Roldan, led pioneering efforts to put up the two choirs.

The children were recruited through announcements made during Sunday Masses and posters inviting interested students with ages ranging from 7 to 17 years old to join the choir.

Of the 80 who auditioned in Greenhills and 35 in Cubao, 58 boys and girls from 13 different schools in Metro Manila were chosen. The students come from the following schools: Immaculate Conception Academy, Xavier School, OB Montesorri, Greenhills, Miriam High School, St. Paul's College-Pasig, University of Sto. Tomas, Immaculate Conception Cathedral School-Cubao, Cubao Elementary School, St. John School, Dominican College, Ateneo de Manila Grade School, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and AMA Computer University-San Juan.

The average age of the singing group is 13.

Although the response was overwhelming, Dina said many dropped out because the rehearsals were getting in the way of their other activities. Some had difficulty in adjusting to the rigid training.

"The choir wasn't really meant for competitions. We decided to participate in the Choir Olympics only to encourage the children to do their best and to provide them with an opportunity that would perfect their service to God," Sarmiento said.

Thirty of the 58 qualified for the competition, but because the foundation had a shoestring budget, and since some of the children came from families of modest means, only 26 (22 girls and four boys) were able to join the Bremen-bound entourage.

The children started preparing for the competition as early as July 2003, when the choir formalized their participation in the Olympics.

To add to their piggy bank, the choir held two major concerts, sang Christmas carols, and performed in church weddings, according to Angie Yu, whose daughter Abby, 15, is a choir member.

"The sponsors didn't come at one time so the children had to work too," she said with a laugh.

Israel, the defending champion in the Music of the Religions category, together with two choirs from South Korea and one from Jamaica, which had already won the gold in other categories, were automatically qualified for the final round. The inexperienced Filipino choir, on the other hand, had to compete with Germany in the pre-qualifying round.

But the choir was given a gold rating, beating Germany who got a silver.

In the final round, with their rendition of "Hallelujah," "Umawit Kang Masaya," "Hosanna" and "Ampeo Shelo He-O," the plucky Filipino youngsters defeated Li-Ron, the choir from Israel.

"We didn't expect it," an elated Sarmiento said. "We were pitted against very good choirs like Israel, who was the defending champion in the category," Sarmiento said.

Prevailing in an adult-dominated category with 40 to 60 singers was also a major achievement for the children's choir.

The choir also joined two other categories: the Children's Choir and Folklore, where they got a silver.

"These children did not join the choir because they expected allowances or scholarships to be offered. They really sing out of devotion," said Sarmiento.

But for Abby and the rest of the choir members, their victory was the power of prayer put to test.

"We are only a parish choir and we were not meant to compete. But our victory was in God's plan," she said.

The next Choir Olympics would be held in Xiamen, China in 2006.

"We will definitely be there to defend our title," Sarmiento said.

These people are indeed very lucky to win the coral singing competition!

Congratulations! They are now a celebrity

Galing! nakakabilib!
Saludo ako sa kanila!

According to the parentas they were very happy. They did not expect to win .

ang galing...sana yung group namin manalo din!

go Philippines

FYI: anjing is also a member of choir... hmmm magaling to!

loko! joke lang po yun, di naman masyado!

How come you know so much about her?

Do you know her personally?