The University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers

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The Philippine Madrigal Singers
Background information
Also known as	Madz, UP Madrigal Singers
Origin	Quezon City, Philippines
Genre(s)	Choral music
Years active	1963–present
Label(s)	Sony Music Philippines (present)
Website	Official site
Members
Mark Anthony Carpio (choirmaster, 2001-present)
Former members
Andrea Veneracion (choirmaster, 1963-2001 (retired))

The University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers, also known as the Philippine Madrigal Singers or simply Madz , is one of the major cultural groups based in the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

The Madz is one of the most awarded choirs in Asia, having consistently won all the prizes in the most prestigious international choral competitions for many years. Because of their impressive track record and musical virtuosity, the Philipppine Madrigal Singers is now regarded as the one of the world's best choirs.

The Philippine Madrigal Singers was organized as the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers in 1963 by Prof. Andrea Veneracion, proclaimed National Artist for Music in 1999. The group is composed of students, faculty and alumni from the different colleges of the University of the Philippines. Its present choirmaster since 2001 is Mark Anthony Carpio.

The group performs a variety of styles and forms but specializes in the madrigal, a polyphonic and challenging musical style popular during the Renaissance where singers and guests would gather around the table during a banquet to sight-sing and make music together. This served as the inspiration for their unique style of singing - singing seated in a semi-circle without a conductor.

The influence of the Madrigal Singers on the Philippine and Asian choral scene has been far-reaching. It has graduated more than 200 choral and vocal pedagogues from its ranks, actively involved in organizing and conducting choirs. Its corps of composers and choral arrangers continue to produce new compositions and choral settings of Philippine and Asian songs, thus contributing to the growth of choral literature in Asia. The Singers maintain an active concert tour schedule, averaging two concert tours a year. Their outreach concert tours take them to far-flung areas of the Philippines, seldom reached by choral artists.

[edit] Awards

The Madrigal Singers first earned critical acclaim during their performance in the First Choruses of the World Festival at the Lincoln Center in New York in 1969. This concert welcomed them to the international choral community, eventually paving the way to joining the most distinguished international choral competitions - Spittal, Austria; Arezzo and Gorizia, Italy; Neuchatel, Switzerland; Debrecen, Hungary; Varna, Bulgaria; Tolosa, Spain; and Marktoberdorf in Germany, and winning all the top prizes.

In June 1997, the Philippine Madrigal Singers came home from their ninth world concert tour, winning the grand prize in the Grand Prix European de Chant Choral Competition in Tours, France, besting the five other grand prize winners of the most prestigious choral competition in Europe: Guido d'Arezzo, Italy; Debrecen, Hungary; Varna, Bulgaria; Gorizia, Italy; and Tolosa, Spain.

In July 2006, the Madz won the grand prize (Grand Prix de la Ville de Tours) at the Florilege de Tours choral competition in France, making them eligible for the 2007 European Choral Grand Prix (to be held in Arezzo, Italy). In the same competition, the Madz were also awarded the first prize for Category III (mixed vocal ensemble), first prize for Category IV (free program) and the Prix University François Rabelais for best interpretation of a Renaissance number.

[edit] Discography

Joy: A Choral Celebration of Christmas (1997)
Bayan Ko, Aawitan Kita (1998)
Madz in Love (1999)
Madz Around the World (2000)
Acclamation (2006)
Love, Joy and Inspiration (2006) - a special edition compilation containing the CDs Joy, Madz in Love and Acclamation