Cheyenne Suarez

Challenges and sacrifices lead UST Singers to third int'l trophy

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ABS-CBN News Digital Intern

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17345057601961734505758873.png" id="isPasted" class="fr-fic fr-dii" style="width:950px" alt="Photo from Grieg International Choir Festiva"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Photo from Grieg International Choir Festival</em></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div><br/></div><p>Last September, the UST singers emerged as the top choir at the Grieg International Choir Festival in Bergen, Norway, edging out 31 choirs from 10 other countries.</p><p>Representing the Philippines and Asia as a whole, the group attained the Grand Prix along with the top spot in the mixed choir category and a second place finish in the folk music category.</p><p>But the achievement was no easy feat as the group was presented with a multitude of challenges right before the competition proper.</p><p>Fidel Calalang, founder and conductor of the UST Singers said that for him, there should be a year’s worth of preparation time for a competition, but scheduling competitions led them to start preparing in the middle of the school term.</p><p>“If you add up our preparation, it was only around five months,” he said.</p><p>“Normally, when I prepare the choir for a competition, we prepare one whole year, even one and a half years, two years. I’m sure, I’m guaranteed that we will be earning something from that,” he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>TOUGH COMPETITION</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Calalang said that when they chose the Grieg International Choir Festival, three months before the event, the list of participants was a shock for him as there were no other Asian participants.</p><p>“We saw the list of participants and that was really nerve-wracking,” he said.</p><p>“Oh my gosh,” he said. “We are the only Asian choir, the only Philippine choir, the rest of them came from the Scandinavian group, the Eastern European group, and Central Europe,” he added.</p><p>Calalang said that the European tradition in choral singing was “already there,” as he added that the European choirs are really good, and the fact that there are no other Asian nor Philippine representatives at the competition added internal pressure to the group to deliver.</p><p>“It’s our first time competing with so many competitors. There are so many choirs… you don’t even know what will be your standing there,” he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Calalang said that they had to sacrifice their schedules as the group was composed of mostly UST alumni.</p><p>“Well, we have to sacrifice our schedules. You know, the group consists of more alumni and a sprinkling of students. So, the difficult part here is how are we going to meet together for rehearsals,” he added.</p><p>Calalang said that they normally practice at five, but that as well is not always achieved as said alumni are now working, slating the practice time to be pushed back to around 7 p.m. </p><p>“So, we are left with just a few hours before the rehearsal. So, you are practically looking at only an hour and a half, which is [a] really very, very short time. Normal rehearsal time should be about three hours to four hours at the most, if you are preparing for a competition,” he said.</p><p>Calalang added that they had to sacrifice their wants and business schedules such as going to social gatherings or family affairs to focus on the choir and the upcoming competition, getting to a point in which they were practicing during the summer break.</p><p>“We were here at UST almost every day. We rehearse from as early as two o&#x27;clock in the afternoon. Every day,” he said.</p><p>Calalang said that the practice involved “very rigorous training” and vocal work as well as studying plenty of music that he decides to sing for the choir.</p><p>“So, it&#x27;s a lot of work. I think physically and mentally, it&#x27;s very stressful also,” he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DOUBTS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>If there was someone who was hesitant to join the competition, it was Calalang himself. He said that in the 30 years since he has founded the choir, he knows what it’s like to prepare, emphasizing the need for a whole year of preparation.</p><p>“I&#x27;ve gone to competitions already for the past 31 years since I founded the choir and I know how it is to prepare. As I said before, a year of preparation is ideal,” he said.</p><p>Calalang wanted to “experiment” if the choir would be successful but he always doubted, adding that the original pieces for the song were changed during a practice session.</p><p>“So, there was a time I already selected this piece and I told them, officially, this is what we&#x27;re going to sing and then, in the middle of the practicing, I realized, I don&#x27;t think this is right,” he said.</p><p>So Calalang sought to look for a different piece, adding that it was like that many times, affecting the window time to prepare because of the change in repertoire.</p><p>“The repertoire is very, very important for a group to reach its success. Because you really have to find out what strengths the choir has for that specific piece,” he said.</p><p>“It was like the Lord guided me to choose this piece,” he said, as the many times that Calalang changed pieces, the final pieces were the ones he expressed his confidence in.</p><p>The choir’s performance of Nilo Alcala’s “Sagayan” earned them the top prize for the whole event, while Kim Arnesesn’s “Norwegian Alleluia,” Ily Mariano’s “Daluyong,” and Peter Louis van Dijk’s “Chariots,” earned them the first prize in the mixed choir category.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>INSTILLING CONFIDENCE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Calalang said that his primary goal for his singers was to develop confidence and security despite their fears, he said that the most important thing is when his singers come out to the stage, they know what they will do.</p><p>“Every aspect of the piece, from start to finish, you have to attend to all of that, and that&#x27;s the only time that you will say, I am with full confidence that I can sing this without feeling nervous, and I&#x27;m sure that we&#x27;re going to win,” he added.</p><p>Calalang also said that through daily practice, he instilled in his singers that they were creating beautiful music in the process, not only aiming for the competition but also for their connection with the music.</p><p>“Once you are connected with the music, then you can express this already, you can make your connection to the audience,” he said.</p><p>“Once you are still raw in that aspect, then probably you will lose the connection, the communication aspect of delivering the music. So you can only do that if you are 100 percent sure of your music. I think that is my main goal,” he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>THE COMPETITION</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Calalang revealed that the two-day event was a bit different as they won’t say whenever you have already won, but instead, the information will be relayed through a call from the organizers of the competition.</p><p>Calalang said that if one group wins a first prize they will all compete for the grand prix but before finding out if a group makes it to the grand prix, they will be called on the day before the actual competition making preparations almost impossible.</p><p>“So it&#x27;s like there&#x27;s no preparation, it&#x27;s like you have to go straight at night… So that&#x27;s the element of suspense. You will really get nervous because you will wait until 6 o&#x27;clock,” he said.</p><p>Calalang said that when the group found out that they were going to perform at the grand prix, the loud cheers were quickly replaced with a budding problem as they had to present their grand prix performance.</p><p>“It should be a piece that you have not performed initially. That&#x27;s why we sang the Sagayan,” he added.</p><p>Calalang expressed his praise as among the six first prize winners, all of them were Europeans but as they sang at the grand prix, they just gave it their all.</p><p>“I think God heard our prayers. Of course, God was just doing it for us,” he said.</p><p>“That&#x27;s all. I surrendered. I said, &#x27;I just have to surrender this to the Lord.&#x27;”</p><p>Calalang recalled sitting in the audience seat before and after their performance, saying that he could hear how good they were while also asking how they would stand a chance against the other competitors, but their strong will and faith pushed them to bag the top prize.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WARM HOMECOMING</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Calalang said that the news of their recent successes spread so fast, as they got home after the competition, they saw the greetings and the people cheering for you.</p><p>“We competed many times already. Like those two Choir of the World trophies over there. That time was different,” he said.</p><p>“It&#x27;s really gratifying to know, to learn that people appreciate you, that people like what you did for the country. You feel proud, you feel really, really ecstatic about it, and I&#x27;m personally glad  that we have done something for the country,” he added.</p><p>The Filipino community in Norway also gave them a sense of home during their stay in Bergen. Calalang said that they were like family as they took care of the singers during the duration of their stay.</p><p>Calalang also said that the win was not for the country only as it was also for the university and the new rector Very Rev. Fr. Richard G. Ang, O.P., Ph.D., because of his unending support for the choir.</p><p>Next year, the UST Singers hope to embark on another competition in the United States or Europe, looking forward to adding another tally to their successes.</p>

<p>Last September, the UST singers emerged as the top choir at the Grieg International Choir Festival in Bergen, Norway, edging out 31 choirs from 10 other countries.</p>

Last September, the UST singers emerged as the top choir at the Grieg International Choir Festival in Bergen, Norway, edging out 31 choirs from 10 other countries.

Challenges and sacrifices lead UST Singers to international triumph

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Challenges and sacrifices lead UST Singers to international triumph

ABS-CBN News Digital Intern,

Jianzen Deananeas

Published January 02, 2025 06:35 AM PHT

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Updated January 03, 2025 07:56 AM PHT

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