THE Cultural Center of the Philippines is pleased to announce the distinguished members of the jury of the Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival who will adjudicate the Folk Song, Vocal Ensemble and Chamber Choir Competitions on July 22–24, 2015.
The 5-member jury who come from different continents: Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia, are the following Andre van der Merwe, Brady Allred, Silvana Vallesi, Janis Liepins and Mark Anthony Carpio.
Andre van der Merwe who hails from Cape Town, South Africa is recognized as conductor of the StellenboschUniversity Choir which is ranked number 1 in the list of Interkultur’s top 1,000 choirs. The Stellenberg Girls Choir, the other choir he conducts, currently ranks number 7 in the list of top 1,000 choirs and ranked number 1 in the list of international youth choirs. Composer, conductor and clinician both nationally and internationally, he has been invited to work with universities and companies in USA, Sweden, England, Greece, Germany, Japan, China Austria and Portugal.
Brady Allred from Utah is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Salt Lake Choral Artists, an organization of seven choral ensembles. Honored as “one of Utah’s Top 25 Cultural Power Brokers,” he has guest conducted, adjudicated and given master classes in 16 countries throughout Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East. He was a winner of the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing, the competition of winners of the six most prestigious competitions in Europe, as conductor of the University of Utah in 2006.
Silvana Vallesi from Argentina adjudicates prestigious international competitions in Argentina, Hungary, Germany, Spain, among many others. She is the first Latin-American conductor to receive the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (2009, Tour, France) as conductor of the Coro Universidad de Mendoza where she also received the Best Choir Conductor Award. Together with the choir she was given national honor by the Senate when they were declared “Ambassadors of the People and Province of Mendoza”.
Jānis Liepiņš from Riga, Latvia, is the second conductor of Youth choir “Kamēr…” which he leads as its artistic director and chief conductor since 2012. He led the choir to winning its 2nd European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in 2013 (Arezzo, Italy). In recognition of this achievement and his successful debuts with several Latvian orchestras, he was given the “Great Music Award” by Latvia as the “Young Artist of 2013”.
Mark Anthony Carpio is acknowledged as one of the top choral experts among the younger set of conductors. An adjudicator, choir conductor and clinician at in-depth workshops all over the Philippines and several Asian and European countries, he has led the Philippine Madrigal Singers to their winning top prizes in all the competitions they joined since he took over, including the 2nd European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (Arrezo, Italy, 2007).
The participating choirs are the following: Gioventu in cantata (Italy), Inggou Victory Children Voices GKPS (Indonesia), Savditra-Bandung Chamber Singers (Indonesia), The Archipelago Singers (Indonesia), Tuumben Paax (Mexico), Universitas Pelita Harapan Choir (Indonesia). Philippine choirs: Boscorale, De La Salle University –Dasmarinas Chorale, Koro Ilustrado, Mandaluyong Children’s Choir, Philippine Vocal Ensemble, The Voices of Davao, TIP Choral Society, University of Baguio Voices Chorale, UPLB Choral Ensemble, University of the Visayas Chorale.
The Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival is presented in cooperation with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. All events will be held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo on July 22-25, 2015. The Opening Ceremonies on July 22, 2015 at 5:00 PM is free and open to the public. The Festival schedule is as follows: July 22, 2015, 7:00 PM, Folk Song Competition; July 23, 2015, 7:00 PM, Vocal Ensemble Competition; July 24, 2015, 7:00 PM Chamber Choir Competition; July 25, 2015, 4:00 PM, Philippine Madrigal Singers Concert; July 25, 2015, 7:00 PM Closing Ceremonies (Free). A special concert of Youth Choir “Kamēr…“ from Latvia, conducted by Jānis Liepiņš will be held at 5:00 PM on Sunday, July 26, 2015 at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.
(From Cultural Center of the Philippines)