About Us
The Philippine Madrigal Singers was organized in 1963 by National Artist Professor Andrea O. Veneracion. The choir is one of the world's most awarded, having consistently won all the top prizes in most of the world's prestigious choral competitions.
Who we are
The Philippine Madrigal Singers
Recognized by the UNESCO as Artists for Peace for “putting their fame and influence to promote cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace,” the Philippine Madrigal Singers is one of the most awarded choral groups in the world, having won all the top prizes in most of the world’s prestigious choral competitions, including the Grand Prix in the 2016 Concurso Internazionale di Guido d’ Arezzo, Arezzo, Italy. They hold the distinction of being the first choir in the world to win the prestigious European Grand Prix for Choral Singing twice (1997 and 2007) and the first Asian choir to be accorded the BrandLaureate Premiere Award by the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation (2012).
The group’s virtuosity across a vast repertoire range, its continuing promotion of Filipino choral works, and the rousing and deeply emotional impact that each performance has on all audiences the world over as they sing in the distinctive set-up of sitting in a semi-circle without a conductor, have established their reputation as a pioneering force in choral music and an inspirational role model for other choirs.
Founded in 1963, by National Artist for Music Professor Andrea O. Veneracion, the UP Madrigal Singers, now under designated successor Mark Anthony Carpio, demonstrate that choral music can be socially relevant and transformational. They have continued to touch hearts and souls of those who come to their performances, and carried on various programs to nurture and develop future generations of conductors and choral singers all over the world.
Choirmaster and Artistic Director
Mark Anthony Carpio
Mark graduated from the University of the Philippines where he earned his Master’s degree in Choral Conducting and his Bachelor’s degree in Piano.
In 2001, Prof. Andrea O. Veneracion, founder of the Philippine Madrigal Singers and Philippine National Artist for Music, chose him to succeed her as choirmaster of the group. Since then, he has continuously led the already much-awarded choir to even greater heights, including placing first in several prestigious choral competitions, such as the Certámen Internacional de Habaneras y Polifonia (Torrevieja, Spain, 2004), the 35th Florilege Vocal de Tours, France (2006), the 19th European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (Arrezo, Italy, 2007), and recently, the 64th Concorso Polifonico Guido d’Arezzo (Arezzo, Italy, 2016), making them qualify for the 29th European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (Tolosa, Spain, 2017).
Mark has been frequently invited to give keynote addresses by prestigious international choral organizations such as the Singapore International Choral Festival, Satya Dharma Gita Choir Festival (Indonesia), Busan Choral Festival & Competition (Korea), Taiwan Choral Association, St. Angela Children and Youth Choir Festival (Indonesia), Belt and Road World Choir Festival (Hong Kong), The National Collegiate Choral Organization National Conference (Louisiana, USA), Festival 500 Sharing The Voices (Canada), Lithuanian Conductors Summer Academy (Latvia), and the Cantus Angelicus, Festival of Choirs (Malaysia). Mark has given online workshops for the Penang Philharmonic Orchestra, the University of Arizona ACDA Chapter, the Coral Brahms Colombia, Bridge Choral Collective Canada, and the University of Minnesota Duluth.
In the Philippines, he regularly collaborates with the Philippine Choral Directors Association, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, for music and choral education programs. He heads the Andrea O. Veneracion Sing Philippines Foundation, which spearheads choral music development initiatives including the Sing Philippines Youth Choir, whose singers come from all over the country.
Mark has adjudicated in different choral festivals and competitions around the world, including Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Italy and Latvia. Locally, he has been the chairman of the board of jurors of the biennial Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival and the 1st Asia Choral Grand Prix (2019). He has also been invited as guest conductor of the Crystal Children’s Choir (Taiwan), Taipei Ladies Singers, Taipei Philharmonic Youth Choir and the 1st Indonesia Youth Choir. Most recently, he conducted the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra with a chorus of 200 singers in a performance of Handel’s Messiah
He also directs the Pansol Choir, a community and church-based choral group who is the resident choir of the Parish of Sta. Maria Della Strada in Quezon City. In addition, he is also the Artistic Director of the Consortium of Voices, a choral society of young choristers, consisting of the Kilyawan Boys Choir, Kilyawan Male Choir and the Voces Auroræ Girls Choir.
Founder
Andrea O. Veneracion, or Ma'am OA
Andrea O. Veneracion, or Ma'am OA – who was born and raised in Manila on July 11, 1928 – is highly esteemed for her achievements as Choirmaster, recognized as an authority on choral music and performance, and as adjudicator in international music competitions. Two of her indispensable contributions to culture and the arts include the founding of the Philippine Madrigal Singers and the spearheading of the development of Philippine choral music. A former faculty member of the UP College of Music and honorary chair of the Philippine Federation of Choral Music, she organized a cultural outreach program to provide music education and exposure in several provinces.
She earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano and Voice at the University of the Philippines Diliman graduating Cum Laude. Aside from being a lyric soprano soloist in various oratorios and operas, she was also a very accomplished pianist and was the accompanist of National Artist for Music Jovita Fuentes for a number of years. Apart from being an extraordinary musician, she was also an exceptional athlete, a competitive swimmer, who was part of the Philippine Swimming team that first competed internationally in Hong Kong.
She later pursued her Master's Degree in Voice as a Fulbright scholar at the Indiana University School of Music - Bloomington where she encountered the Indiana University Madrigal Singers, which then inspired her to create a similar singing group upon her return to the Philippines in 1963. Officially called the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers, also known later as the Philippine Madrigal Singers or the Madz, this group was initially exclusive to UP faculty members and students. She established a tradition for which the group became known for: performing seated in a semicircular formation without a conductor. The choirmaster sits at the leftmost end of the formation.
Under her direction, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won major awards in international choral competitions: Spittal, Austria; Arezzo and Gorizia, Italy; Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Debrecen, Hungary; Varna, Bulgaria; Tolosa and Cantonigros, Spain; and Marktoberdorf, Germany. In 1996, she led the Madz to its victory in the 1996 International Choral Competition in Tolosa, Spain. This made the group eligible to compete for the 1997 European Choral Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Tours, France, in which they eventually emerged as champions.
She is also the founder and first conductor of the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music (AILM) Chorale.
In 1997, she was awarded the TOFIL (The Outstanding Filipino) Award for Culture and the Arts for her contributions to the development of choral singing in the Philippines; and eventually, in 1999, Ma'am OA was named National Artist for Music, the highest cultural award bestowed by the Philippine government to an individual.
In 2001, she retired as Choirmaster of the Madz, selecting Mark Anthony Carpio, her Assistant Choirmaster at that time, to be her successor. The turnover ceremonies were held in a special concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, coinciding with the launch of her biography "A Life Shaped By Music" by Marjorie Evasco.
