When music inspires

It all started with friendship among individuals with one thing in common – their love for music. Year 1999 when a group of eight students, from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas Cebu College (UPVCC), thought of finding a place where they could best express their passion for singing. With the help of their High School music teacher, Dr. Catherine Rodel, they found it in the UP High School music room and the UP Serenata was born.

The UP Serenata became the official choir of the UPVCC. Since then, it has become a group of excellent performers and classic singers who specialize Cebuano and classical music, a capella style.

The group has taken it all – from the quick grasp of melody, proper timing, proper breathing, consistency in the tune, skill to blend right away with other voices, ability to sing difficult music – to the aptitude of each member to perform effectively before the audience.

Serenata has won various choral competitions. It also had several successful concerts. Just last year, they have received a UP Chancellor’s award for being one of the outstanding Choirs in the whole UP Visayas system.

"In Serenata I have experienced being exposed to different places and faces due to the group’s different invitations," one member shares. It’s not just an opportunity for singing, but also for improvement and learning. There is one thing about Serenata that has become its trademark – their discipline on stage. A spectator once commented that the group is unique because of its aura of formality, elegance and sophistication once they stand before their listeners. "To be part of this has been a great privilege and achievement I made," says another member.

The success of Serenata can not be possible without the woman who’s behind it all— trainer and adviser Dr. Catherine Rodel. She is a woman who committed her life to work for music. At the age of 42 and still single, this workaholic teacher has always wanted to discover and hone musical talents. That’s why she agreed right away to establish the said choir.

She came from a family of musicians. After finishing Bachelor of Music at Collegio de la Immaculada Concepcion, she took her masteral in Cebu Normal University and graduated in 1997. Aside from being a full–time music teacher, she also does private tutorials for voice piano and guitar. She has also been a guest judge in a singing competition aired on local TV.

Serenata is like a family with Rodel as its mother. She helps develop talents and at the same time let her students enjoy what they are doing. All her hard work and sacrifices are for only a reason: seeing her students in music succeed someday. She together with the rest of the group is presently working hard to prepare themselves to compete nationally and internationally. Before 2007 ends, they plan to hold a dinner and charity concert for their community.