The Philippine Madrigal Singers have performed for the Pope and many heads of state. Formed in 1963, they have sung with celebrities and received accolades from all over the world. As we are constantly being informed from time to time, they also have this penchant for winning prizes in prestigious choral competitions.
The Madz, headed by choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio left last April for one of the group’s regular concert tours of the United States. Bigger and longer than usual, this concert tour would take six months and also include Canada and South America. What we did not know was that the tour would kick off with a singular honor for Filipino performers. The Madz was set to become the first Filipinos to perform with the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the also famous Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Last Passion Sunday, the Madz joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during the international telecast of the show Music and the Spoken Word hosted by Lloyd Newell. They joined the choir in the hymn Love Divine, All Loves Excelling and sang solo Buwa-buwa Ni Utu, a traditional Molbog melody. They also performed other songs a capella after the regular telecast. The performance coincided with the 50th anniversary of the official opening in the Philippines of the Church of Jesus of the Latter-day Saints in April of 1961.
Music lovers are familiar with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Their recordings are legendary and their Christmas albums are among the most beautiful ever heard. Of course, we are also very proud of the Madz, whose singing never fails to impress. The steaming video did not do justice to the fabled acoustics of the Tabernacle but the performance was still a wonderful experience. Truth to tell, the sight alone of the Madz with the large Mormon Tabernacle Choir, dwarfed by the giant pipe organ with more than 10,000 pipes was already something to behold. Those who missed this can still watch the telecast on the web. Just look for Philippine Madrigal Singers at Music and the Spoken Word.
Pinoys abroad who want to find out why the Madz remain famous all over the world after over 40 years and why they were tapped for the Tabernacle show, might want to check out the group in these performances. They have a wide ranging repertoire that everybody will enjoy from current pop favorites like I’m Yours to Filipino standards like Bituing Walang Ningning to classics like the William Tell Overture and their strong point, the traditional madrigal.
They have since performed in Texas and Nevada after that mind-blowing experience in Utah. They are, as of this writing, still in California. The past two weeks found the Madz in Chino Hills and Alhambra. They will be in San Francisco this weekend and will perform at the Holy Name Of Jesus Church on 39th Avenue and Lawton on June 10. This will be followed by the St. Robert’s Catholic Church on Crystal Springs Road in San Bruno on June 11.
Also in their schedule are the Hoffmann Theater at the Dean Lesher Theater in Walnut Creek, June 17; the Holy Family Parish in Citrus Heights, June 18; and the Good Shepherd Catholic Church on Elk Grove, June 22. They will move on next to Canada starting with the First Metropolitan Church on Balmoral Road in Victoria, British Columbia on June 27, followed by the River Rock Casino Resort on River Road in Richmond also in British Columbia. Presented by the Philippine Asian Chronicle, this formal charity event will benefit the Canadian Medical Mission to the Philippines and feature the famous Filipino pianist Dorothy Uytengsu.
The Madz is also set to visit Ottawa, Toronto and Belleville in Ontario in Canada before they return to the U.S. of A. for Pittsburgh, Georgia and Florida before proceeding to South America for shows in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. The tour will end on Oct. 14 at the Our Lady of the Snows Church in Glen Oaks in New York.