MANILA, Philippines - The Miriam College High School Glee Club knows what a perfect “Glee” moment feels like after bringing honor not only to their school but to the country as well when they bagged two Silver Diplomas at the 6th World Choir Games (WCG) held in Shaoxing, China last month, considered the biggest choral competition worldwide.
Making this triumph extra special is the fact that this is the first time the group has competed internationally. The group performed a total of eight songs in the Youth Choirs of Equal Voices and Sacred Music categories both under the Open Competition where around 80 countries competed in 16 categories.
“I was very happy when I received the notification that we were qualified to join. I really wanted to develop the Glee Club into a performing group which will provide top-notch entertainment to the audience. Those dreams included bringing them to a concert-tour of other countries during their summer break,” says Nancy Roman, herself a choir veteran who has travelled around the world with the UP Cherubim and Seraphim as accompanist/pianist and, later on, with the UP Concert Chorus. Roman is also the Assistant Principal for Student Affairs at the Miriam College High School.
Conductor Nancy Roman said training for the competition was quite a challenge, since she was able to gather all 34 girls only in April, a mere four months preparation.
The Glee Club’s hard work didn’t go unnoticed by the WGC jury which consisted of five internationally acknowledged choral experts. Pieces were evaluated according to intonation and fidelity to the score or interpretation practice or authenticity. The overall performance was evaluated according to the sound quality of the choir and overall artistic impression.
Included in the group’s repertoire were renowned but challenging liturgical songs such as “Mary’s Song of Praise”, “Salve Regina”, “Ave Regina Coelorum”, and “Ave Maria.”
After their inspiring win, the bar of excellence has been raised significantly, says Roman. “Definitely, the benchmark is much, much higher. To keep them inspired and motivated, we are joining a local competition this September and the yearly concerts will continue and, of course, we shall be looking forward to the 2012 World Choir Games in Cincinnati.”