Las Piñas Boys Choir pays a courtesy call on PGMA

MANILA, Aug. 7 (PNA) -- The Las Piñas Boys Choir (LPBC), the gold medal winner in the recently-concluded 5th World Choir Games held in Graz, Austria, paid a courtesy call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacañang this afternoon.

The 20-member LPBC, based in St. Joseph Church in Las Piñas where the world-famous bamboo organ is housed, bested 70 choirs from all over the world including those from the United States, Greece, Estonia, Great Britain, Russia, South Africa to win the gold in the “Children’s Choir” category.

Aside from bringing home the gold, the LPBC also won the silver medal in the Musica Sacra (Sacred Music) Category.

Monsignor Albert Vinas, parish priest of St. Joseph Church said that although bagging the gold in the Children’s Choir category brought fame, glory and prestige to the LPBC, their winning the Silver medal in the Musica Sacra category was equally important because “this Musica Sacra category is the most prestigious.”

Vinas said the Musica Sacra category where the LPBC bested some 50 professional choir groups from around the world with the silver medal award is an open category-type of competition in the World Choir Games.

To show their deepest gratitude for the President’s support, the LPBC sang the same songs they sang at the competition which won them the gold and silver medals.

First was the “Ambuhato,” a Cordillera play song, the “Hallelujah” and the “Mamayug-akon” a Muslim wedding song which, according to Vinas, literally means “Oh my darling.”

After their rousing song numbers, the LPBC, together with Vinas and LPBC founder Father Leo Renier posed with the President.

The choir members are George Angeles II, Bernard Paolo Caro, Alvin Joshua Cayetano, Josiah de los Santos, Justin Claude Fernandez;

Jadlae Aivan Fernandez, Joseph Vincent Gregorio, Carl Paolo Hernandez, Japheth Juanillo,Herman Manalang;

Jhansseen Martinez,. Dhonel Martinicio, Alwyn Dominique Panoso, Rupert Kim Pastrana, Ramon Paolo Quintero;

Chazz Reyes, Karlo Reyes, Francis David Salonga, Joshua Gabriel Samiley, and Joe Sengson.

Held every two years in different countries, the World Choir Games is the largest international choir competition.