Thursday, August 19, 2004 Yap: UC Chorus By Januar E.Yap Meanwhile
There are singers you badly want to sing for you on your wedding. Raymund Abao’s university choir, the UC Chorus, is one of those. I found myself in this church once where the group was performing for a graduation ceremony. “Who knows how long I’ve loved you…” It was singing The Beatles’ “I Will” with a twist. I’m poor in describing music without resorting to exulted abstractions.
The choir’s version, if I may attempt to describe it, sounded like John Lennon sporting dreadlocks.
Yep, that’s about how far I can go in describing it.
After he established the choir in 1979, Raymund trained one batch after another, maturing in his craft through the years. They have been more daring in their choice of songs, styles, even choreography.
This year’s batch of the UC Chorus is the 25th. It follows a batch that reaped awards like it was its second nature.
Hold your breath. The Chorus was grand slam champion in the UR105 Chorale Competition from 2001 to 2003. It won 1st prize in the Cebu Schools Athletic Federation, Inc. in 2002 and 2003. It was regional champion for two years in Prisaa’s choir competition. In 2002, it won in six competitions, two of which were the Ayala Caroling Competition and the Department of Tourism 7 chorale competition.
Last year, the group represented the Visayas region in the WOW Himig Handog of then DOT secretary Dick Gordon’s WOW Philippines program.
I’m a fan of the Loboc Children’s Choir and Msgr. Rudy Villanueva’s seminary choir, but there’s the UC Chorus, too, singing, to use a line from an FM station before, “the soundtrack of our lives.”
In its 25th year, the UC Chorus performs in an anniversary concert dubbed as Rhapsody in Silver.
At the heart of UC Chorus is its musical director Raymund, a good friend of mine. He is into gin-lime while I’m into beer or rhum. But God he plays the guitar with another good friend of mine Boy Arnado with insatiable gusto. If only inebriated people just sing, they won’t end up in some stupid gang war.
In my next free time, I’ll pass them a glass as we sing, “How many roads must a man walk down…”
(e-mail: januariusmail@yahoo.com; or text: 0927-4908875)
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