LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- A Cordilleran group made the Filipinos proud after bringing home three gold medals in an international competition.
The Cordillera Regional Science High School Glee club won three gold medals in the recently concluded 8th Bali International Choir Festival slated in Indonesia last July 23 to 27.
The group from La Trinidad, Benguet, accompanied by their trainor, Jayson Manuel Osong, won a gold medal in the (level 1) teenagers category and another one in the (level 4 championship qualifier) folkloric category.
In the Folkloric championship round, the group attained 81.65 points, enabling it to amass an additional gold medal from the competition.
During the competition, the group, garbed in the Cordilleran native attire, wowed the judges with its presentation of an Indonesian Lullaby Folksong titled "Soleram" and arranged by Josu Elberdin, and the Ifugao Rice Pounding, or Rice Cake Making Folksong called "Ahibakle," arranged by Bienvenido Constantino Jr.
This year's roster of participants, comprised of 99 countries, include the United States, Singapore, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, Spain, China, Slovenia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Philippines.
Osong posted in his social media account that his choir group was the "first high school choir from the Cordilleras" to represent the Philippines in an international choral competition.
Bali International Choir Festival, organized by Bandung Choral Society with a motto "singing together better," provides different levels of age and qualifications, as well as various genres.
The five-day competition was judged by 16 international choral experts.