The Filipino choir LNHS Voice Chorale won first prize at the 65th edition of the Torrevieja International Habaneras and Polyphony Competition held in Torrevieja, Spain on 27 July 2019. The group, composed of twenty-five (25) young Filipinos aged 18 to 22, won the First Prize for Habaneras Ricardo Lafuente and First Prize for Polyphony Juan Aparicio categories. The Habaneras category follows a 2/4 rhythm time signature, while the Polyphony category is for pieces of folkloric character or should be from the group´s region or country of origin.
The prize-winning choir, led by its director Celger Villa Campa Venzon, performed at the Eras de la Sal, where they played “By Your Side”, with lyrics by Matias Antón and music by Javier Busto, “Where are the seagulls?”, by choir master Ricardo Lafuente, during which their performance was described by a Spanish online news review as “employing great complexity,” as well as the Rosita de un verde palma.” In the Polyphony category, the Filipino choir sang “Laudate dominum”, a work of the Lithuanian composer, Giedrius Svilanis, and “Banwar iti Cordillera” by Normita Big-Rio Pablico.
The second and third winners, respectively, were the Coro de Cámara “Cecilia Espinosa” from Colombia and the Kiev Youth Chamber Choir Sophia from Ukraine, while the National Prize, was given to the Spanish Choir Coro de Jóvenes de Madrid.
Last year, the first prize was also won by the UP Singing Ambassadors, who also performed during this year’s festival edition.
Sources (in Spanish): Filipinas arrasa en el Certamen Internacional de Habaneras y Polifonia de Torrevieja, Diario Información, Maria Jesús Escobedo