Davao’s Himig singers to compete in Jakarta
By CHRIS
FABIAN
DAVAO’s world-renown choir, the Himig Singers, will represent
Philippines in the 1st Asian Choir Games - the Asia Pacific Olympics
for choirs - in Indonesia.
The competition is the largest international event for amateur and professional choirs in Asia.
Himig’s Arnold Alindada said the group will be competing on Nov. 2 - 10, in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.
The 1st Asian Choir Games 2007 in Jakarta will be a great gathering of
choirs from all parts of the Asian Pacific Area. Choirs are competing
in 21 different categories according to age, voicing and different
music genres. Thousands of participants from many nations will perform
in the modern “JI Jakarta International Expo” Centre and will turn
Jakarta into the centre of the Asia Pacific choir music for some days.
Members of the Himig Singers were in the city council yesterday to ask
for financial assistance to shoulder their fare. They performed before
the council.
Himig was founded by Rey Alan Lacuin in 1988 and has since reaped awards here and abroad.
After winning twice in the National Music Competitions for Young
Artists (NAMCYA), the most prestigious musical competitions in the
Philippines, the group toured in various continents.
The group toured Germany and the Czech Republic in 1995, won a couple
of competitions in Austria, Spain and Italy in 1997, crisscrossed the
North American continent in 1999, and celebrated the millennium with an
8-month extended concert tour of the US and Canada. The group has been
given an award for community service by the University of Mindanao for
facilitating seminars and workshops to improve conducting and choir
skills locally. The city of Davao has also appointed the Singers
official cultural ambassadors of goodwill in an ordinance made
effective in 1997.
Last September 19, the group performed at the Malacanang Palace during
the signing of agreement between the Philippine Government and the
United States United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) for Mindanao Peace Development. Present during the said event
was Pres. Gloria Arroyo, US Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, Dir. Jon
Lindborg (USAID Mission Director), Sec. Jess Dureza (Presidential
Adviser for Peace Process in Mindanao), and Sec. Virgilio Leyretana
(Mindanao Economic and Development Council Chairperson).
