Calasiao Children’s Chorus brings home gold
LINGAYEN-They did it!
The 21-member of the Calasiao Children’s Chorus from Calasiao town have returned from the World Choir Championship held in South Korea on July 11 with two gold medals and three gold diplomas.
The group arrived on Monday and paid a courtesy call on Tuesday to Governor Amado Espino Jr. to thank the provincial government for the latter’s financial support that enabled them to make the trip.
“We are very, very happy that we were able to support these kids and in return they showed how good they are,” Espino said.
Mary Antoniette Parayno, project coordinator and co-founder of the choral group, told The PUNCH the group was named champion in the Korean Open International Competition.
They also won the gold medal under the Folklore Category, which qualified them for the Grand Prix Competition wherein they also got a gold medal.
The choir composed of 15 girls and six boys between the ages of 9 and 16 performed a repertoire of two Pangasinan and three Cordilleran songs before the governor and other provincial government employees.
Benedict Joseph Gutierrez, 11, a soloist in the group, said “Without them, we wouldn’t be able to make it to Korea,” referring to the provincial government and other sponsors.
A “Bingo- for- a- Cause” of the provincial employees raised P1.4 million for the group’s expenses.
“This is dedicated to Pangasinan and to our country,” Leo Jun Hugo, the assistant conductor and trainor, told The PUNCH.
The Calasiao Children’s Chorus was organized by Gilbert Allan Dispo and Parayno in 2005 to train young singers in the town to sing during masses at the town’s Sts. Peter and Paul Church.
After the group’s initial success at the 4th World Choir Games in July 2006, where it garnered a silver diploma in the Children’s Choir Category and a bronze diploma in the Music of the Religious category, the group pressed on for other international competitions.
Dispo, also the choir master, said success didn’t come easy for them as they also had their taste of defeats. But all the experience, he added, helped them build the children’s confidence.#
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