Loboc Children’s Choir is 3rd best Children’s Choir at the 2011 Tolosa Chorale Competition

Today, our Facebook news feed was flooded with status messages of congratulations and felicitations to Bohol’s beloved Loboc Children Choir after the official announcement from the Loboc Children’s Choir – Europe Tour 2011 Facebook fan page: The Loboc Children’s Choir received 3RD PRIZE in the Children’s Choir Category of the Tolosa Choral Contest!

The Tolosa Choral Competition, one of the most important choral competitions in the world, is held in Tolosa, Spain every year since 1969, always around the time of All Saints’ Day on 1 November.  The international competition aims to bring together the best choirs in the world, to enable an exchange of styles, interpretation, choral literature, vocal education and customs of each country, as well as to raise awareness of the musical and cultural tradition of the Basque Country.

The Loboc Children’s Choir, comprised of 23 girls and 2 boys, competed in the Children’s Choir Category with other world-renowned children’s chorale groups such as the Guangzhou Children’s Palace Choir from China, The Wolfratshauser Children Choir from Germany, Cantemus Children’s Choir from Hungary, and the Children’s Choir of TV and Radio of St. Petersburg from Russia.

The Loboc Children’s Choir, steered by conductor and musical director Alma Fernando-Taldo, is not only Bohol’s pride but also one of the Philippines most internationally-acclaimed choirs. Founded in 1980, under the music program of the Loboc Central Elementary School, the choir, with its repertoire that encompasses a rich combination of classic, folk and contemporary pieces, has enganged in numerous national and international concert tours, including: China (2000, 2005, 2006 and 2007), Hong Kong (2006), Korea (2004), the United States (1993, 2008) and several European countries (2003), making this their second European tour.

They began their 2011 European Tour early August 2011 and has since performed in several cities in Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and France before their big Tolosa competition.

Below is a video of their flash performance while sightseeing in the streets of Brussels, Belgium.

In the Philippines it has won several first prizes (1985, 1993, 1995 and 2001) at NAMCYA (National Music for Young Artists), the most important music competition in the Philippines.

The Loboc Children’s Choir is no newbie to winning international competitions. In 2003, it won first prize in the children’s and youth choir categories, as well as the Grand Prix, at the 6th International Folksongs Festival “Europe and its Songs” in Barcelona. The choir has also collaborated in diverse theatre and television programmes, as well as in the film world.

Our huge congratulations to the Loboc Children’s Choir, Mrs. Alma Fernando-Taldo and the whole Europe Tour 2011 team!

Look here, another Tolosa competitor, USA’s The Choral Project so admired the Loboc Children’s Choir, they give the kids an impromptu performance:

Photo Source

Know more of the Cetarmen Coral de Tolosa here

Know more the Loboc Children’s Choir here