Manila Chamber Singers
Manila Chamber Singers
The Philippines
The Manila Chamber Singers (MCS) is composed of non-professional singers, who share a passion for excellent choral music. Founded in April 1999, MCS performs a select choral repertoire with the aim of increasing appreciation and enjoyment of choral music.
MCS continues to share its music to various audiences, with the goal of showcasing Filipino choral artistry at its finest.
The choir has toured Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, and has won numerous awards and garnered acclaim in various international choir competitions. MCS is committed to positively impact people through the members' professions, mostly in health care, through outreach concerts and through the MCS Virtual Choir projects, which was launched in June 2020.
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
JUNE 2020 Launched the MCS Virtual Choir Projects
70 singers from 10 countries; 28 Virtual Choir renditions to date
JULY 2019 10th Musica Eterna a Roma International Competition (Italy)
GOLD DIPLOMA - Musica Sacra
GOLD DIPLOMA - Mixed Choirs
JULY 2017 10th Orientale Concentus (Singapore)
FIRST PRIZE / SILVER DIPLOMA - Ensemble Category
SECOND PRIZE / GOLD DIPLOMA - Chamber Category
JULY 2012 15th International Choral Kathaumixw (Powell River, British Columbia, Canada)
FIRST PRIZE- Folk and Cultural Traditions Category
FIRST PRIZE- Contemporary Choral Music Category
SECOND PRIZE- Adult Mixed Choir Category
FINALIST, Grand Prix Competition
JUNE 2011 3rd International Anton Bruckner Choir Competition (Linz, Austria)
GOLD DIPLOMA - Musica Sacra Category
SILVER DIPLOMA - Mixed Chamber Choir Category
FINALIST, Anton Bruckner Prize
PRIL 2011 3rd Antalya International Choir Festival (Antalya, Turkey)
GRAND PRIX WINNER
FIRST PRIZE- Mixed Choir Category
APRIL 2007 8th International Choir Competition (Bad Ischl, Salzkammergut, Austria)
GOLD MEDAL- Folksong Category
SILVER MEDAL- Mixed Choir Category
SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE CITY OF BAD ISCHL- Best Folkloric Program
JULY 2006 8th China International Chorus Festival (Beijing, China)
SECOND PLACE - Mixed Choir Category
SPECIAL PRIZE- Excellent Performance of A Chinese Composition
JULY 2004 3rd Choir Olympics (Bremen, Germany)
SILVER MEDAL- Musica Sacra Acapella Category
BRONZE MEDAL- Mixed Chamber Choir Category
41st International Choral Competition (Spittal an der Drau, Carinthia, Austria)
4th place- Folksong Category
JUNE 2004 18th International Festival of Academic Choirs (IFAS) (Paradubice, Czech
Republic)
GOLD DIPLOMA- Mixed Chamber Choir Category
GOLD DIPLOMA- Best Interpretation of Czech Music
SILVER DIPLOMA- Folksong Category
FINALIST- Grand Prix IFAS
AUDIENCE PRIZE
MARCH 2003 Voice of Memories Choral Competition (Makati, Philippines)
3rd PRIZE
Premio Publico
DECEMBER 2000 15th Rotary Club Annual Choral Competition (Manila)
GRAND PRIZE
Ruben Joseph Bautista
Ruben Joseph Galela Bautista received his Bachelor of Music degree majoring in Choral Conducting from the University of the Philippines College of Music in Diliman, Quezon City. He studied under the tutelage of the country's music virtuosos Dr. Raul Navarro, Prof. Janet Sabas-Aracama, Prof. Eudenice Palaruan, and Prof. Mark Anthony Carpio for choral conducting, Prof. Pia Margarita Balasico for piano, Prof. Rainier Cruz and Jonathan Velasco for voice.
In 2007, he started his musical journey with the Manila Chamber Singers and sang Bass 2 during their second European concert tour and won second place in the folklore category of the Interkultur International Choir Competition and Festival in Bad Ischl, Austria. He was a Bass 2 trainee with the Philippine Madrigal Singers in 2008 and returned as an Assistant Conductor to the Manila Chamber Singers in 2009 under the direction of William Lloyd Cordero. He has since participated in numerous concerts and won international competitions with the group.
At present, Sir RJ, as his students fondly call him, serves as a junior high school music teacher, school choir music director, and Music Circle club moderator at his alma mater, the Lourdes School of Mandaluyong.
