SLU Glee Club wins in MBC national choralfest

MANILA- Baguio City and the Cordillera region were catapulted to fame courtesy of the
superior domination of the SLU Glee Club as the group unanimously captured the Grand Prize in
the recently concluded MBC “Paskong Pinoy” National Choralfest Open Category held at the
Star City Complex, CCP Grounds, Pasay City on December 10, 2010. Normita “Bing” Rio-
Pablico, the choir trainer and conductor received with the group P150,000.00 cash and a
handsome trophy.

The SLU Glee Club topped this year’s grand finals with last year’s champion University
of Visayas Chorale emerging second. It has to be recalled that SLU landed a tragic second in last
year’s MBC Choralfest losing to eventual champion University of Visayas by a mere fraction of
a point. Ranked third and fourth respectively were Koro Illustrado and St. Scholastica’s College
HS Glee Club from Manila. The group’s winning repertoire included “Bannuar iti Cordillera”, an
original composition by Mrs. Pablico, which depicts tribal war in some areas of the Cordilleras
and a plea to resolve conflicts for peace and progress. Pablico also made a captivating
arrangement of the contest piece, “Himig Pasko” and a totally wacky musical score for “Bad
Romance” as the group’s novelty piece. The group ultimately got the nod from all five judges.
During the announcement of winners, chairman Jojo Velasco declared, “Nahirapan po kami. In
fact there was no unanimous decision… EXCEPT for the First Prize (referring to SLU)."

The SLU Glee Club emerged champion this year from many strong contenders around
the country after undergoing rigid screening procedures through the submitted video-taped
songs, in the regional eliminations and the tough semi-finals en route to the finals night. Other
choirs who made it to the elite eight in the finals were University of San Agustin Troubadors
(Iloilo), Manila Youth Choir (formerly Ramon Magsaysay HS Choir), Far Eastern University
Choir (Manila), and Ateneo de Davao Choir.