Andrea Veneracion

Andrea Ofilada Veneracion (or Ma'am OA; July 11, 1928 – July 9, 2013)^[1] was a Filipina choral conductor and a recipient of the 1999 National Artist for Music award.^[2] She founded the Philippine Madrigal Singers in 1963.^[3] She was also an adjudicator in numerous international choral competitions and was an active force in choral music before her massive stroke in 2005.

Early life

She was born on July 11, 1928, to Macario Ofilada and Raymunda Carriaga.^[4] She was raised in Manila, Philippines.

She earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano and Voice at the University of the Philippines Diliman, graduating cum laude. She was a lyric soprano soloist in various Oratorio works and in the Opera Stage. She was also a very accomplished pianist and accompanist and was the accompanist of National Artist for Music, Jovita Fuentes for a number of years. Apart from being an extraordinary musician, she was also an exceptional athlete as a competitive swimmer. She was part of the Philippine swimming team who first competed internationally in Hong Kong.

Philippine Madrigal Singers

Later on, she continued to pursue her master's degree in Voice at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, as a Fulbright scholar, where she encountered the Indiana University Madrigal Singers, who rallied the music of the Renaissance period.

Upon her return to the Philippines in 1963, she established a singing group with the same idea. This group was initially exclusive of U.P. faculty members and students and became officially known as the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers. She established a tradition for which the Madz, as they are fondly called, are known for: unlike most choirs, the Madz were seated in a semicircular formation without a conductor. The Choirmaster is at the left-most end of the circle, and leads the group by giving their cues, much like how a concertmaster leads in an orchestra.

Under her direction, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won major awards in international choral competitions, including those in Spittal an der Drau, Austria; Arezzo and Gorizia, Italy; Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Debrecen, Hungary; Varna, Bulgaria; Tolosa, Spain; and Marktoberdorf, Germany. In 1996, she led the Philippine Madrigal Singers to its victory in the 1996 International Choral Competition in Tolosa, Spain. This made them eligible to compete for the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing the following year and eventually won the title in Tours, France.

Veneracion was the founding choirmaster and first conductor of the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music (AILM) Chorale.^[5]

Later, some of her choristers established their own careers as well-known music performers and choral composers, conductors and arrangers in the Philippines; they include Ryan Cayabyab, Joel Navarro, Joy Nilo, Victor Asuncion, Montet Acoymo, Robert Delgado, Edgardo Nepomuceno, Jonathan Velasco, Eudenice Palaruan, Fr. Arnold Zamora, Christopher Borela, Anna Tabita Abeleda-Piquero, Ruben Federizon, Eric Robert Santos and the present Madz Choirmaster, Mark Anthony Carpio.

In 1997, she was given the TOFIL (The Outstanding Filipino) Award for Culture and the Arts For her contributions to the development of choral singing in the Philippines.

In 1999, she was named National Artist for Music, the highest cultural award bestowed by the Philippine government for an individual.

In 2001, she retired as the Choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Together with an artistic committee, she personally selected Mark Anthony Carpio, her Assistant Choirmaster at that time, to be her successor. The Madz turnover ceremonies were held in a special concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines coinciding with the launch of her biography "A Life Shaped By Music" by Marjorie Evasco.

She continued to guide the Madz under Carpio's baton by joining them in their 2002 North American Tours, 2003 Asian Tours and 2004 European Concert Tours. She was also there to witness Carpio's first international competition as Choirmaster (and the Madz's first competition after 7 years) at the 2004 International Competition of Habaneras and Polyphony in Torrevieja, Spain, where the Madz won First Places for both categories and was also the last choir to do so.

Death

In December 2005, she suffered a massive stroke which led to her paralysis. The Madz performed benefit concerts, the proceeds of which were used to help the Veneracion family with Ma'am OA's medical expenses.^[6][7]

Having been comatose since her 2005 stroke, Veneracion died on July 9, 2013, at her home in Cubao, Quezon City at the age of 84.^[8][9][10] She was cremated on July 11, 2013; her necrological rites at the Cultural Center of the Philippines is scheduled on Sunday, July 14, 2013.^[4]

Awards

For a list of awards won by the Philippine Madrigal Singers, see Philippine Madrigal Singers

• 1997 - TOFIL (The Outstanding Filipino) award
• 1999 – National Artist of the Philippines for Music – currently the only awardee for choral music.
• 2001 – Distinguished Alumni Service award – awarded by Indiana University.

See also

• Philippine Madrigal Singers
• Mark Anthony Carpio

References

External links

• The Philippine Madrigal Singers official website
• Veneracion's International Choral Kathaumixw profile

National Artists of the Philippines
Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas
Architecture	1973 Juan Nakpil 1976 Pablo Antonio 1990 Leandro Locsin 2003 Ildefonso P. Santos Jr. 2014 Jose Maria Zaragosa
Cinema	1982 Gerardo de León 1991 Ishmael Bernal 1997 Lino Brocka 2003 Eddie Romero 2006 Fernando Poe Jr. 2009 Manuel Conde
Dance	1973 Francisca R. Aquino 1976 Leonor Orosa 1988 Lucrecia Reyes 2006 Ramon Obusan 2014 Alice Reyes
Fashion	2006 Ramon Valera
Historical literature	1997 Carlos Quirino
Literature	1973 Jose Garcia Villa 1973 Amado V. Hernandez 1976 Nick Joaquin 1982 Carlos P. Romulo 1990 Francisco Arcellana 1990 N. V. M. Gonzalez 1992 Rolando Tinio 1999 Edith Tiempo 2001 F. Sionil José 2003 Virgilio S. Almario 2003 Alejandro Roces 2006 Bienvenido Lumbera 2009 Lazaro Francisco 2014 Cirilo F. Bautista
Music	1973 Antonio Molina 1976 Jovita Fuentes 1987 Atang de la Rama 1988 Antonio Buenaventura 1988 Lucrecia Kasilag 1991 Lucio D. San Pedro 1997 Levi Celerio 1997 Felipe de Leon 1997 José Maceda 1999 Ernani Cuenco 1999 Andrea Veneracion 2014 Ramon Santos 2014 Francisco Feliciano
Theater and films	1976 Lamberto V. Avellana 1997 Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero 1997 Rolando Tinio 1999 Daisy Avellana 2001 Severino Montano 2003 Salvador Bernal
Visual arts	1972 Fernando Amorsolo 1973 Botong Francisco 1973 Guillermo Tolentino 1976 Napoleon Abueva 1976 Victorio C. Edades 1981 Vicente Manansala 1990 Cesar Legaspi 1991 Hernando R. Ocampo 1997 Arturo R. Luz 1999 J. Elizalde Navarro 2001 Ang Kiukok 2003 José T. Joya 2006 BenCab Cabrera 2006 Abdulmari Asia Imao 2009 Federico Aguilar Alcuaz 2014 Francisco Coching
National Commission for Culture and the Arts Cultural Center of the Philippines National Arts Center