Imusicapella

Imusicapella Chamber Choir is a world-class chamber choir from the City of Imus, in the province of Cavite, Philippines. Recognized as a promising vocal ensemble in the country, the church-based choir have won different competitions locally and internationally. The group sings at the 7:00 PM mass every second Sunday of the month at Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral in Imus and at the 7:00 PM mass every third Saturday of the month at the St. Peregrine Chapel in Brgy. Toclong 1-C, Imus.

Formed in 2002, Imusicapella is a non-profit, amateur, and self–supporting choir composed of young professionals and students from Imus and nearby towns of Cavite under the leadership of Tristan Ignacio. They were the recipient of the "General Licerio Topacio Special Award" during the 2006 Parangal ng Bayan ng Imus for being an outstanding group of the municipality. They finished as one of the top semifinalists at the ABS-CBN TV network's talent reality search, Pilipinas Got Talent (Season 1).

Imusicapella has recorded four CDs: You are the Light (2003), Joy to the World (2003), One More Gift (2005), Cantate Domino (2011) and "I'll Make Music" (2015).

Conductor

The conductor of the Imusicapella is Tristan Caliston Ignacio, a young and promising choral conductor who is also its founder. He led the group in winning top prizes in national and international choral competitions. He was the winner of the Conductor's Prize for Outstanding Artistic Performance at the 6th Harmonie Festival 2011 in Lindenholzhausen, Germany, and the "Pro Musica Viva Maria Strecker Daelen Preis" Conductor's Prize for the Best Interpretation of a Contemporary Choral Work in 2007 at the 10th International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf, Germany.

Caliston Ignacio graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Tourism at the University of Santo Tomas in 2003. He was a member of the Imus Institute Pitch Choir, the De La Salle University-Dasmarinas Chorale, and the University of Santo Tomas Singers.

He was a recipient of the 2009 Gawad Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the highest honors given by the province of Cavite, for his outstanding achievements in the field of music, as well as the 2009 Col. Jose S Tagle Award given by the municipality as one of the Most Outstanding Imuseño (Citizen). ^[1]

He also conducts the Sisters of Mary Boystown Choir in Silang, Cavite and the Department of Energy Chorale in Taguig City. Caliston Ignacio is the Chairman of the 2011 National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) - Youth Choir Category.

He is an affiliate of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). He also joined the Philippine Choral Directors Association (PCDA) in 2011.^[2] He is also a member of the National Committee on Music (NCMusic), one of the 22 committees of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). He has participated in workshops of outstanding international choral conductors such as André Ducrét of Switzerland, Alexander Vaćcek of the Czech Republic and Jonathan Velasco of the Philippines.^[3]

Awards and Recognition

Imusicapella embarked in four international concert tours in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2011 in the USA, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Poland and Czech Republic. They participated in several national and international choral competitions and achieved the following:

National

• 2013 Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honors)
  • Music Awardee - Imusicapella
• 2012 Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honors)
  • Music Awardee - Imusicapella
  • Music Awardee - Tristan Ignacio^[4]
• 2009 Cultural Center of the Philippines National Choral Competition
  • First prize, Mixed Choir Category
  • First prize, Folk Music Category
  • Second prize, Sacred Music Category (with no declared 1st Prize winner)^[5]
• Grand prize, Wedding Expo Philippines Choir Competition 2003
• Grand prize, 1st Magic 89.9 Voices Popcapella Competition 2002
• Grand prize, Island Cove Choir Competition 2002

International

• 2012 Busan International Choral Festival and Competition, Busan South Korea^[6]
  • Grand Prize Winner
• 9th International Choirdays Mainhausen 2011, Germany
  • First prize, Mixed Choir Category
  • Third prize, Jazz Category^[7]
• 6th Harmonie Festival 2011 Lindenholzhausen, Germany
  • First prize, Vocal Ensemble Category
  • Second Prize, Mixed Chamber Choir Category^[8][9]
• 40th Florilege Vocal de Tours 2011 France
  • First prize, Free Expression Category
  • Third prize, Mixed Vocal Ensemble Category^[10]
• 1st California International Choral Festival & Competition 2007 San Luis Obispo, California, USA
  • First prize, Required Pieces Category
  • First prize, Folk Music Category
  • Second prize, Choir's Choice Category (Free Programme Category)
  • Public prize,^[11]
• 43rd Montreux International Choral Festival 2007, Switzerland
  • First prize / Jury prize
  • Prize for Best Programming & Interpretation
  • Public prize ^[12]
• 10th Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition 2007, Germany
  • Fourth place, Mixed Chamber Choir Category
  • Public Prize
• 5th Harmonie Festival 2005 Lindenholzhausen, Germany
  • First place (Silver), Mixed Chamber Choir - Small Ensemble Category ^[13]
• 1st Mundus Cantat International Choir Festival 2005 Sopot, Poland
  • First prize, Gospel, Spiritual & Jazz Category
  • First prize, Folk Music Category
  • Second prize, Sacred Music Category
  • Grand Prix^[14]
• 10th Festival Choral International de Neuchatel 2003, Switzerland
  • First prize, Mixed Choir Category
  • Public prize
  • Grand Prix^[15]
• 51st Concorso Polifonico Internazionale Guido d' Arezzo 2003, Italy
  • Fourth place, Polyphony Category
  • Finalist
• 3rd Johannes Brahms International Choral Competition 2003 Wernigerode, Germany
  • Second place (Gold Diploma), Gospel / Spiritual Category
  • Third place (Gold Diploma), Folk Music Category
  • Fifth place (Silver Diploma), Mixed Chamber Choir Category^[16]

Participant

Imusicapella have also participated, representing the Philippines in six international choral festivals:

• 10th Festival Les Musicales en Confluence 2011 in Villandry, France
• 14th Festival de Chant Choral 2007 in Nancy, France
• International UNESCO Choir Festival 2003 in Alzenau, Germany
• 5th Jornades Internationales Musica Coral 2003 in Burgos, Spain
• 22nd Semana Coral International de Alava 2003 in Vitoria, Spain
• 46th International Festival of Choral Art 2003 in Jihlava, Czech Republic

References