The Philippine Madrigal Singers recently bags one of the most coveted award in the world of choral competition and is now on their way to hopefully win their third European Grand Prix title.

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Under the baton of artistic director and choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio, the Philippine Madrigal Singers (affectionately called as "Madz") conferred the prestigious Gran Premio in the Concorso 64th Prolifonico Internazionale in Arezzo, Italy last August 27. 

Madz earned one of only six berths for the 2017 European Grand Prix for Choral Singing, a battle of the champions of Europe’s six top choral competitions, which will be held next year in Tolosa, Spain. As one of the resident companies of the Cultural Centre of the Philippines, Madz holds the distinction of being the first choir in the world to win the European Grand Prix title twice (1997 and 2007) and is now eyeing for their third. 

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One of the group’s award-winning performances in the Prolifonico Internazionale was the Monographic category, where it featured three works by one of its members, Ily Matthew Maniano. The group was also awarded the Best Execution of a Renaissance Piece and other awards by the public and the jury. 

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Organised in 1963 by the late National Artist for Music Andrea O. Veneracion, Madz is composed of students, faculty, and alumni of the University of the Philippines. Following a Renaissance tradition, the group sings in a semicircle without a conductor. It has an extensive repertoire that ranges from classical choral masterpieces to avant-garde compositions, renaissance madrigals to folk, pop, and humorous novelty numbers.