British-Filipino Choir wins Manchester Amateur Choir Competition 2020

This is a press release from Haraya Choir

British-Filipino singing group Haraya Choir made history on Sunday, March 1, 2020, when they bagged the grand prize in the Manchester Amateur Choir Competition 2020.

Held at the prestigious auditorium of the Royale Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, Haraya Choir bested 15 other choral groups from different parts of the United Kingdom – a first for an Asian group in this competition.

The choir members also performed live at the Manchester Piccadilly Station, warmly supported by local Filipino society members before heading for the main event.

Haraya presented 3 pieces – Philippine songs Kruhay and Anak, and  Circle of Life. They received a standing ovation not only from the audience but also from one of the judges.

One judge gave an unconventional live feedback immediately after the performance and she had nothing but praise.

“What is really outstanding about today was that you came prepared to redo what you’ve obviously rehearsed, you can’t come in and do this on pure adrenaline. So I thank you for having prepared so meticulously…. You took your own personality into each performance and created animal sounds, coming from the jungle…. You made me feel like I could speak the language (Kruhay and Anak)…l It’s more about sharing skills and setting the standard for what a choral music is all about, but the way you do that song (Circle of Life) is just ridiculous!” 

This experience proved to be as memorable as it was extraordinary for this was after all Haraya’s first outing in the choral competition scene, singing in front of a large British audience. – Rappler.com