The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Know your competitors, if not enemies, well.
Or, at least, take part in a game, aware of your strengths, weaknesses and all the gray matters in between, no matter the outcome, win or lose, you are confident you did your part pretty well.
Such is sportsmanship.
Everyone loves a winner, though.
Only a few in this cruel world loves a loser except in some cases where showering of understanding or giving hope to desperate people are alive, or to be blunt about it, no one embraces a loser anytime, anywhere, anyhow.
How to aim a rewarding battle, then?
In a competition, confidence is only one of the weapons to clinch victory.
Confidence with humility is an ideal mix, though.
The other thing is the total knowledge of the act coupled with honesty.
Still, the other is timing which is being played by Lady Luck.
Generally, these parameters apply to any contests including choral searches notwithstanding the standards and criteria provided by the jury.
At the 2025 Palawan International Choral Festival (PICF) held recently at Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, one of the groups which showed confidence, knowledgeability of the subject and interplay of natural acts was Imusicapella, a group of music artists who have proven their mettle by joining and winning in world choral contests like winning 3rd Prize at the 2022 Busan Choral Festival and Competition in South Korea, placing finalist at the 31st European Grand Prix for Choral Singing at Arrezo in Italy in 2019 etc.
Because of these achievements, there were local choirs that withdrew from competing at the 2025 PICF when they discovered that Imusicapella was one of the contestants in the fest.
According to Robert Delgado, music conductor of various choirs including officially the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Chorale, arranger, former member of the iconic Philippine Madrigal Singers or Madz and President of the National Association of Filipino Choirs, Inc. (NAFCI), the organizer of this year’s PICF, this is the first time that Imusicapella had joined in a choral singing contest locally.
“Puro pandaigdig ang kanilang sinasalihan. Kaya nang magkumpirma sila ng pagsali sa 2025 PICF, na-excite ako. Proud ako (Most of the choir competitions they have been joining are international. That’s why when they confirmed their submission of competing in this year’s contest, I was excited. I was proud),” recalled Delgado.
“But we had jurors. They would objectively choose the deserving ones. The PICF was only a platform,” added Robert.
True enough, because of their impressive performances, Imusicapella won the Grand Prix and twin wins as bests in the Sacred and Mixed Categories.
The group was also proclaimed the Mayor’s Choice.
It didn’t mean to say, though, that the other contestants were way far behind them.
Imusicapella was just at par
Woodrose Chorale won in the Equal Voices Category as well as Public Prize or the Audience Choice Award and in the Traditional Folklore Category which they tied with the Palawan Chorus Mixtus, the group which romped away with the Gold Diploma in the Sacred Category.
Meanwhile, the Gold Diploma in the Mixed Category went to the Surigao Luminary Voices from Surigao City, and Youth Choir Category went to Barcelona National Comprehensive High School (NCHS).
In October, Imusicapella will embark on a new journey in a global choral contest when they compete at the 2025 European Grand Prix in Choral Singing in Tolosa, Spain.
At the 2025 PICF, Imusicapella received a whopping P300,000.00 as prize from the PCSO.