Awards

Distinguished Alumni Service Award - 2001

About Andrea O. Veneracion

Andrea O. Veneracion was inspired by the Indiana University Madrigal Singers while completing her master’s in voice at Bloomington in 1962. Shortly after returning to the Philippines and resuming her teaching responsibilities at the UP College of Music, she established the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers. Her a cappella choral group, now named the Philippine Madrigal Singers, has won all the to prizes at the world’s most prestigious choral competitions and is the most awarded choral group in Asia.

Through her tireless voluntary efforts as choirmaster, Veneracion has helped the choir spread the cultural heritage of the Philippines not only within the country but also far beyond. Because singing is the most popular Filipino pastime, choirs all over the country can trace their repertoire to the music that has been popularized by Veneracion and the Philippine Madrigal Singers, now the resident choral ensemble of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Because of her expertise, she has been invited to sit on juries of the major choral competitions around the world.

In 1999 the Philippine government named her National Artist for Music, the highest government honor conferred in the field of art and culture. She continues to have strong ties with IU and is currently working on a fund-raising madrigal concert to benefit the IU alumni program in the Philippines.