4 July 2012 – The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said today that the Philippine Madrigal Singers (Madz) gave a scintillating performance in a concert held at the Embassy's gazebo last July 3.

The Madz displayed their musical brilliance before an audience composed of Malaysian Tourism Minister Dato Sri' Dr. Ng Yen Yen, ASEAN and other foreign ambassadors, senior Malaysian government officials, friends of the Embassy and other guests.

"Once again, the Madz have exemplified musical excellence and virtuosity. The Embassy is proud to present one of the Philippines' very best to Kuala Lumpur," Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya said in his remarks prior to the performance

Fresh from their well-applauded performances at the Georgetown Festival in Penang, the Madz regaled the audience with their renditions of Filipino compositions "Bagong Umaga", "May Ibong Kakanta-kanta", "Pizzicato Caprice", "Paraiso", and "Da Coconut Nut", Rossini's "William Tell Overture", Broadway hit "All the Things You Are", "Circle of Life" from the musical "The Lion King", Barry Manilow's "One Voice" and the Indonesian song "Laskar Pelangi".

The acapella group showed off its vocal chops and showmanship as they masterfully mixed great voices with subtle choreography and at times, hilarious expressions that allowed the audiences to be more involved in their performance. Their audiences were moved and delighted with the concert, the group was greeted with a standing ovation after their repertoire, and was asked to perform two more songs for its encore.

Tourism Minister Dato Sri' Dr. Ng expressed her appreciation of the performance, noting that the Philippines and Malaysia should have a synergy when it comes to its cultural and tourism programs.

"We should collaborate with one another, we are in synergy," she said in an interview with media after the Madz performance.

In March this year, Minister Dr. Ng visited Manila and met with Philippine Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, where both officials agreed to grow each other's tourism markets through collaboration in promoting each countries' tourism destinations to the United States and European markets and further develop two-way tourism.

The Madz' stop at the Embassy is their second performance in Malaysia. They will be performing in a two-night concert at the Trinity Methodist Church in Petaling Jaya on July 5 and 6, in support of the Philippine Community Fund.

Malaysia is the group's second stop for their Asian Goodwill Concert Tour, which will also include concerts in Indonesia and Singapore.

The choir is one of the world's most awarded, having consistently won all the top prizes in most of the world's prestigious choral competitions: Arezzo and Gorizia in Italy, Marktoberdorf in Germany, Spittal in Austria, Neuchatel in Switzerland, Tours in France, Varna in Bulgaria, Debrecen in Hungary, Cantonigros, Tolosa and Torrevieja in Spain.

They hold the distinction of being the first choir in the world to win the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing twice, in 1997 and 2007. More recently, the group was honored by the UNESCO as Artists for Peace. Similarly, they were bestowed the Guidoneum Award by the Concorso Polifonico Guido d' Arrezo Foundation in September 2010. END