By Harren Baña and Chester Cortez

In its more than 30 years of existence, and under the baton of prominent personalities in the local music industry like Sr. Bernadetti Legaspi, cfic, Sr. Gervacia Cabel, sfic, Mrs. Leonora Codamon, Mrs. Corazon Abriam, Fr. Ted Lazo, Mr. Chardin Joseph Leopoldo Saquing II, Ms. Fritzie Pataueg, and currently Mr. Lionel Luis Dumelod (also the Head of the SMU Cultural Affairs Office), the Saint Mary’s University (SMU) Choral Society (formerly known as the Marian Glee Club) has proven itself to be the premiere singing group in the province of Nueva Vizcaya.

It has performed in various stages like the Cultural Center of the Philippines for the National Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA), the Clamshell in Intramuros upon the invitation of the Department of Tourism, in various universities around the country, as well as in the Provincial Capitol upon request of the Provincial Government. The group has also won interpreting the winning piece of the Centennial Celebration of the CICM Presence in the Philippines, the congregation which founded the university. Just recently, it has emerged First Runner-Up in the national choral competition sponsored by the National Irrigation Administration. Last October, the group had its premiere international presentation in Malaysia, in a command performance for Asian dignitaries at the Universiti Utara Malaysia. In November, it won in the choral competition of the Provincial Association of Higher Education Institutions (PAHEI) Meet, garnering the honor to represent Nueva Vizcaya in the Regional Association of Higher Education Institutions (RAHEI) Meet on 2010.

The group is currently preparing for “Iwil An Yumina,” a musical-drama on the legend of the Salinas Salt Spring, to be staged mid-December 2009 and early next year.

On February 2010, it shall stage a Spanish concert of songs and dances, courtesy of a cultural program grant from the Spanish Program for Cultural Cooperation (SPCC).

It was Mr. Sherween Jerry Paul V. Saquing, SMU instructor and Provincial Consultant on Spanish Affairs, who transmitted a petition-letter to the Hon. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma (Provincial Governor of Nueva Vizcaya) seeking the declaration of the SMU Choral Society as “The Singing Ambassadors of Goodwill of Nueva Vizcaya.” An indorsement was forwarded by Governor Cuaresma to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Nueva Vizcaya, presided by the Honorable Vice Governor Jose V. Gambito, for the appropriate action relative to the petition-letter.

On September 8, 2009, the SP Committee on Rules, Awards, and Privileges chaired by Honorable Board Member Glenn Afan and the Human Resources Committee chaired by Honorable Board Member Merlie Talingdan invited Mr. Saquing and Mr. Dumelod for a joint committee hearing. Also present during the hearing were the Honorable Board Members Efren Quiben, Tony Dupiano, Santiago Dickson, and Patricio Dumlao, Jr.

On September 9, 2009, the members of the SMU Choral Society were invited to perform at the SP Regular Session, to the delight of all the members of the Provincial Board as well as the audience in the gallery. After due deliberation among the Board Members and interventions from Mr. Saquing, the Provincial Board of Nueva Vizcaya unanimously approved the resolution proclaiming the Saint Mary’s University Choral Society as “The Cultural Ambassadors of Goodwill of the Province of Nueva Vizcaya”, putting to mind that the choral society shall be emissaries of goodwill through the promotion of Nueva Vizcaya culture by way of the songs and dances they perform. Present during the session were the Honorable Board Members Jose Gambito, Glenn Afan, Patricio Dumlao, Jr., Merlie Talingdan, Tony Dupiano, Efren Quiben, Reina Nita Tidang, Maybelle Blossom Dumlao, Filma Perez, Amado Mangaoang, and Angelyn Burton. It was Honorable Patricio Dumlao, Jr. who invoked the General Welfare Clause that would allow the appropriation of support for the choral group in its various performances.

On September 14, 2009, during the Flag-Raising Ceremony at the Provincial Capitol, the choral society was officially proclaimed “The Cultural Ambassadors of Goodwill of the Province of Nueva Vizcaya” in the presence of Governor Cuaresma, Vice Governor Gambito, as well as dignitaries and employees of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the local government of Nueva Vizcaya.

With the SMU Choral Society being the first to be declared “THE CULTURAL AMBASSADORS OF GOODWILL OF THE PROVINCE OF NUEVA VIZCAYA”, its members and advisers continue promoting an atmosphere of competence, creativity, community-supportiveness, Christian discipleship, and culture-consciousness in Nueva Vizcaya and elsewhere in the world.