THE Young Voices of the Philippines (YVP) marked its fifth year anniversary with a concert, “Cantantes In Itinere,” on Saturday, Feb. 1, at the UST Central Seminary Chapel.
Founded by Music alumni couple Maria Theresa Vizconde-Roldan and Jude Roldan, the choral group held a concert reflecting its deep spiritual mission.
“The songs we sing are expressions of our faith; they are our prayers,” Vizconde-Roldan, who is also the conductor of the group, said in her opening messages.
“If our singing can inspire even one person to pray, we have fulfilled what we’ve been called to do. May our voices and the message of our songs resonate throughout the world,” she added.
The concert, which translates to “Singers on the Way,” opened with Conservatory of Music alumnus Jude Roldan’s original composition of “Cantate Dominum.”
This was followed by renditions of “Ama Namin,” “Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho,” and “Will The Circle Be Unbroken?”
Vizconde-Roldan’s arrangement of “Orde-E” and a rendition of “Ta Na Solbici” by Samo Vovk followed.
Among the songs performed was the Philippine premiere of the kundiman-inspired piano-violin piece “Summer Romance,” composed by Maria Sophia Roldan, a student from UST Senior High School.
It was first performed at the Juilliard School Morse Hall in August 2024 as part of the inaugural summer workshop of the prestigious school.
The centerpiece of the concert was the Philippine premiere of “Missa Virtutum” (Mass of Virtues), a four-movement work composed by Jude Roldan for treble voices and orchestra, which was first performed in New York in 2023.
The piece intertwined elements from Eastern and Western music, with the first three movements paying tribute to the theological virtues of Christianity, namely, faith, hope, and love.
The remaining movement represented additional values that Pope Francis championed, which are mercy and compassion.
Since its founding in 2020, YVP has recruited young musical talents from various social backgrounds, with its main advocacy to provide free music education to upcoming artists.
In 2024, the choral group was invited to serenade Pope Francis at Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican, and became the first choir from the Philippines to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York.
