Manila: The founder of the Philippines’s most internationally-awarded a capella choir group, Andrea Veneracion, died on Tuesday night. She was 85.

Venaracion, who formed the group 50 years ago, had been bed-ridden for eight years, following a massive stroke in late 2005.

After graduating with highest honours in the Bachelor of Music degree in Piano and Voice at the University of the Philippines (UP), she enrolled for a Master’s Degree in Voice at Indiana University School of Music — Bloomington.

She returned to the Philippines and established the Philippine Madrigal Singers at her alma mater in 1963.

The Madrigals are known for perfect musicality and singing without instruments. The choirmaster is usually discreetly located at the left with the choir singers arranged in a semi-circle.

The group’s golden years began in 1996, when it won in the International Choral Competition in Tolosa, Spain, allowing it to compete for the European Choral Grand Prix for Choral Singing in 1997. The title was eventually won in Tours, France.

The group’s artistry was perfected in several prestigious international competitions in Arezzo and Gorizia, Italy; Debrecen, Hungary; Marktoberdorf, Germany; Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Spittal, Austria; and Varna, Bulgaria.

It has inspired the establishment of thousands of other choral groups in the Philippines.

Venaracion’s group also spawned internationally acclaimed performers and conductors such as Victor Asuncion, Montet Acoymo, Christopher Borela, Ryan Cayabyab, Robert Delgado. Joel Navarro, Edgardo Nepomuceno, Joy Nilo, Eudenice Palaruan, Anna Piquero, Jonathan Velasco, Fr. Arnold Zamora, and Madrigals’ current choirmaster, Mark Anthony Carpio.

She served as a faculty member of the UP College of Music while leading the Madrigal Singers. She also founded and served as first conductor of the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music (AILM) Chorale and later became honorary chair of the Philippine Federation of Choral Music.

She received The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Award for Culture and the Arts in 1997; and was named National Artist for Music in 1999, at the apex of her career.

She was an accomplished lyric soprano, pianist, and arranger and was likewise a competitive swimmer who competed internationally.

The Cultural Centre of the Philippines has scheduled the Andrea Veneracion International Choral Festival for August.