After our Sunday morning stroll in (mostly deserted) Maribor, Mimi, Pete, Marlon and I ran into the Glee Club right outside Union Hall, where they were due for their soundcheck.
After hugs were exchanged and manic shrieks faded away, we went into the holding room with them for last-minute instructions from Ma'am Malou, prayers and a huddle. I really have to give it to Ma'am, she was the picture of calm and purpose—exactly what a big group needed at a time like this.
It felt so strange to know what they were all feeling, but not actually be part of it—to be outside the circle looking in.
Then it was time for their 15-minute rehearsal, the only time choirs actually get to step inside the hall they compete in. Since the full repertoire is 25 minutes, the soundcheck was just about enough time to check the acoustics against a portion of each piece, and also if everyone can hear each other. I've been in halls where the audience enjoys a fantastic sound but you can't hear yourself at all, let alone the people next to you, and it's always a freaky feeling.
To me, they sounded amazing. Sparkling, fresh, warm, pino, with heart. And it's not just because I used to sing in this choir, okay. I think I've heard enough choirs to know.
Lunch followed at a park nearby. We got a chance to catch up with darling Leo, who was also with the Glee Club when we competed in the European Grand Prix in 2001. I can't believe he now has two Grand Prix competitions under his belt.
Then, back to Union Hall to claim our tickets and wait for the competition to begin. The event had been sold out for weeks. Slovenes love their choral music!
We got the nosebleed seats in the very last row, but asked to be moved. In hindsight, we should have just stayed here so we could see what the judges were writing down!
The organizers very kindly moved us to the upper left of the hall, where we unfurled our handy-dandy Philippine flag and got ready to cheer for our Glee Club. Can you say groupies?
Then the competition began.
Each of the six finalists in the European Grand Prix is the winner of a pre-qualifying competition held the year before. They are given 25 minutes to sing a program of their choice, and the clock is stopped for applause. The choice of songs in their program is expected to reflect musical sensibility and well-roundedness, including works from diverse regions and periods.
The Glee Club alumni page on Facebook was on fire that day, as alumni from all over the world listened to the competition on live streaming and kept up a hilarious, astute commentary (musical and otherwise), relying on me and Mimi to fill in the gaps when the live stream failed.
What a huge change from 11 years ago! Back then, people back home just had to take our word for it, and we would go out to collect feedback from judges and audience members that we could share when we returned home. But thanks to the Internet, anyone can now judge for themselves whether the Glee Club really deserved to win or not.
I also saw how I've grown since my Glee Club days. Just looking at some choirs' programs, I knew instantly that there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that they would take the Grand Prix, no matter how fantastic they sounded. I couldn't have been capable of the same assessment when I was 19.
I was so proud of the Glee Club that day. They have come so far (I was the President that hired Ma'am Malou!) and couldn't have represented the Philippines any better.
But, sadly, victory was not ours that day.
The Sofia Vokalensemble from Stockholm, Sweden won this year's Grand Prix. I think in the end, all biases aside, it likely came down to them and the Glee Club. It was a rightly deserved victory, for sure. Sweden is truly at the forefront of all things choral, and the Glee Club couldn't have asked for a better adversary.
Still, I couldn't help but feel a lump in my throat seeing the prizewinners on stage, and all those Ateneo jackets sitting in the audience.
We lost this same competition 12 years ago, and I really wished the outcome had been different for them. Afterward, like us, and like most Filipinos, they needed to laugh away the disappointment. The communal dinner after the competition, and a few very drunk Japanese choristers, provided the perfect opportunity for that. (What we did back then: held a makeup competition in our dorm.)
Do these look like the faces of losers to you? I didn't think so either.
In a choir like this, you learn so much more than music. You learn, like we did, that to heal heartbreak, you must administer generous doses of the things you love the most: in this case, friendship, music, laughter, and travel.
And luckily for the Glee Club, there will always be new friends to make, notes to learn, jokes to share and rehash endlessly, and the whole wide world to discover.
Glee Club kiddies, I'm so proud of you guys. You will always be winners to me.
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Watch the Glee Club at this year's European Grand Prix via this Youtube playlist I've compiled. Many thanks to
You can also watch performances by the winners, Sofia Vokalensemble, on Dolf's channel. Di ko na sila gagawan ng playlist, noh. If you only have enough time or interest to watch one, make it this one. Or this one. Oh, just watch both.
Well-written as usual, Deepa. =)
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