FCCP Vocal Ensemble
Church and away, they sing
The FCCP Vocal Ensemble has grown from a
church-based choir to a community glee club
delighting audiences wherever and whenever they
sing. One of their recent performances was at
the Pinoy Pasko Festival at the Tumbalong Park in
Sydney and well, yes, they rock!
The group’s strength is based on their common
bond that is faith and on their shared passion that
is music. Other than that, they’re the regular young
Fil-Aussie professionals just going about their
migrant lives with lots of fun and a touch of music.
“None of us are professional singers. We just
love to sing. We are a diverse group of professionals
in IT, finance, nursing, and other fields,” explains
Giselle Goloy, one of the pioneer members of the
choir.
“It was our passion and love for music that got
us together and because we were having so much
fun, we became friends outside choir practice and
the church. We practice once a week and we also
hang out a lot. We've been on several weekend
out-of-town trips and boy, do we love watching
concerts together!”
Their group took years in the making. The
ensemble’s formation is traced to the opening of
the Filipino Chaplaincy Chatswood Parish (thus
FCCP) in April 2007. They started out as a regular
church choir and were only singing once a month
during the Filipino Mass until they were asked by
one of the parish coordinators to do the 4th Sunday
children's morning Mass (non-Filipino Mass).
The group yearned for a more formal choir and
soon scouted for dedicated members through
word of mouth and from friends of friends. Those
who wanted to join had to attend regular practice
and audition in front of the group.
“More than a good voice, we wanted members
who had a good ear and could harmonise easily.
We've been singing at the church for four years
now and we are very grateful for the support we
get from our FCCP community. We hope that
through our singing, we have encouraged more
parishioners to attend Mass.”
10
DECEMBER 2016
|
ANG KALATAS
Over the last two years, the FCCP Vocal
Ensemble has branched out and sang at wedding
ceremonies and community functions like the
Independence Day celebrations under the
auspices of the Consulate, the Pasko Festival,
at the Australia Church Women’s Conference
in Epping, and most recently at the Australia
Philippine Business Council year-end ball. They
also sang at the Flores de Mayo Mass in North
Sydney.
Members go beyond choir duty and in a way
the ensemble has become a support group for
this band of young professionals. Choir member
Mary says the choir is like a beautiful puzzle fit
together.
“It feels like it was meant na magkakila-kilala
kaming lahat. Iba-ibang personalities pero we all
have one common love for music. Tapos perfect
timing pa yung pag-join nang bawa't isa. Bawat
isa meron talagang naging role - not only about
choir stuff pero kahit sa personal na buhay.”
“Ang saya talaga pag randomly kaming
kumakanta. Di ko magawa yun with most
people,” says Lester, another choir member.
“I think being in the choir is therapeutic. We
have an outlet for our talent and creativity and
we've gained wonderful friends along the way,”
says Giselle.
“I believe that making beautiful music
together comes from knowing and loving the
people you sing with and we all feel that love and
care for each other. While the choir needs us - it's
not a choir without singers - we need the choir in
our lives just as much.”
[You can listen to their music by visiting FCCP
Vocal Ensemble on Facebook]
“I BELIEVE THAT MAKING BEAUTIFUL MUSIC TOGETHER COMES
FROM KNOWING AND LOVING THE PEOPLE YOU SING WITH AND
WE ALL FEEL THAT LOVE AND CARE FOR EACH OTHER.
WHILE THE
CHOIR NEEDS US - IT'S NOT A CHOIR WITHOUT SINGERS - WE NEED
THE CHOIR IN OUR LIVES JUST AS MUCH.” - GISELLE
CHOIR MEMBERS: SOPRANOS: