Arwin Tan, Philippines

 

Arwin is the choirmaster of Novo Concertante Manila, a 3-time “Ani ng Dangal” awardee from the National Commission for Culture and Arts for their achievements in international choral competitions, and currently ranked no. 8 in the world by Interkultur and Musica Mundi, Germany. Novo Concertante Manila was awarded the Grand Prize in the first-ever A Voyage of Songs International Choral Competition in Genting Highlands, Malaysia (2003).

 

He studied choral conducting and musicology at the University of the Philippines, College of Music, and graduated magna cum laude and valedictorian of class 2000. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at the UP College of Music under the Department of Musicology. He is actively propagating the choral arts through giving workshops in many parts of the Philippines and other countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Germany, and he has sat as juror in many national and international choral competitions.  He was awarded an “Ani ng Dangal” for winning the Most Outstanding Conductor Award in the 2012 Asia Cantate International Choral Competition.

 

His interest in the choral arts has been cultivated through singing with the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers under Prof. Andrea Veneracion. He joined several international concert tours of the MADZ from 1998-2002, and was one of the choir’s resident arrangers. Arwin’s compositions and arrangements have been performed as pieces in international competitions by choirs in the Philippines and abroad.

 

At present, Arwin is actively involved in research, particularly on the church and band music traditions of the Philippines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He has attended and presented papers in international conferences organized by the University of the Philippines and the International Council for Traditional Music.