In 1971, Flora Zarco Rivera formed a children’s choir at the U.P. College of Music. It was originally called the U.P. Cherubim. It held its first concert in December of that year at the Abelardo Hall Auditorium. Soon after that, it was invited to perform as guest choir for concerts and productions outside the university such as “Mass” with the U.P. Concert Chorus, “Cocoy Live” with Cocoy Laurel, and TV shows such as “Sunday, Sweet Sunday,” with Fides Cuyugan-Asensio and Frankie Aseniero and, “Seeing Stars,” with Joe Quirino.
The major activities of the choir, developed during this decade, and carried out until the present, included the learning and performance of works by Filipino composers like National Artist Lucio San Pedro, who was an enthusiastic and early supporter of the group. Mom Rivera commissioned special music for children to be learned, not only during regular rehearsals but also at intensive summer camps in Baguio where the children would test and learn new material and sing the songs at provincial outreach concerts and training workshops for teachers to bring the experience of children’s choral singing to the attention of the nation.
Although the group, now called the U.P. Cherubim and Seraphim, in recognition of the fact that half of its members were already in High School, travelled to California in 1975 for its first international tour , as well as Southeast Asia and Vienna in 1978-79, the 1980s was the period when the easing of travel restrictions for Filipinos and increased state patronage for the arts allowed a number of well known choirs to represent the Philippines in competitions and festivals abroad as ambassadors of goodwill.
The U.P. Cherubim and Seraphim, already familiar with the masterworks of Bach, Brahms and Mendelssohn, as well as folksongs from different countries, sung in their native languages - German, French, Bahasa - travelled with red diplomatic passports and was hosted by our embassies in Germany, Southeast Asia, China, and the United States.
The children trained in traditional Philippine arts and culture in workshops featuring rondalla and folk dancing. The group was invited to sing as guest performers in national singing and song writing competitions and celebrations of national events such as the inauguration of the National Arts Center in Makiling and the first anniversary of the EDSA Revolution.
In the 1990s, the U.P. Cherubim and Seraphim commissioned and mounted “Awit ni Pulau,” a major theaterpiece by now national artist, Ramon P. Santos and Palanca award winner, Edgardo B. Maranan. This production tested the mettle of the children and they came through triumphantly. The group focused on an exclusively Filipino repertoire during this decade, bringing to the fore its by now, rich repertoire of works by Philippine composers including two national artists.
The children were encouraged to express themselves at workshops in poetry writing, acting, dance and other aspects of theatrical performance. Young composers were invited to use the poetry for their compositions that saw performance at our concerts. Choral conducting students used the group for their recitals. Themes developed in the works and song arrangements created during this period indicate awareness and concern for the natural environment, family and friends, social responsibility and children’s rights and other relevant topics.
The 2000s was a fertile period for continuing the U.P. Cherubim and Seraphim’s focus on the environment and for understanding, through music, the role of children in building awareness about the world around them.
Elena Rivera Mirano took over the reins of the choir after the death of Flora Zarco Rivera in 1998. Camps and workshops in various locations brought the magic of choral singing to groups that advocated children’s awareness of the world. Beginning with a weeklong camp jointly sponsored by with the Loboc Children’s Choir and the Department of Education of Bohol in 1999, this thrust continued through the 2000s with a series of live-in camps for child laborers from Payatas and Pandacan, and co-sponsored by the NGO’s CoMultiversity and the Visayan Forum, and the National City United Church based in Quezon City; workshops for teachers and children of Boracay, Batangas City, and performances for children with cancer/cancer survivors at the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City.
The most recent decade has been marked by efforts to build and strengthen the network of alumni now consisting of batch choirs coming from the five decades of its existence. This began with a concert celebrating the U.P. Centennial in 2008, and subsequent concerts for the 40th and 45th anniversaries. The five alumni choirs are:
Erste Stimmen (First Voices), 1971-80
Daybreak, 1981-90
Gossamer Wings, 1991-2000,
Matag Lakang (Step by Step), 2001-2010
Jeunes Voix (Young Voices), 2011-2020
During this decade, the group momentarily relocated its rehearsals to Palma Hall and the Faculty Center. It has, since 2017, returned to its home at the College of Music. In 2016, it restaged, “Awit ni Pulau,” using new production techniques, including animation, and advances in technical theater. It continues to experiment with the new technologies through its virtual online concert, “Carillons a Musique.”