YOGYAKARTA – Four months of sweat finally paid off with the victory achieved by UPN “Veteran Yogyakarta Student Choir Vocalista Paradisso at The 2nd Tokyo International Choir Competition 2019 which took place from 26 to 28 July 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.
Vocalista Paradisso for the first time was crowned champion (Winner Category) in the Folklore Music category. In addition, Vocalista Paradisso also won the Gold Medal for the Contemporary Music category, Best Interpretation of the contemporary compulsory song Dies Irae and the Best Audience Award.
Under the direction of Setyo Watjono and the guidance of A.Y.N Warsiki, the 44-member Vocalista Paradisso team became the only representative from Indonesia, competing with professional choirs from various other countries such as Japan, China, the Philippines, Latvia, and Poland.
Vocalista Paradisso’s journey to this achievement was certainly not easy. Mevia, the General Manager of the team, said that TICC was a challenging international competition for Vocalista Paradisso.
“TICC is a competition that is classified as having tight and tough competition. Unlike the international competitions that we usually participate in November, TICC is held in July, so we don’t have a long time to prepare. Many of the members were also first-time choir members. TICC was a challenge for us,” said Mevia.
Mevia also shared that a long preparation was made for the competition.
“We practised tirelessly every day, we also worked together to raise additional funds through various activities, and we even made our own costumes. As much as possible, we balanced our training time and lecture activities. We have gone through laughter and tears together. That’s why this team is so strong. Every second we go through is a precious memory.”
Vocalista Paradisso’s struggle and hard work paid off with a victory.
“We are very grateful for our achievement. We are very grateful to the university – the Rector and his staff, the Vocalista Paradisso family, donors and sponsors who have supported us. We proudly present this victory to our beloved alma mater UPN “Veteran” Yogyakarta and also to Indonesia,” said Mevia.
The departure of UPN “Veteran” Choir Yogyakarta to The 2nd Tokyo International Choir Competition was sponsored by Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), PT Dutamas Abadi Investama, Pakualaman and Hartono Mall Yogyakarta.