XAVIER ATENEO CHORALE. Xavier Ateneo Chorale renders a number of songs during the 2019 Fire & Magis Excellence Gala.
Words by Therese Mole
Photos by Cobbie Karagdag
As part of the Xavier Ateneo community, it is widely known that the school has various groups and organizations that cater to students’ interests, skills, and capabilities. But not only that, it also opens doors to its employees who go beyond their designated institutional obligations to form a group that serves the school and has fun at the same time. One great example of this is the Xavier Ateneo Chorale (XAC) − a group of Xavier Ateneo employees who sing during Sunday Masses and university celebrations.
Know more about the inspirational history and milestones of Xavier Ateneo Chorale as they touch our hearts with their God-given voices.
Humble beginnings
“It all began when Fr Roberto Archie R Carampatan SJ, our beloved founder, approached me that he will be forming a group of Xavier Ateneo employees who are willing to serve and sing at the eleven o'clock Sunday Mass," says musical director Loel Von Castrodes. "As the conversation continued, he asked me if I could lead the group into singing, so without any hesitation, I said yes.”
Fr Carampatan shares that the main reason why he thought of forming the group was to provide a venue for administrators, faculty, and non-teaching personnel to share the gift of music to the community, and particularly to the church community of XU. Along with that, he also wants the staff to have an outlet for their talents as well as to bond with each other. He assigned Castrodes to initiate the practices and performances, thus the beginning of XAC’s fruitful journey.
Castrodes narrates: “March 2018, a week after the commencement exercises, we started the audition and classification of voices for the proposed chorale group. Our first major event was the first-ever Fire & Magis Awards held last May 25, 2018. We rendered the invocation and one of the intermission numbers. It was also the time that the Xavier Ateneo Chorale was officially recognized. After that, we were tasked to sing in the 11AM Mass at the University Church every first Sunday of the month. We were invited to sing for the 11AM third Sunday mass, to which we gladly accepted.”
MUSICAL DIRECTOR. Xavier Ateneo Chorale's musical director Loel Von Castrodes leads the group during a performance at the 2019 Fire & Magis Excellence Gala.
God above all
To date, XAC has already performed in major university events which are Fire & Magis Awards 2018, the 2018 Marian Concert, the 2018 Christmas Concert, University Mass of Society of Jesus Superior General Fr Arturo Sosa's Visit, Fire & Magis Awards 2019, and Marian Concert 2019.
Although it has been quite a challenge for the group to find a common time for their practices, they were still able to manage and make it happen through cooperation and active participation.
For Castrodes, even though they are already singing at gatherings and events in the university, they will still sing during Eucharist because this is their primary focus.
“The Eucharist will always be our apostolate as it is the main reason for the founding of our group,” he said.
CHORALE FOUNDER. Xavier Ateneo Chorale's founder Fr Roberto Archie R Carampatan SJ says he is proud of the group to have grown into a family since its formation in March 2018.
A milestone and more
XAC had just celebrated their first anniversary last May 25. There are still a lot of blessings and projects to come for the group since they consider this milestone as just a starting point to more opportunities ahead.
Castrodes said: “My hopes for XAC are, firstly, to continue to give and offer our voices back to God as we sing in the Eucharist, our main apostolate; second, to invite more members of the XU community to share in our vision of creating a sound and harmonious choral group that guides the community in singing and in praying (When you sing, you pray twice). I also look forward to our very first concert performance next year which I will plan with the group. If the group permits, we will also consider joining a local choral competition. With the continued support of the XU Chaplaincy, the XAC will reach more milestones as we continue to sing our hearts out to God and His people.”
Founder Fr Carampatan expresses his gratitude to the XAC family: “It has been my privilege to guide the chorale when it was founded in March 2018. It has been a blessing to be with you (the XAC family). Please continue singing for God! The good Lord will always bless you!”
XAC is headed towards a beautiful journey through serving God and making use of their talents for the love of music. There are still a lot of things in store for the group, and Fr Carampatan hopes the chorale will flourish in number and in singing skills and repertoire, also with more participation at XU Church concerts and university activities like Fire & Magis Awards and Service Awards.∎