MARK ANTHONY AUSTRIA CARPIO
Mark Anthony Carpio is acknowledged as one of the foremost experts in the field of choral music among the younger set of Filipino conductors. As the choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, he leads the group through its disciplined regular rehearsals and hectic calendar of performances. Mark is also a much sought-after choral clinician, frequently giving extensive and in-depth workshops all over the Philippines, as well as in various Asian and European countries. As a noted countertenor, he has performed twice at the Las Piñas Bamboo International Organ Music Festival as an alto soloist: 2005 Handel’s Jubilate and Te Deum; 2009 Haydn’s Great Organ Mass in E flat Major. In November 2008, he made his recital debut at the Cultural Center of the Philippines for the Filipino Artist Series
Mark entered the University of the Philippines College of Music in 1992 where he studied piano under several distinguished professors such as Asuncion Laureola, Jose Ma. Contreras, and Perla Suaco. Moreover, he was a recipient of the Music Promotion Foundation and Jovita Fuentes MusiCultural Society scholarships. After graduating Cum Laude in 1992, he focused his attention as a member of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, led by National Artist for Music Andrea O. Veneracion back then. He was part of the group’s numerous international concert and competition tours, most particularly the batch that swept the top prizes in Tolosa, Spain in 1996 and the European Grand Prix du Chant Chorale in Tours, France in 1997. That same year, he was also accepted as one of the Philippine representatives into the highly selective World Youth Choir held in Japan.
In 2001, Mark was personally chosen by Prof. Veneracion to succeed her reins as the choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Since then, he has led the group in its numerous tours all over the world. In 2004, he brought the choir to Europe where they won both First prizes in the Habanera and Polyphony categories in the Certámen Internacional de Habaneras y Polifonia held in Torrevieja, Spain. Among the Madz’ greatest recent accolades under his direction are their victories in the 35th Florilege Vocal de Tours, France (2006), and at the 2007 European Grand Prix for Choral Singing held in Arrezo, Italy. On 27 July 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, designated the Philippine Madrigal Singers as UNESCO Artists for Peace at a ceremony which took place just before the group’s concert at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
Aside from the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Mark is also the conductor of the Kilyawan Boys Choir, an internationally award-winning choir, generally consisting of young boys from the Quezon City area.
