Andrea O. Veneracion, or Ma’am OA – who was born and raised in Manila on July 11, 1928 – 

is  highly esteemed for her achievements as Choirmaster, recognized as an authority on

choral music and performance, and as adjudicator in international music competitions.

Two of her indispensable contributions to culture and the arts include the founding of

the Philippine Madrigal Singers and the spearheading of the development of Philippine

choral music. A former faculty member of the UP College of Music and honorary chair of

the Philippine Federation of Choral Music, she organized a cultural outreach program

to provide music education and exposure in several provinces.

She earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano and Voice at the University of the Philippines Diliman graduating Cum Laude. Aside from being a lyric soprano soloist in various oratorios

and operas, she was also a very accomplished pianist and was the accompanist of

National Artist for Music Jovita Fuentes for a number of years. Apart from being an extraordinary musician, she was also an exceptional athlete, a competitive swimmer, who was part of

the Philippine Swimming team that first competed internationally in Hong Kong.

She later pursued her Master’s Degree in Voice as a Fulbright scholar at the Indiana University School of Music – Bloomington where she encountered the Indiana University Madrigal Singers,  which then inspired her to create a similar singing group upon her return to the Philippines

in 1963. Officially called the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers, also known later

as the Philippine Madrigal Singers or the Madz, this group was initially exclusive to UP faculty members and students. She established a tradition for which the group became known for: performing seated in a semicircular formation without a conductor. The choirmaster sits

at the leftmost end of the formation.

Under her direction, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won major awards in international choral competitions: Spittal, Austria; Arezzo and Gorizia, Italy; Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Debrecen, Hungary; Varna, Bulgaria; Tolosa and Cantonigros, Spain; and Marktoberdorf, Germany.

In 1996, she led the Madz to its victory in the 1996 International Choral Competition in

Tolosa, Spain. This made the group eligible to compete for the 1997 European Choral Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Tours, France, in which they eventually emerged as champions.  

She is also the founder and first conductor of the Asian Institute for Liturgy and

Music (AILM) Chorale.

In 1997, she was awarded the TOFIL (The Outstanding Filipino) Award for Culture and the Arts

for her contributions to the development of choral singing in the Philippines; and eventually,

in 1999, Ma’am OA was named National Artist for Music, the highest cultural award bestowed

by the Philippine government to an individual.

In 2001, she retired as Choirmaster of the Madz, selecting Mark Anthony Carpio, her

Assistant Choirmaster at that time, to be her successor. The turnover ceremonies were held

in a special concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, coinciding with the launch

of her biography “A Life Shaped By Music” by Marjorie Evasco.