By ANDY PEÑAFUERTE III Published May 30, 2026 6:01am + Add GMA on Google Make this your preferred source to get more updates from this publisher on Google. PRAGUE – A Filipino youth choir has bagged several accolades at a choral competition in the seaside Polish town of Sopot.The Good Christian (GC) Ensemble, comprising 34 pre-teen and teenage singers mostly hailing from Pasay City, brought Filipino folk songs and sacred music to the 22nd International Choir Festival Mundus Cantat Sopot 2026.The ensemble’s junior performers won a best choir award and golden diplomas in sacred and secular music categories. They also received a silver diploma in the gospel, jazz, pop, and spirituals categories.Following their big win in Poland, the GC Ensemble visited the Czech Republic and performed a one-hour summer concert in Prague’s Old Town Square.Their renditions of folk songs “Paru-parong Bukid” and “Kalesa” earned them applause from tourists.One of the junior singers, 14-year-old Erin Magnaye, told GMA News she felt “patriotic” about representing the Philippines and their ensemble’s denomination, the Seventh-day Adventist Church. More than the win, it was the experience of competing and finding new friends that she wanted to bring back to the Philippines.“We met other pre-teens and teenagers in Europe who love to sing. This is the most memorable part, because we got to know about their songs, experiences, and cultures,” Magnaye said.According to the festival website, choral groups from 15 countries, including the Philippines, Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Iceland, Estonia, and Ukraine, competed in 20 performances evaluated by an international jury.For 13-year-old Eivon Guab, who joined the GC Ensemble three months ago, such competitions are an international platform for Filipino artists to uplift the country’s image.“Other competitors learn a lot from Filipino artists. Actually, the audience sometimes gets confused about listening to a song sung in a different language. But our performances have choreography. and audiences suddenly realize and understand what we are singing about through our moves,” Guab explained.The choir would wrap up their European tour with a gala performance at a fellowship gathering of a local Seventh-day Adventist organization in Prague. — VBL, GMA News