The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is now accepting entries to the 2018 Government Choral Competition. The deadline of registration and submission of choral work entries is until June 15, 2018.

The Government Choral Competition is one of the highlights of the upcoming 118th Philippine Civil Service Anniversary which aims to showcase musical creativity of talented government employees, promote Filipino culture and arts through choral singing, and inculcate in the minds of public servants a culture of excellence in public service.

As a general rule, a choir should have a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 30 members, including a conductor and accompanist. All singers must belong to one agency only and must be regular employees included in the agency’s plantilla of personnel regardless of status of appointment, including appointive and elective officials, except for the conductor and accompanist, who need not be government employees.

To register, government choirs should submit an audio-video recording of their performance of two songs, 1) a compulsory piece, "Kaya Ko Ang Pagbabago" by Mr. Edward Gonzales, arranged by Mr. Saunder Choi and 2) a Filipino a cappella piece which must extol one or more of the core values of the CSC—love of God and country, excellence and integrity.

Entries should be submitted to CSC regional offices in Pampanga (for Luzon participants), Iloilo (Visayas), Davao City (Mindanao), and NCR.

Selection of semi-finalists for the four clusters will be conducted from June 25 to June 29, 2018. The board of judges will be composed of choral experts and music personalities to be endorsed by the Philippine Choral Directors Association. The grand finals will be held on September 18, 2018 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

A prize of PHP200,000 and a plaque await the grand winner of the competition. Other awards to be given are “Best Conductor” and “Best Arrangement of the Competition Song”, each with corresponding PHP10,000 cash prize and a certificate. There are also consolation prizes for the runners-up and non-winning finalists.

The complete guidelines and registration forms can be accessed and downloaded from the CSC website. For further inquiries, please contact CSC Regional Office No. IV at telephone no. (02) 926 4450. ###