Dubai Vocal Ensemble (DVE) participated in Tinig ng Kapayapaan — Voice of Peace, a two-day Philippine choral festival held on 29–30 August 2026 at The Fridge Warehouse, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.
The programme brought together three UAE-based ensembles, each decorated at ChoirFest Middle East — Dubai Vocal Ensemble, Chorus Omnis and the Abu Dhabi Concert Chorus — for a weekend of choral development and performance, with Filipino conductor and educator Dr. Jonathan Velasco, DMA serving as clinician and conductor.
The Clinic and Masterclass
The event opened on Saturday, 29 August, with a public choral clinic at midday, followed in the afternoon by a masterclass titled Your Voice: How to Use It. How to Move It., both led by Dr. Velasco. Singers worked on vocal production, diction, phrasing, balance and interpretation, and applied his guidance ahead of the following day’s concert.
For DVE, the sessions formed part of the ensemble’s continuing development through choral workshops, performances and collaborative events in the UAE.
The Concert
The festival continued on Sunday, 30 August, with each choir presenting its own programme.
Chorus Omnis, an all-male Filipino ensemble based in Dubai under the artistic and musical direction of Marc Misael Suico Gamil, and ChoirFest Middle East Choir of the Year in the Adult Category for 2026, sang Nearer, My God, to Thee; That Which Remains; Tangguyug; and We Built This City.
The Abu Dhabi Concert Chorus, founded in 2012 as the external performing arm of The Shepherd’s Choir of St. Joseph Cathedral, Abu Dhabi, led by Adrianne “Kian” Gonzaga, and ChoirFest Middle East Choir of the Year for 2025, sang Salidummay, Noypi, Go the Distance and Ukrainian Alleluia.
Both sets were warmly received, drawing positive feedback from the audience and from the other participating choirs.
Dubai Vocal Ensemble, an all-Filipino choir founded in 2004 by Overseas Filipino Workers as a church-based choir, now led by Musical Director Ms. Losaida “Ms. G” Gonzales, and a three-time ChoirFest Middle East champion in 2013, 2015 and 2024, sang Sometimes I Hear God’s Music, Be the Change, Liwanag sa Dilim and Take On Me.
The concert concluded with singers from all three choirs joining together on stage for a massed-choir finale conducted by Dr. Velasco, performing Heal the World and As Long As I Have Music.
A Weekend Without Competition
Members and conductors alike remarked on the atmosphere of the two days. Events that bring choirs together can carry an undercurrent of rivalry; participants described this weekend as free of it. The choirs listened to one another’s programmes, encouraged one another between sets and supported one another throughout, and several singers said afterwards that this sense of unity was what made the performing itself such a pleasure.
The ensemble extends its appreciation to Dr. Jonathan Velasco; to the organisers of Tinig ng Kapayapaan; to fellow participating choirs Chorus Omnis and the Abu Dhabi Concert Chorus, and to their conductors Marc Misael Suico Gamil and Adrianne “Kian” Gonzaga; and to Musical Director Ms. Losaida Gonzales for her preparation and direction of the ensemble.
To Sing. To Serve. To Inspire.