MATTHEW CURTIS, tenor, recently performed with the Grammy award-winning Chanticleer, where he held the position of Assistant Music Director. He also sang with the internationally acclaimed Rose Ensemble in 2009 and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale for one summer in 2009. Matthew began singing choral music at age 7 with the La Crosse Boychoir and sang with the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman Gallery Singers for nine years beginning in 1999.

A Wisconsin native, he received his bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance and Music Education as a Liberace Scholar from Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 2008. He continued studying for a year in the graduate school at the University of Minnesota focusing on opera.

Matthew’s solo performances include light, lyric tenor roles. Matthew played the role of Steva in Janacek’s Jenůfa and the lead tenor role of Male Chorus in Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia at the University of Minnesota. Viterbo University roles included Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Monsieur Vogelsang (Der Schauspieldirektor), and Policeman Chorus (Pirates of Penzance). Past oratorio performances include Messiah and The Creation.

Matthew has won numerous awards in his young career. He won an Encouragement Award at the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the Iowa district. In his seven years competing at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Wisconsin State Chapter Student auditions, he appeared as a finalist all seven times including four first place awards and two second place awards. He also became a Liberace Scholar in 2006 from the Liberace Foundation for excellence in academics and performance.

16th of May 1980 in Manila, Philippines, a singing sensation was born. Warm, funny, kind, giving, sweet, thoughtful and generous, are the words to describe the young Ana Marie. The only daughter and youngest of Mr. Albert Jefferson Topacio and Mrs. Zayda Sioson Topacio of their 3 children (Ariel Sioson Topacio and Leonides Sioson Topacio). Her experiences and curiosity never fails a man, or a woman to be inspired to dream.  Actually she wasn’t a born singer, but through her perseverance, took up when she was just 7 years old, the passion for humming and singing sprung out of nowhere and from nowhere, she travelled everywhere.

Her adventure started with the classics.  She took up the basic ballet lessons at the Ballet Center of the Philippines in 1988-1989, a private piano lessons from 1988 up to 1990 and in 1993-1996, she took up voice lessons in classical and pop at Lea de Castro Music Studio under Ms. Mary Ann Elman. Since 1992 she’s a member, soloist, pianist and assistant choir conductor from a church choir, Lingkod Ni Yahweh Community Music Ministry at Imus Cathedral… A youngster that was shaped by time and religion. In 1998-2002, she became the Choir Conductor of the college choir, Imus Institute Harmonic Chorale, which she founded, and Choir Conductor of the St. Peregrine Children’s Choir in Toclong, Imus City, Philippines way back 2002-2003.

She graduated Bachelor of Science in Commerce Major in Banking and Finance at the Imus Institute, Imus City, Philippines in 2001. Though her course is not in-line with the passion of music, she still then became the Assistant Choir Conductor of Imusicapella in Chamber Choir, in 1999-2003… Embarking in a new journey in her life she then joined Imusicapella’s six-month European Concert Tour all the way to Germany, Spain, Austria, Holland, Switzerland, Italy and Czech Republic in 2003.

Fell in love in the beauty and charm of Germany, she studied Liguistics major in German Language at the Volkshochschule in Oldenburg and Carl von Ossietzky Universität (University of Oldenburg) in Germany. March 2004, her first ever foreign competition, won the 1st Prize in singing competition in Cloppenburg entitled “Cloppenburg wählt den MegaStar”.  And followed by various competitions in 2004-2006, who won many prizes in Filipino-German Singing Competitions which held in different places in Germany, such as Hamburg, Bremen, Euskirchen, Harz, Bonn, Diepholz, Löningen, etc.  She won the 2nd Prize in Sat.1 Frühstückfernsehen’s MorningStar Karaoke, a TV morning show in Germany, for the month of December 2005. She was also recognized by Hon. Armando B. Fernandez as one of the best Filipino Performers in Germany, given at the Consulate General in Hamburg, Germany in 2008.

Her reputation made her quite famous to Filipino choirs in Europe, she then asked to be a Guest Soloist from different choirs in Germany and Philippine Choirs who have been in Germany such as Marian Choir of Cavite, Philippine San Beda Male Singer, Imusicapella Chamber Choir and Voice of Manila.

She was discovered and had a chance to be part of Niedersachsen Sound Orchester eV. (an Orchestra based in Bösel, Germany) as their solo singer from 2007 until 2010.

A Guest Singer to many different big events in Germany namely Münsterländische Tageszeitung Aktion, Euro Musiktage (Europe Music Day), German Armed Forces in Münster, Gamma Reifen AG, Knights of Rizal e.V. Hamburg Chapter and Philippine Consulate in Hamburg.

Since 2010, she started composing some Responsorial Psalms for the benefit of the Our Lady of the Pillar Parish, Imus Cathedral, Imus City, Philippines. Also, one of the parish’s most finest wedding singer.

2011, sang with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra, quartet group. In 2011-2012, she trained and conducted Imus Institute Pitch Choir of Imus Institute High School Department.

She also got a chance to work at Imus Institute Accounting Department as Assistant to the Cashier in 2001-2003 and at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Fiscal Management as Assistant Disbursing Officer in 2009.

October 7, 2012 she was awarded at the “25th Gawad Parangal ng Imus” by the Imus City Mayor, Hon. Emmanuel Maliksi, as Col. Jose S. Tagle Awardee, Young Achiever's Award.  Since October 2013, she became the official singer of Imus Youth Symphonic Band ’83 (Banda Kabataan’83).


“If I cannot fly, let me sing.”
-by Stephen Sondheim

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