Vox Anima: Wanderers no more
They were people whose hearts used to wander, but found a common home in singing. Armed with their common passion, they formed Vox Anima Cebu, and later found success by winning the first B-Pop: The Acapella Challenge last Aug. 11.
The group’s name means “voice of soul”—and that is what its members think about themselves as a unit.
“[Before forming the group], we felt like our souls were just wandering. We wanted to venture into something greater,” said Lyle Anga, the member who came up with the group name. Vox Anima Cebu was officially founded last Dec. 29, 2016 and comprised 11 members.
Since then, it has been very active in church service as a choir in both the San Pedro Calungsod Chapel in the South Road Properties and at the San Roque Parish Church in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City.
As the group grew, so did its goals. From a dream of forming a strong choir, Vox Anima set its vision to not just serve and sing every mass but also to influence and set the standard among the other chorale groups.
“People usually underestimate church singers, which is very wrong,” said Anga. “God is worth the excellence, so it’s really nice to serve.”
It is also in singing that the members find their inner happiness. They described it as a stress reliever and their way of serving God.
“If ever you want to give love, you can just sing. This can separate you from the hassles in your life,” said Val Francisco, one of the members.
Experience
Vox Anima has been joining several competitions already before joining B-Pop.
The very first competition the group joined was the Acapella On at SM City Cebu in July 2017. Vox Anima placed first runner-up. The goal in joining that competition was merely to get funding since it was the group’s maiden year.
The group also joined a caroling contest where it was hailed the champion. However, it was the B-pop competition which the group considers a breakthrough. Rodolfo Denolan, Vox Anima’s head, encouraged the group to join the contest to gain confidence.
Denolan said that the group has experienced workshops before. But joining a competition is different since there are standards which will be set that they need to meet.
With the winning songs “I Love You, Langga” by Jerica Teodorico and “Gikumotkumot” by Kantin, the group delivered these as school children and bested four other finalists.
Denolan admitted that he was not after the cash prize but was aiming for the group to have an album, which is one of the prizes of the competition.
The group said that part of the cash it got from the competition will go to its advocacy in helping the less fortunate children. Anga mentioned that every December and June, the group gives slippers and school supplies, respectively, to school children.
Fritzhelle Gernale, one of the members, admitted that all their efforts from practicing until dawn to sacrificing their personal responsibilities paid off when they heard their group announced as the winner. Gernale said that it was hard to find time to practice since the group is composed of students and employees with different schedules.
Vox Anima, which was formed to give a home to wandering souls, never thought it would go this far. Its members now have the opportunity to touch even more hearts with an upcoming album in the works.