The Angelos hold their trophy as Awit Awardee for Best Performance in a Concert.

Only a sophomore in show business, the all-male group The Angelos already performed in 18 concerts here and abroad, has released their second album in America and has won the 2009 Awit Awards for Best Performance in a Concert. And that’s just the beginning for the group that plans to honor the Philippines even more by showcasing their vocal prowess around the world.

Slowly making their name known to different parts of the US, Canada and Asia with their well applauded and standing ovation performances, The Angelos was given birth to during the solo concert of one its founder and member, classical singer and painter George Sison Tagle.

“When Il Divo became popular years ago, I decided to put up a group like them since there wasn’t one yet in the Philippines. It was a risk because I didn’t know how the people would accept us. But I just had a good feeling that such group would succeed,” recalled George.

As expected by George, introducing the first classical-pop group, The Angelos, did have its birth pains. On its first year they had to audition for new singers as two of the original members left.

Fortunately for George, he found new and young talented singers in Paolo Libiran and Louie Abaigar which completed The Angelos that included him and Miguel Aguila.

“My vision is to make The Angelos a world-class performer not only in the Philippines and Asia but also in other parts of the world. With the new members, I could say that we have good chemistry on stage. We’ve become more than friends too that we never had disagreements.

Our shows abroad helped us with our bonding and it developed our friendship,” expressed George proudly.

The Angelos has remained as vibrant as ever in their performances as their repertoire include more “crossover arrangements” of songs from the classical and pop genre. Injecting solo spots for each of the member has also given their audience a chance to discover their individual talents like dancing, piano and guitar showdowns and solo Classical singing.

“As a group, we are four voices. We harmonized well together and blend well. But as individuals, we want to showcase what more we can do as performers. And our audience likes our solo acts too,” said George.

Aside from their recent award, one of the more memorable shows The Angelos had in the past months was performing during the birthday celebration of former US President Jimmy Carter in Atlanta, Georgia. And for the group, that night was an overwhelming experience as they sang “You Raised Me Up” for the former president.

The Angelos too were invited back to Macau to perform at the Fisherman’s Wharf Convention Center on Saturday, Dec. 12, for the 10th anniversary celebration of Macau SAR. Then they will perform at the Hong Kong Dragon Center on Dec. 13 to 14.

They will be back in the Philippines in time for their launching of The Angelos’ first Christmas album at the Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City. The album would showcase their vocal styling in songs like “O’ Holy Night,” “When The Child Is Born,” “Pasko Na Sinta Ko,” “Ave Maria,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” as well as a Christmas Medley to name a few.

All about harmony, the group’s album is partly inspired by Christmas carolers who abound during the Yuletide Season. The group wishes to capture such essence in their album that could be enjoyed by everyone.

So as individuals, what has the group given them?

“I was able to meet different people all over the world. We always had standing ovations and that makes me very proud of The Angelos. Right now, The Angelos caters to all, from the adult to the young listener. Our group has evolved and we’re able to reach out to more markets than before,” replied George.

For Paolo, “Traveling to different countries, I was able to learn different cultures. In terms of experience, I can say I’ve become a better performer. When I joined the group, I was nothing. I was just a blank slate but now I’ve learned a lot!”

While Louie, who has since tried his luck entering mainstream showbiz, said that The Angelos came as a blessing to him.

“I could say that there’s a big development in me as a singer. The Angelos has contributed the biggest to my growth as an artist. I’ve experienced a lot through our shows abroad. It has improved my character and perception in life. I was fortunate that I was given this chance to put in application what I learned for four years at the Conservatory of Music,” he exclaimed.

The distinct sound, improvements and growth of The Angelos are also attributed to Prof. Renato Hebron, the group’s voice coach and musical director.

Bottomline with The Angelos is that they will continue performing classical and pop songs to also entice the younger generation to experience classical music in their shows. They hope to bridge the gap between the old and the young music aficionados with their “crossover songs.”

As to why the group seemed to be performing more abroad than in the country, they said that such opportunity knocks only once so they always grab invitations to perform in other countries. In May 2010, they leave again for their shows in the US and Canada. But before that, they would have major shows here in February and March with an orchestra conducted by renowned composer and conductor Chino Toledo.

So what does the Awit Award they received means to The Angelos?

“It only means that we have to work harder and prove ourselves more that we deserve the award. The award has become a challenge for us,” George answered.