Hangad's origins begin with the retreat/recollection at the all-boys Ateneo de Manila High School. In need of a singing group for their own group, Chad Arcinue and Lance Lazatin recruited classmates and friends. A high school faculty member, Gabby Mallillin, encouraged the then-unnamed group to sing in the next DWTL sessions. Because of this, the same group of people would often find themselves participating in school activities. As the members were known to be participants of the DWTL seminars, the group has often been mistaken for the DWTL's "official" choir. Hence, on October 1991, the group decided to establish their own identity and adapted the name Hangad. Hangad made its debut concert in 1992. By the time they were in college, Hangad began to accept female members, initially from high schools and colleges such as College of the Holy Spirit, Miriam College and Stella Maris. The reconstituted Hangad continued with their participation in activities at the Ateneo de Manila University, including masses; the newly reorganized group also held its first concert in 1994. For their service to the university community, they were awarded the Dean's Award for Service.
1998 and beyond
In 1998, Hangad was offered a recording contract by the Jesuit Music Ministry; that same year, the group released its self-titled debut album, Hangad. Hangad later re-released its album in CD format in 2000, with six new songs. In December 2001, they also released their first music video for the song, Pananatili, which enjoyed regular telecasts at TV stationsABS-CBN, PTV, TV5, IBC, and TFC. These will be followed soon by three more albums and two additional music videos, all recorded under the auspices of the Jesuit Music Ministry. As of October 21, 2005, Hangad lists 82 persons on its membership register, with 31 members on active status.
Activities
Being known as a musical group, Hangad has recorded several albums , all of them of a religious or inspirational nature. They have performed at various concerts in the Philippines and in the United States. Hangad has appeared on several notable events by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Catholic Mass Media Awards, the Awit Awards. They have performed with other notable Filipino singers like Basil Valdez, Gary Valenciano, the APO Hiking Society and Noel Cabangon. They have also lent their voices and music for Philippine television shows as the children's show Batibot and the Saturday cooking special Del Monte Kitchenomics. Besides their musical work, they also participate in outreach projects and fundraisers. In addition, they also conduct workshops for parish-based choirs.
To date, Hangad has recorded ten albums in cassette and CD formats, containing original works and adaptations of familiar Filipino religious songs. Song books for these albums were also released.
Four music videos were also released by Hangad. For more information about each music video, visit each album's article:
Awards
Hangad was awarded the Dean's Award by the Ateneo de Manila University for their contributions to the university's community.
In 2006, Hangad won an Awit Award in Best Inspirational or Religious Song for Pieta . They bested out more popular nominees for the same category such as Gary Valenciano and Christian Bautista.
In 2019, Hangad has received an for Best Christmas Recording, for Magalak sa Kapanganakan. The song is from their Magalak album, which features an all-original Advent and Christmas line-up composed and arranged by Hangad members.
