Mercibelle Barroso-Abejuela
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Music at the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila. She was a full scholar of the late jeweler Ms. Fe S. Panlilio and her son Mr. Gabriel S. Panlilio. She majored in Voice Performance under Ms. Rachelle Gerodias, Professor Gloria D. Coronel, and the late Maestra Salvacion Oppus-Ynigues. She was with the chorus classes of Professor Dick Mazo and Professor Fidel Calalang Jr. She performed at the Cultural Center of the Philippines with the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music Chorus. Also at the CCP, she performed as Neneng in the Opera Aba! Santo Nino by Fr. Manuel Maramba. In 1999, she pursued her dream to serve the people in her province as a music director. She joined Bukidnon State University as a music teacher, and in 2001 was appointed as the choir director of the University. She attended choral conducting workshops with Jonathan Velasco, Eudenice Palaruan, Mark Carpio, Anna Tabitha Piquero, to name a few. Being a native of Bukidnon, she envisioned the Bukidnon State University Chorale to become the premier cultural group of the Bukidnon State University specializing in Bukidnon Indigenous Music. This earned her one of the credits to be accorded the rank of Bae, her tribal name being Kahukdungan Bae Manlilimbay which means “an educator and a singer”.