National Artistfor Music Compiled
National Artistfor Music Compiled
National Artistfor Music Compiled
MUSIC
She was the First Female National Awardee in Music and also the first Filipino International Star
in the world of Opera.
She underwent formal voice training with Salvina Fornari (Italian Opera Singer) when she was 14
and became a voice teacher at UP College of Music.
She also went to Milan to hone her talent and skills in 8 months under Maestro Lucenti and
Maestro Cadore.
She performed the role of Cio-CIo-san in the opera Madame Butterfly.
Her performance at the Piacenza Opera House was praised by the audience and press that made
her commissioned to sing all over the Europe and United Sates.
Liu Yu in Turandot and Mimi in La Boheme by Puccini and Iris in Iris by Mascagni.She was also
asked personally by composer Richard Strauss totake the role as Salome in his own opera.
Back in Manila, she became the head of the voice department at UP Conservatory of Music and
Holy Ghost College that made her known as an excellent and strict teacher.
She worked with musical clubs and organized concerts and founded the Artists’ Guild of the
Philippines and produced series of “Tour of the Operaland”.
She was awarded both local and international. In 1976, she was awarded as the first female
National Artist for Music awardee.
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FRANCISCO F. FELICIANO
avant garde composer and conductor
born on February 19,1942 in Morong,Rizal
his first exposure to music was with the Morriz Band owned by his father, Maximiniano Feliciano
started his music career in high school band where he had played cymbals and the clarinet
composed hundreds of liturgical pieces which was published in different churches and worship
books around the world
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RAMON P. SANTOS
born in Pasig on February 25,1941
ethnomusicologist,musicologist and a composer
completed his Bachelor of Music degree at the College of Music University of the Philippines
he finished his Master of Music degree at Indiana University,USA
his compositional style features chromaticism (use of semitones),music seria and electronic
components combined with indigenous Philippine music elements
head of the UP Center of Ethnomusicology and was appointed Professor Emeritus of the same
insitution.
conferred the title of National Artist for Music in 2014
was a Filipina choral conductor and a recipient of the 1999 National Artist for Music award
She founded the Philippine Madrigal Singers in 1963
She was also an adjudicator in numerous international choral competitions and was an active
force in choral music before her massive stroke in 2005.
She was born on July 11, 1928, to Macario Ofilada and Raymunda Carriaga.
She was raised in Manila, Philippines.
She earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano and Voice at the University of the Philippines
Diliman, graduating cum laude.
She was a lyric soprano soloist in various Oratorio works and in the Opera Stage.
She was also a very accomplished pianist and accompanist and was the accompanist of National
Artist for Music, Jovita Fuentes for a number of years.
Apart from being an extraordinary musician, she was also an exceptional athlete as a
competitive swimmer.
She was part of the Philippine swimming team who first competed internationally in Hong Kong.
Later on, she continued to pursue her master's degree in Voice at Indiana University School of
Music in Bloomington, Indiana, as a Fulbright scholar, where she encountered the Indiana
University Madrigal Singers, who rallied the music of the Renaissance period.
Upon her return to the Philippines in 1963, she established a singing group with the same idea.
This group was initially exclusive of U.P. faculty members and students and became officially
known as the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers.
She established a tradition for which the Madz, as they are fondly called, are known for: unlike
most choirs, the Madz were seated in a semicircular formation without a conductor.
The Choirmaster is at the left-most end of the circle, and leads the group by giving their cues,
much like how a concertmaster leads in an orchestra.
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Under her direction, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won major awards in international choral
competitions, including those in Spittal an der Drau, Austria; Arezzo and Gorizia, Italy;
Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Debrecen, Hungary; Varna, Bulgaria; Tolosa, Spain; and Marktoberdorf,
Germany.
In 1996, she led the Philippine Madrigal Singers to its victory in the 1996 International Choral
Competition in Tolosa, Spain.
This made them eligible to compete for the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing the following
year and eventually won the title in Tours, France.
Veneracion was the founding choirmaster and first conductor of the Asian Institute for Liturgy
and Music (AILM) Chorale.
Later, some of her choristers established their own careers as well-known music performers and
choral composers, conductors and arrangers in the Philippines; they include Ryan Cayabyab, Joel
Navarro, Joy Nilo, Victor Asuncion, Montet Acoymo, Robert Delgado, Edgardo Nepomuceno,
Jonathan Velasco, Eudenice Palaruan, Fr. Arnold Zamora, Christopher Borela, Anna Tabita
Abeleda-Piquero, Fabian Obispo, Ruben Federizon, Eric Robert Santos and the present Madz
Choirmaster, Mark Anthony Carpio.
In 1997, she was given the TOFIL (The Outstanding Filipino) Award for Culture and the Arts For
her contributions to the development of choral singing in the Philippines.
In 1999, she was named National Artist for Music, the highest cultural award bestowed by the
Philippine government for an individual.
In 2001, she retired as the Choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Together with an
artistic committee, she personally selected Mark Anthony Carpio, her Assistant Choirmaster at
that time, to be her successor.
The Madz turnover ceremonies were held in a special concert at the Cultural Center of the
Philippines coinciding with the launch of her biography "A Life Shaped By Music" by Marjorie
Evasco.
She continued to guide the Madz under Carpio's baton by joining them in their 2002 North
American Tours, 2003 Asian Tours and 2004 European Concert Tours. She was also there to
witness Carpio's first international competition as Choirmaster (and the Madz's first competition
after 7 years) at the 2004 International Competition of Habaneras and Polyphony in Torrevieja,
Spain, where the Madz won First Places for both categories and was also the last choir to do
so.For a list of awards won by the Philippine Madrigal Singers, see Philippine Madrigal Singers
Awards
He was a Filipino composer, film scorer, musical director and music teacher and Philippine
National Artist for Music.
He wrote an outstanding and memorable body of works that resonate with the Filipino sense of
musicality and which embody an ingenious voice that raises the aesthetic dimensions of
contemporary Filipino music.
Cuenco played with the Filipino Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Manila Symphony Orchestra
from 1960 to 1968, and the Manila Chamber Soloists from 1966 to 1970.
He completed a music degree in piano and cello from the University of Santo Tomas where he
also taught for decades until his death in 1988.
He was proclaimed National Artist for Music in 1999; He was an award-winning film scorer in the
early 1960s, working in collaboration with National Artist for Music Levi Celerio.
He was also a teacher and a seasoned orchestra player.
His songwriting credits include "Nahan, Kahit na Magtiis," and "Diligin Mo ng Hamog ang Uhaw
na Lupa," "Pilipinas," "Inang Bayan," "Isang Dalangin," "Kalesa," "Bato sa Buhangin" and "Gaano
Ko Ikaw Kamahal." The latter song shows how Cuenco enriched the Filipino love ballad by
adding the elements of kundiman to it.
AWARDS
Ryan Cayabyab
Ryan Cayabyab is one of the most popular prolific composers in the philippines today, he had
written works for ballet, theatre musicals, choral pieces, masses and pop songs.
He also did commisioned works for commercial jingles and movies.
Raymundo Cipriano Pujante Cayabyab also known as Ryan Cayabyab,Mr.C, as many of the
people in the music industry would call him. He was born on May 4,1945 in Manila,Philippines.
Son of soprano Celerina Pujante and Alberto Cayabyab.He is married to Emmy Punsalan also a
music graduate. Together they had two children Cristina Maria and Antonio Maria Cayabyab.
One of the most notable contributions of Cayabyab is the establishments of a music school.
Ryan specializes in developing performance artists. Ryan Cayabyab has been a judge in the
reality talent show like Pinoy Dream Academy and Pinoy Idol.
He had performed infront of royalties and presidents of the world.
He managed groups of Smokey Mountain and 14K.
He even had his own choral group name Ryan Cayabyab Singers.
Titled as National Artist for Music (2018)
Noli me tangere
El filibusterismo
Manificat
KATY
Alikabok
Ilustrado
Rama hari
Spoliarium
Lorenzo.
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Maceda was born in Manila, Philippines, and studied piano, composition and musical
analysis at École Normale de Musique de Paris in France.
After returning to the Philippines, he became a professional pianist, and later studied
musicology at Columbia University, and anthropology at Northwestern University.
Starting in 1952, he conducted fieldwork on the ethnic Music of the Philippines.
From about 1954, he was involved in the research and composition of musique concrète. In
1958, he worked at a recording studio in Paris which specialized in musique concrète. During
this period, he met Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis.
In 1963, Maceda earned a doctorate in ethnomusicology from the UCLA. He began pursuing a
compositional career more vigorously. At the same time, he held concerts in Manila until 1969,
in which he performed and conducted. This series of concerts introduced Boulez, Xenakis
and Edgard Varèse to the Filipino public.
As an ethnomusicologist, Maceda investigated various forms of music in Southeast Asia,
producing numerous papers and even composing his own pieces for Southeast
Asian instruments. His notable works include: Pagsamba for 116 instruments, 100 mixed and 25
male voices (1968); Cassette 100 for 100 cassette players (1971); Ugnayan for 20 radio
stations (1974); Udlot-Udlot for several hundred to several thousand people (1975); Suling-
Suling for 10 flutes, 10 bamboo buzzers and 10 flat gongs (1985). In 1977, Maceda aimed to
study Philippine folk songs which he describes as having more focus on rhythm rather than time
measure. From the 1990s, he also composed for Western orchestra and piano. The examples
are: Distemperament for orchestra (1992); Colors without Rhythm for orchestra
(1999); Sujeichonfor 4 pianos (2002).
Awards
recognized as a National Artist of the Philippines for Music and Literature in 1997.
At his mother's encouragement Celerio started playing the violin at age 11 taking
lessons from a member of the Philippine Constabulary Band. Celerio later performed
with the band as its member while simultaneously attending Torres High School.
He also attended the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music to study violin
for two semesters. Then director Alexander Lippay recommended him for a scholarship
at the Academy of Music in Manila.He received scholarship and became the youngest
member of the Manila Symphony Orchestra.
Among Original Pilipino Music (OPM) songs he composed are "Ikaw", "Kahit Konting
Pagtingin", "Saan Ka Man Naroroon?". He wrote the lyrics of the famous Filipino
lullabye Sa Ugoy ng Duyan . He also composed folk songs including "Ako ay May
Singsing", "Ang Pipit", "Dungawin Mo Hirang", "Itik-Itik", "Pitong Gatang", and "Waray-
Waray","Sa Ugoy ng Duyan", in particular was a collaboration with Lucio San Pedro, a
fellow National Artist.
Celerio was known for using the leaf as a musical instrument which resulted
the Guinness Book of World Records to recognized him as "the only man who could play
music with a leaf". According to his daughter, he first learned to play the leaf as an
instrument during the World War II. According to the account, he had to prove himself
as a musician when he had an encounter with Japanese soldiers. He managed to pick a
young leaf and play them a song and he was left unscathed
Awards
De Leon was the third of four children by the second marriage of his mother Natalia Padilla to
Juan de Leon.
His father died when he was three years old, and he was raised by his mother and his elder half-
brother, Pedro P. San Diego.
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Before becoming a musician he took various odd jobs to support his family, such as a shoe
polisher, carabao herder, carriage driver, and vendor of various items.
In 1927, he took up Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines, but he had to abandon his
studies to make a living.
He played the trombone in cabarets and circuses, and later worked as an assistant conductor of
the Nueva Ecija High School Orchestra, where he started composing music.
To improve his composing skills he again enrolled to the University of the Philippines, and
graduated in 1939 with a diploma of music teacher and conductor. Much later, he continued his
studies under Vittorio Giannini at the Juilliard School in New York, U.S.
De Leon married pianist Iluminada Mendoza with whom he had six children, including Bayani, a
prominent composer, and Felipe Jr., a writer
Awards