LUCIO SAN PEDRO

JOVITA FUENTES

Jovita Fuentes, the great diva, is the first

female National Artist for Music in 1976.
Her significant contributions are the
publication of the song of Filipino
compositions and the organization of the
Boys Town Band Concert.
In April 1925, Fuentes made her international debut as Cio Cio
San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, staged in Italy’s Teatro
Municipale di Piacenza. She then went on to perform in the
Philippines, the United States, and Europe, where her fame
spread and where she essayed the lead roles in major operas—
Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème, Iris in Mascagni’s Iris, and
Salome in Strauss’s Salome. Her performance in the New York
production of Madama Butterfly was also highly acclaimed.

It was during a concert sponsored by the Asociacion, with the

goal of promoting folk songs from different regions of the
country, where Fuentes first performed in public, the folk song
Ay! Kalisud (Ah, Misery). She had recorded this song for Odeon
Records in Germany in 1928.

Fuentes garnered numerous other awards and citations,

including the Presidential Medal of Merit in Music in 1958 and
was recognized as National Artist in music in 1976. She passed
away in Manila on August 7, 1978.
 Antonino Ramirez Buenaventura

National Artist for Music Col. Antonino Ramirez

Buenaventura (1904-1996) was a renowned
composer, conductor, and teacher. It was he who
restored the Philippine Constabulary Band,
reputedly the only military band that sounded
like a symphony orchestra, to its former glory as
one of the best military bands in the world. The
band would later be renamed the Philippine Army
Band.
A multi-awarded musician, Buenaventura
composed Minuet, Mindanao Sketches,
Divertimento for Piano and Orchestra,
Variations and Fugue, and Greetings, based
on Philippine folk music. Pandanggo sa Ilaw
is one of his most popular compositions. He
was declared National Artist for Music in
1988.
 LUCRECIA R. KASILAG

Not only a composer, but also a teacher and

performing artist, Lucrecia R. Kasilag was named
National Artist in Music in 1989. She fused
Filipino ethnic music with Western music, using
indigenous instruments in orchestral productions.
She has over 250 compositions, and, a leader in
music education, she is considered the “First Lady
of Philippine Music.”
Kasilag wrote more than 200 compositions which include
folksongs, opera, and orchestral works. Her orchestral
body of work includes “Love Songs,” “Legend of the
Sarimanok,” “Ang Pamana,” “Philippine Scenes,” “Her
Son,” “Jose,” “Sisa,” “Awit ng mga Awit Psalms,” “Fantaisie
on a 4-Note Theme,” and “East Meets Jazz Ethnika.”

As educator, composer, and performer, Kasilag was known

for incorporating indigenous Filipino music with Western
influences, thus paving the way for more experimentation
among Filipino musicians. She also did pioneering
research on Filipino ethnic dances and culture. In 1989,
she was the lone addition to the roster of National Artists.
She was conferred honorary doctorate degrees by the
Centro Escolar University, PWU, and New York’s St. John’s
University. Fondly called “Tita King,” Kasilag died on
August 16, 2008.
 FELIPE P. DE LEON

Felipe P. De Leon wrote piano compositions,

hymns, marches, art songs, chamber music,
symphonic poems and overtures, band muic,
school songs, orchestral works, operas,
kundimans and sarswelas. Known as a nationalist
composer, he sought to express the Philippines'
cultural identity through his compositions.
Two operas which are considered his
masterpieces are the "Noli Me Tangere" (1957)
and "El Filibusterismo" (1970). These two operas
have been staged in the Philippines and abroad.
He also wrote a march during the Japanese
regime entitled "Tindig, Aking Inang Bayan", and
another march "Bagong Pagsilang" during the
martial law. He wrote the popular Christmas
carols, "Payapang Daigdig" (1946), "Noche
Buena" and "Pasko Na Naman", both in 1965.

Felipe De Leon died on the 5th of December,

1992.
His major compositions include:

• 1939 – Mariang Makiling Overture

• 1950 – Roca Encantada
• 1976 – Maynila Overture
• 1981 – Orchesterstuk
• Ako’y Pilipino
• Lupang Tinubuan
• Ama Namin
 JOSE M. MACEDA

Jose Maceda, composer, musicologist, teacher and performer,

explored the musicality of the Filipino deeply. Maceda
embarked on a life-long dedication to the understanding and
popularization of Filipino traditional music. Maceda’s researches
and fieldwork have resulted in the collection of an immense
number of recorded music taken from the remotest mountain
villages and farthest island communities. He wrote papers that
enlightened scholars, both Filipino and foreign, about the
nature of Philippine traditional and ethnic music. Maceda’s
experimentation also freed Filipino musical expression from a
strictly Eurocentric mold.
His major compositions include:

1963 – Ugma-ugma
1968 – Pagsamba
1975 – Udlot-udlot

He has also several published works, including:

1955 – Hanuoo Music from the Philippines

1956 – Philippine Music and Contemporary Aesthetics
1956 – Music of Southeast Asia: A Report of a Brief Field
Trip
1981 – A Manual of a Music Field Research with Special
Reference to Southeast Asia
1998 – Gongs and Bamboos: A Panorama of Philippine
Music Instruments
 Andrea O. Veneracion

Andrea O. Veneracion or Ma'am OA, as she is fondly called, is highly

esteemed for her achievements as choirmaster and choral arranger.
Two of her indispensable contributions in culture and the arts include
the founding of the Philippine Madrigal Singers and the spearheading
of the development of Philippine choral music. A former faculty
member of the UP College of Music and honorary chair of the
Philippine Federation of Choral Music, she also organized a cultural
outreach program to provide music education and exposure in several
provinces. Born in Manila on July 11, 1928, she is recognized as an
authority on choral music and performance and has served as
adjudicator in international music competitions.
 Ernani J. Cuenco

Composer, film scorer, musical director and music teacher, Ernani J. Cuenco
was hailed as a National Artist in Music in 1999. His works embody a Filipino
sense of musicality, and the classical sound of the kundiman is evident in
some of his ballads. Up to this day, his compositions are popular and well-
loved.
His major works include:

Nahan, Kahit na Magtiis

Diligin Mo ng Hamog ang Uhaw na Lupa
Pilipinas
Inang Bayan
Isang Dalangin
Kalesa
Bato sa Buhangin
Gaano Kita Kamahal
 Francisco Feliciano

Dr. Francisco F. Feliciano (1941 - 2014)

was one of the Philippines’ most
important composers. Dr. Feliciano
created more than 30 major works that
include operas and music dramas
Dr. Feliciano has created more than 30 major works that
include operas and music dramas - LaLoba Negra, Ashen
Wings, Sikhay Sa Kabila ng Paalam (Beyond the
Farewell), and the life ofwartime Filipino hero, Jose Abad
Santos. Among his large works are The Transfiguration
andMissa Mysterium for orchestra and large chorus; the
ballet Yerma; and several prize winningcompositions such
as Pokpok Alimpako, which has become favorite piece of
choirs inintemational choral competitions; and
Salimbayan. Umiinog, Walang Tinag
(PerpetuumImmobile) was premiered in New York City at
the ISCM Festival. His latest choral works,Pamugun and
Restless, have been performed by Filipino choirs in
various choral festivals inEurope. In 1977, Dr. Feliciano
was given a John D. Rockefeller III Award in
MusicComposition
 Francisco Feliciano

was a Filipino composer

and conductor. He was
a National Artist of the
Philippines for Music
• Buksan mo ang aming mga labi (published 1982)
• Mass of Saint Andrew (published 1981)
• Pamugun (choral, with soprano solo. published 2002)
• Pokpok alimpako (chorus. published 2002)
• Three Visayan folksongs : for high voice (published
1998)
 Ramon Santos
Ramon Pagayon Santos, composer, conductor
and musicologist, is currently the country’s
foremost exponent of contemporary Filipino
music. A prime figure in the second generation of
Filipino composers in the modern idiom, Santos
has contributed greatly to the quest for new
directions in music, taking as basis non-Western
traditions in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
Some of his compositions:

• Ding Ding Nga Diwaya

• Nabasag ang Banga at Iba't Iba Pang Pinag-
ugpongug-pong na Pananalita para sa Labing-anim na
Tinig
• Ang Hardin ni Ligaya (lyrics by the composer), 1965
• Ang Puting Waling-Waling (lyrics by the composer),
1972
• Images, 1975