Philippine Contemporary Composers
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Francisco B. Buencamino
Claude Debussy of the
Philippines
Francisco Beltran
Buencamino Sr. belonged to a
family of musicians. He was
born on November 5, 1883 in
San Miguel de Mayumo,
Bulacan. His father Fortunato,
a church organist and band
master, taught him music at a
very early age. His mother
Luisa, meanwhile, was a
singer. At age 12, he could
already play the organ.
He studied composition and
harmony at the Liceo de
Manila, where Marcelo
Adonay, an eminent composer
and conductor in the late 19th
century, served as his mentor .
“MUSIC IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE SPIRIT. IT OPENS THE SECRET OF
LIFE BRINGING PEACE, ABOLISHING STRIFE.”
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Buencamino taught at the Ateneo
de Manila in the early 1900s as well
as in the Centro Escolar de
Señoritas and headed its Music
Department for 30 years. He
founded the Buencamino Music
Academy in 1930, and had Nicanor
Abelardo as one of his students
Francisco Buencamino died on
the 16th of October, 1952. in the
same year, he was given a
posthumous Outstanding
Composer Award by the Manila
Music Lovers Society.
Francisco Buencamino established
the Buencamino Academy of Music
in 1930. Kundimans and Sarzuela
are two of his signature musical
genres. Definition: Kundiman is a
traditional love ballad genre from
the Philippines.
Composed songs After graduating
from the Liceo, a number of Tagalog
operettas or sarswelas, including
Marcela (1904)
Si Tio Selo (1904)
Yayang (1905)
Pangakong Hindi Natupad (1905)
Ang larawan (The Portrait), for piano
Maligayang bati (Birthday Greetings), for piano
No hablos mas!, for piano
Mayón, fantasia de concierto, for piano
Harana, serenade for piano
PAGE #01
Col. Antonio R. Buenaventura
Competent Conductor and A
Dedicated Educator
Antonio Buenaventura, born in 1904 in
Baliuag, Bulacan, was a renowned
composer, conductor, and educator in
Philippine music. He graduated with a
Teacher's Diploma in Music, majoring in
Science and Composition, and later earned
a post-graduate diploma in Composition
under German Prof. Jeno Von Tackacs.
Buenaventura joined the U.P Conservatory
as an assistant instructor after his mentor,
Nicanor Abelardo, died in 1934.
After conducting field research, he wrote
notable works such as Minuet (1937),
Pandanggo sa Ilaw (1936), "Echoes from
the Philippines," Varations and Fugere,
and Greetings. Buenaventura passed
away in 1996, but his works continue to be
recognized for their contribution to
Philippine music.
Colonel Antonio R. Buenaventura,
renowned for his musical genius,
transformed the Philippine Constabulary
and Army Bands into one of the world's
top military bands.
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Alfredo Santos Buenaventura, born in
1929 in Sta. Maria, Bulacan, was a
renowned composer known for his
unique blend of musical styles. Born in
Bulacan, he received formal music
lessons and began arranging and
conducting bands at a young age. He
became an official organist at Manila
Cathedral from 1960 and was a member
of the League of Filipino Composers.
Buenaventura composed over 50 major
works, including operas, operettas,
dance dramas, cantatas, symphonies,
concertos, ballets, overtures,
preludes, fugues, and chamber music.
His compositions have transcended
territorial, racial, and language barriers,
with many based on Filipino heroes,
legends, and epics. He uses native
songs and indigenous instruments as
themes.
Buenaventura's minor works, over 50,
are mostly religious songs and hymns
for specific celebrations. His other
creative musical works have been
commissioned by the Cultural Center of
the Philippines, Metropolitan Theater,
and NAMCYA. He has received
numerous awards in the music industry,
including the Republic Cultural
Heritage Awards.
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ALFREDO BUENAVENTURA
excellent musician, composer, conductor
and music education teacher.
MUSIC COMPOSITIONS
• Maria Makiling (1961)
• Ang Ating Watawat (1965)
• Prinsesa Urduha (1969)
• Gomburza (1981)
• Pasko ng Barangay (1964)
• Diego Silang (1966)
• Dakilang Lahi (1971)
• Rizal, the Great Malayan
Antagonist (1990)
#02
FELIPE P. DE LEON
(May 1, 1912 – December 5, 1992)
De Leon was born on May 1, 1912, in the
barrio of Papaya (now in General
Tinio). He is the son of Juan De Leon
and Natalia Padilla. He took Fine Arts
at the University of the Philippines.
He became an assistant conductor of
the Nueva Ecija High School
Orchestra, where he started
composing music. He married pianist,
lluminada Mendoza with whom he
had two children.
De Leon, known as the "Crisis
Composer" of the Philippines,
served under 13 presidents as chief
advisor on culture and music. His
compositions included band music,
chamber works, children's songs,
choir music, chirstmas carols,
concertors, flim music, folk song
overtures, piano solos, suites, and
zarzuelas. With at least 327 works
attributed to him, he was patriotic
and natinalistic in his compositions,
published articles, essays, and
colums. He wrote for the Manila
Times and Taliba and lectured
extensively on Philippine music and
culture.
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FRANCISCO SANTIAGO
The Father of Kundiman Art Song was born on January 29, 1889, in
Santa Maria, Bulacan, to musically inclined peasant parents Felipe
Father of Kundiman Art Song
Santiago and Maria Santiago. Poverty did not prevent him from
1889-1947
finishing his piano studies. When the University of the Philippines 58 years old
Conservatory of Music opened in 1916, he began teaching piano.

Notably, Santiago's most famous piece, "Kundiman (Anak-Dalita),"

was sung upon the request of King Alfonso XIII before the Royal
Court of Spain in 1917.His other compositions are the kundiman
"Sakali Man", "Hibik ng Filipinas", "Pakiusap", "Ang Pag-ibig",
"Suyuan", "Alaala Kita", "Ikaw at Ako", "Ano Kaya ang Kapalaran?",
"Hatol Hari Kaya?", "Sakali't Mamatay", "Dalit ng Pag-ibig", "Aking
Bituin", "Madaling Araw" and "Pagsikat ng Araw".

He was named UP Emeritus Professor of Piano on May 25, 1946.

The patriotic musician died of a heart attack as the University of the
Philippines Conservatory of Music commemorated its 30th
anniversary. He was buried in the North Cemetery in Manila. The
Francisco Santiago Hall is a hall in the BDO Head Office (previously
the PCI Bank Twin Towers, PCIB's headquarters). It was mostly
utilized for Makati City Government kundiman contests and the
presentation of Service Awards by the old Equitable PCI Bank and
PCI Bank. He passed away on September 28, 1947, at the age of 58.

Rodolfo S. Cornejo, the first Filipino composer to receive an

honorary degree from a US-approved music institution,
demonstrated exceptional compositional and pianistic skills by
creating a piano composition on the spot. Born in 1909 in Singalong,
Manila.

Cornejo began piano instruction at six and performed at the age of

14. He wrote a composition called "Glissando Waltz" at ten, and at 13,
he composed the "Salute," a military march. Cornejo also composed
the Philippine Suite, Okaka Variations, Paalam na Sinta, Oriental
Fantasy, Nocturne in G, Piano Concerto no. 1, and the Moro Wedding
Dance. At 14, 26 of his compositions were listed by the United
Publishing Company Inc.

Cornejo received his Teacher's Diploma in composition, science,

and pianoforte. He was named the official composer and researcher
of the Philippine government-in-exile by President Manuel L. Quezon
RODOLFO S. CORNEJO
-Doctor in Philosophy Major
and began teaching at the UP Conservatory of Music. Cornejo wrote
Composition.
the soundtrack for a documentary about President Quezon's funeral -Doctor of Music degree
and was appointed musical director of the Sampaguita and Vera-
Perez studios' film companies.
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NICANOR SANTA ANA ABELARDO
(February 7, 1893 – March 21, 1934)
SANTOS, ROSENDO, E., JR.
September 3, 1922 - November 4,
1994)
"ONLY THE VANQUISHED REMEMBER HISTORY."
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#04
Nicanor Santa Ana Abelardo was a renowned composer,
pianist, and teacher born in 1893 in San Miguel de
Mayumo, Bulacan. He was the eldest of eight children and
was taught solfeggio and bandurria by his father. At age
eight, he composed and dedicated a waltz, "Ang Unang
Buko," to his grandmother. His uncle, Juan Abelardo,
brought him to Manila where he studied piano and voice
under Italian maestro Enrico Capozzi. At age 13, he was hired
to play at saloons and cabarets. At 15, he took on a teaching
job in barrio schools in San Ildefonso and San Miguel,
Bulacan.
Abelardo's compositions include "U.P. Beloved," a school
hymn that won first prize in an open musical contest in 1917.
He was appointed as an assistant instructor in solfeggio and
harmony in 1918 and became a full-pledged instructor in
1919. He received his teacher's certificate in science and
composition in 1923 and became the head of the
composition department the following year.
Abelardo was a prolific composer of Kundiman (Art Song),
redefining the genre and elevating it to artistic heights. He
composed music for the sarswela, including "Kawanggawa,"
"Dakilang Punglo," "Tayo'y Pakasal Na," "Kapabayaan o
Bunga ng Masamang Hilig," "Sumilang," "Ang Tala ng
Unibersidad," "Lucila," "Akibat," "Ang Likha ni Pierrot o Batik
ng Kabihasnan," "Ang Mestiza," "Makabagong Dalaga," and
"Batang Tulisan." He also wrote in various musical forms,
including "Kung Hindi Man," "Ang Aking Bayan," "Bonifacio
Song," and "Naku...Kenkoy!".
Son of the late Rosendo and Castora Santos, Rosendo E.
Santos, Jr. was born in Cavite City, Philippines on
September 3, 1922, and passed away at home in
Swoyersville, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 1994. He
completed his schooling at Cavite.
Created songs: He was a prolific composer who wrote over
200 marches, several band overtures, concertos, sonatas,
symphonies, symphonic poems, and five operas in the
dialect of the Philippines. The University of the Philippines
library contains more than 1,000 of his musical
compositions. He authored 50 masses in Latin and 20 in
English.
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Born on February 11, 1913 in

Angono, Rizal, the Philippines. He
was a composer and teacher in the
Philippines. He is known in the
Philippines as the composer of the
popular lullaby Sa Ugoy ng Duyan
(in collaboration with Levi Celerio)
and the symphonic poem Lahing
Kayumanggi, he taught
composition at a number of
colleges and universities, including
the University of the Philippines
College of Music, where he served
as chairman of its Composition and
Conducting Department from 1970
to 1973.
LUCIO D. SAN PEDRO RYAN CIPRIANO CAYABYAB
May 4, 1954 (age 69 years)
National Artist of the Philippines for
Music
Mr. C, born Raymundo Cipriano Pujante
Cayabyab, is a prominent Filipino
Lucio came from a family with musical roots and he began his musician and the Executive and
career early. When he was still in his late teens, he became a Artistic Director of the San Miguel
Foundation for the Performing Arts.
church organist, taking over the job after the death of his Born in Manila, Philippines, Cayabyab's
grandfather. By then, he had already composed songs, hymns mother was an opera singer who died at
and two complete Masses for voices and orchestra. After the age of 6, and his father struggled to
support him and his siblings. His
studying with several prominent musicians in the Philippines, he mother's wish was for him not to pursue
took advanced composition training with Bernard Wagenaar of music as a career due to the hardships
the Netherlands. He also studied harmony and orchestration faced by musicians with insufficient
income.
under Vittorio Giannini and took classes at Juilliard in 1947.
His other vocation was teaching. He has taught at the Ateneo de Ryan initially pursued a Bachelor of
Manila University, virtually all the major music conservatories in Science in Business Administration at
the University of the Philippines,
Manila[citation needed], and at the College of Music of the Diliman, but found employment as an
University of the Philippines, Diliman, where he retired as a full accompanist for the Development Bank
professor in 1978. He received the title Professor Emeritus from of the Philippines Chorale Ensemble. He
was awarded a scholarship to continue
the University in 1979.[citation needed] his studies in music. He later earned a
Bachelor of Music, Major in Composition
On May 9, 1991, President Corazon C. Aquino proclaimed Lucio degree from the UP College of Music
and served as a professor for two
D. San Pedro a National Artist of the Philippines for Music. He decades.
died of cardiac arrest on March 31, 2002 at the age of 89. A
number of national artists attended his tribute at the Ryan is currently in his seventh year as
the Executive and Artistic Director of the
Tanghalang Pambansa, including: Napoleon Abueva, Daisy San Miguel Foundation for the
Avellana, Leonor Gokingco, Nick Joaquin, Arturo Luz, Jose Performing Arts. His works include full-
Maceda, and Andrea Veneracion. He is buried in his hometown length ballets, theater musicals, choral
pieces, crowd sets, orchestral pieces,
of Angono, Rizal. popular composition recordings, film
scores, and television specials.
NOTABLE WORKS: Da Coconut Nut ,Kay
Ganda Ng Ating Musika , Nais Ko,
"A GENERATION WHICH IGNORES HISTORY HAS NO PAST AND NO FUTURE." Paraiso, Kahit Ika’y Panaginip Lang,
Kailan, Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka

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