National Artist of the Philippines
A National Artist of the Philippines is a title given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts. Such Filipinos are announced, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist or in Filipino, Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining. They are then conferred membership in the Order of National Artists, the regalia of which is an ornate, gilden collar of honor. In addition to the collar, each newly proclaimed member of the Order is given a citation that is presented during the awardees' conferment ceremonies. The Cultural Center of the Philippines then hosts a Memorabilia Exhibit and Gabi ng Parangal (A Night of Tributes) for the National Artists at the Tanghalang Pambansa.
Other benefits received by National artists include a monthly pension, medical and life insurance, arrangements for a state funeral, a place of honor at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.
The National Artist Honors is administered by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) by virtue of President Ferdinand Marcos's Proclamation No. 1001 of April 2, 1972 and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The Government of the Republic of the Philippines confers the award to deserving individuals who have been recommended by both the CCP and the NCCA. The first award was posthumously conferred on Filipino painter Fernando Amorsolo.
Music
Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 - April 2, 2002) was a Filipino composer and lyricist who was born in Manila, Philippines. Celerio was a prolific song-writer, with over 4,000 songs to his credit. He is perhaps best-known for being a leaf-player, a feat for which he was put into the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1997, he was named National Artist of the Philippines for Music.
Levi Celerio was born on April 30, 1910 in Tondo, Manila. He received a scholarship to the Academy of Music in Manila and became the youngest member of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. He wrote several number of songs for local movies, which earned for him the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Film Academy of the Philippines. Celerio has written lyrics for more than 4,000 Filipino folk, Christmas, and love songs, including many that became movie titles.
Known for being a good lyricist, his songs cherish life, convey nationalistic sentiments and utter grand philosophies. Celerio wrote more than 4,000 songs, among them are popular pieces, which many consider to be immortal. At one time or another, no Filipino could miss the tune or lyrics of Levi's Christmas songs: Pasko na Naman, Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon (Ang Pasko ay Sumapit), and Misa de Gallo.
His more popular love songs include: Saan Ka Man Naroroon?, Kahit Konting Pagtingin, Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal, Kapag Puso'y Sinugatan, and Ikaw, O Maliwanag na Buwan, Dahil Sa Isang Bulaklak, Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, Bagong Pagsilang, and Sapagkat Kami'y Tao Lamang, while his folk songs include Ang Pipit, Tinikling, Tunay na Tunay, Itik-Itik, Waray-Waray, Pitong Gatang, Ako ay May Singsing, Alibangbang, Alembong, Galawgaw, Caprichosa, Ang Tapis ni Inday, Dungawin Mo Hirang, Umaga na Neneng, Ikaw Kasi, and Basta't Mahal Kita. Celerio also wrote nationalistic songs such as Ang Bagong Lipunan, Lupang Pangarap, and Tinig ng Bayan.
Celerio, for a time, was also recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the only man who could play music with a leaf. Because of his talent, Celerio was invited to The Merv Griffin Show, where he played "All the Things You Are" with 39 musicians. Using his leaf, Levi wowed the crowd and got the attention of the Guinness Book of World Records. The Book later listed the entry: "The only leaf player in the world is in the Philippines". He would also later appear on That's Incredible!.
Levi Celerio is buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Proclaimed as National Artists
On October 9, 1997, pursuant to Proclamation No. 1114, President Fidel V. Ramos proclaimed him a National Artist for Music and Literature. His citation read that his music "was a perfect embodiment of the heartfelt sentiments and valued traditions of the Filipino."
Later years
In his old age, Levi occasionally appeared in public, usually at a concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He was also playing at a Quezon City bar from time to time.
Antonio Molina
This article is about the Spanish singer and actor. For the Honduran botanist, see José Antonio Molina Rosito. For the Filipino composer, see Antonio Molina (composer). For the Spanish Catholic bishop, see Antonio Vilaplana Molina. For the Spanish writer, see Antonio Muñoz Molina.
Antonio Molina was born in Málaga, 1928 - Madrid, 1992. Flamenco and popular singer and actor in films and on theatrical stage. He had a high, brilliant voice, which he perhaps abused until he lost it prematurely. He was very popular starring in many theater shows. After a few years of retirement, he attempted a come-back in 1986, but his time was over. He acted in films. From the age of 10 he showed great aptitude for flamenco singing, and became popular by participating in various radio shows. His film career began in 1953, and he is remembered for films such as "El pescador de coplas"(1953, direct
Lucrecia Kasilag
Lucrecia Kasilag (August 31, 1917—August 16, 2008) was a Filipino composer, music educator, and National Artist for Music.
She studied composition with Wayne Barlow.
She was also a former president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, head of the Asian Composers League, Chairperson of the Philippine Society for Music Education, and was one of the pioneers of the Bayanihan Dance Company. She is credited for having written more than 200 musical compositions, ranging from folksongs to opera to orchestral works, and was composing up to the year before she died, at age 90.
She is particularly known for daring to incorporate indigenous Filipino instruments in orchestral productions.
Life
Maceda was born in Manila, the Philippines. He studied piano, composition and musical analysis at École Normale de Musique de Paris. After returning to his native country, he bhahahahaecame a professional pianist. Later, he also studied musicology at Columbia University, and anthropology at Northwestern University. Starting in 1952, he conducted fieldwork on ethnic musics in 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 an doctorate in ethnomusicology from the UCLA. He began pursuing the 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 Filipinos.
Music
As an ethnomusicologist, Maceda investigated various forms of music in Southeast Asia, and produced numerous papers. In addition to that, he made 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 hundret to several thousand people (1975); Suling-Suling for 10 flutes, 10 bamboo buzzers and 10 flat gongs (1985). From the 1990s, he also composed for Western orchestra and piano. The examples are: Distemperament for orchestra (1992); Colors without Rhythm for orchestra (1999); Sujeichon for 4 pianos (2002).
Atang de la Rama
Honorata de la Rama–Hernandez (January 11, 1902 – July 11, 1991), commonly known as Atang de la Rama was a singer and bodabil performer who became the first Filipina film actress.
Atang de la Rama was born in Tondo, Manila on January 11, 1905. By the age of 7, she was already starring in Spanish zarzuelas such as Mascota, Sueño de un Vals, and Marina. At the age of 15, she starred in the sarsuela Dalagang Bukid, where she became known for the singing the song, Nabasag na Banga.
During the American occupation of the Philippines, Atang de la Rama fought for the dominance of the kundiman, an important Philippine folk song, and the sarsuela, which is a musical play that focused on contemporary Filipino issues such as usury, cockfighting, and colonial mentality.
Generations of Filipino artists and audiences consider Atang de la Rama's vocal and acting talents as responsible for much of the success of original Filipino sarsuelas like Dalagang Bukid, and dramas like Veronidia. She has also been a theatrical producer, writer and talent manager. She was the producer and the writer of plays such as Anak ni Eva and Bulaklak ng Kabundukan. For her achievements and contributions to the art form, she was hailed Queen of the Kundiman and of the Sarsuela in 1979, at the age of 74.
Atang believed that art should be for everyone; not only did she perform in major Manila theaters such as the Teatro Libertad and the Teatro Zorilla, but also in cockpits and open plazas in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. She also made an effort to bring the kundiman and sarsuela to the indigenous peoples of the Philippine such as the Igorots, the Itas, and the Mangyans. She was also at the forefront of introducing Filipino culture to foreign audiences. At the height of her career, she sang kundimans and other Filipino songs in concerts in such cities as Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo.
On May 8, 1987, "for her sincere devotion to original Filipino theater and music, her outstanding artistry as singer, and as sarsuela actress-playwright-producer, her tireless efforts to bring her art to all sectors of Filipino society and to the world," President Corazon C. Aquino proclaimed Atang de la Rama a National Artist of the Philippines for Theater and Music.
Atang de la Rama died on July 11, 1991. She was married to National Artist for Literature, Amado V. Hernandez.
Andrea Ofilada Veneracion (born July 11, 1928 in Manila) (or Ma'am OA), is a Filipino 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 and raised in Manila, Philippines and 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. In fact, 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 - Bloomington as a Fulbright scholar, where there she encountered the Indiana University Madrigal Singers which 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 semi-circle formation without a conductor. The Choirmaster is at the left-most end of the circle who leads the group by giving their cues.
Under her direction, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won major awards in international choral competitions - Spittal, 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 Choral Grand Prix on the following year and eventually won the title in Tours, France.
She is also the founding choirmaster and first conductor of the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music (AILM) Chorale.
Later, some of her choristers went on to establish their own careers as well-known music performers and choral composers, conductors and arrangers in the Philippines; they include Ryan Cayabyab, Joel Navarro, Victor Asuncion, Montet Acoymo, Robert Delgado, Edgardo Nepomuceno, Jonathan Velasco, Eudenice Palaruan, Fr. Arnold Zamora, Christopher Borela, Anna Tabita Abeleda-Piquero and the present Madz Choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio.
In 1997, She was awarded the TOFIL (The Outstanding Filipino) Award for Culture and the Arts For her contributions to the development of choral singing in the Philippines.
Eventually in 1999, Ma'am OA 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.
In December, 2005, she suffered a massive stroke which led to her paralysis. The Madz is constantly performing benefit concerts, the proceeds of which are used to help the Veneracion family for Ma'am OA's medical expenses.
Lucio San Pedro (February 11, 1913 - March 31, 2002) was 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 came from a family with musical roots and he began his career early. When he was still in his late teens, he became a church organist, taking over the job after the death of his grandfather. By then, he had already composed songs, hymns and two complete Masses for voices and orchestra. After studying with several prominent musicians in the Philippines, he took advanced composition training with Bernard Wagenaar of the Netherlands. He also studied harmony and orchestration under Vittorio Giannini and took classes at Juilliard in 1947.
His other vocation was teaching. He has taught at the Ateneo de Manila University, virtually all the major music conservatories in Manila[citation needed], and at the College of Music of the University of the Philippines, Diliman, where he retired as a full professor in 1978. He received the title Professor Emeritus from the University in 1979.[citation needed]
On May 9, 1991, President Corazon C. Aquino proclaimed Lucio D. San Pedro a National Artist of the Philippines for Music.
He died of cardiac arrest on March 31, 2002 at the age of 89. A number of national artists attended his tribute at the Tanghalang Pambansa, including: Napoleon Abueva, Daisy Avellana, Leonor Gokingco, Nick Joaquin, Arturo Luz, Jose Maceda, and Andrea Veneracion. He is buried in his hometown of Angono, Rizal.
