New Music Composers

• JOSE MACEDA - His musical style was profoundly influenced when he encountered the music of the indigenous tribes of Mindoro in 1953. He then embarked on his life's work, dedicated to the understanding and preservation of Filipino traditional music. His extensive research and fieldwork resulted in an immense collection of recorded music taken from the remote mountain villages and far-flung inland communities in the Philippines. He is a National Artist for Music.
• LUCRECIA KASILAG - Her compositional style demonstrated a fusion of Eastern and Western styles in using instruments, melody, harmony, and rhythm. She is particularly known for incorporating indigenous Filipino instruments into orchestral productions. She is a National Artist for Music.
• JERRY DADAP - the first Filipino composer to conduct his own works at the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City, started composing when he was still studying at Silliman University in the southern city of Dumaguete. Among his numerous compositions is the musical play Andres Bonifacio, Ang Dakilang Anak Pawis (which is discussed in Quarter IV).
• FR. MANUEL MARAMBA OSB - one of the most accomplished musicians in the Philippines, is best known as a liturgical composer whose body of works leans towards religious figures and events. His versatility as a pianist, composer, arranger, theorist, and teacher is widely recognized.
• RAMON SANTOS - His compositional style features chromaticism, music seria, and electronic components, combined with indigenous Philippine music elements. He held the position of Dean of the UP College of Music from 1978 to 1988. At present, he is the head of the UP Center of Ethnomusicology and was appointed Professor Emeritus of the same institution. He is a National Artist for Music.
• FRANCISCO FELICIANO - is one of Asia's leading figures in liturgical music, having composed hundreds of liturgical pieces, Mass settings, hymns, and songs for worship. At the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music, a school for church musicians which he founded, he supervised the publication of a new Asian hymnal containing mostly works of Asian composers. He is a National Artist for Music.
• JOSEFINO TOLEDO - is the founding music director of the Metro Manila Community Orchestra, the UP Festival Orchestra, and the Crosswave Symphony Orchestra. He is noted for conducting the premiere performances of the works of Filipino composers as well as other Asian composers. His own musical compositions have been performed by well-known international artists and ensembles.
• JONAS BAES - Associate Professor in Composition and Theory, ethnomusicologist, cultural activist, and writer, has explored innovative territories and unusual musical treatments in his works. He is known for writing music utilizing unorthodox musical instruments such as bean-pod rattles, leaves, iron-nail chimes, various Asian instruments such as bamboo scrapers and bamboo flutes, and vocal music using Asian vocal techniques