CPAR NATIONAL ARTIST

• Artist


  One who creates art using conscious skills and creative imagination
• Roles of Filipino artists

  • Personal - expresses what he or she feels
  • Social - expresses what she sees around him/her
  • Physical - a need to create something not only pleasing to look but something useful as well
• Order of National Artists

  Highest award conferred by the president of the Philippines to the nation's artists
• Process in selecting a National Artist


  1. Announcement/Nomination

  2. NCCA and CCP

  3. Recommendations from NCCA and CCP

  4. Proclamation of the office of the president

  5. Awarding
• Contemporary music in the Philippines


  Compositions that have adopted ideas and elements from 20th century art music in the West, as well as the latest and musical styles in the entertainment industry
• New Music/Modern Music


  Also known as contemporary music in the Philippines
• Antonio Molina


  • First National Artist of the Philippines for Music
  • Concert soloist, composer, and conductor
  • Dean of Centro Escolar Conservatory of Music
  • Included whole tone scale, pentatonic scale, linear counterpoints, and ethnic instruments in his compositions
  • Composed Matinal, Hating-gabi, Malikmata
• Levi Celerio


  • National Artist for Literature / Music (1997)
  • Wrote 4000 songs and remained poor
  • Compositions range from Filipino folk songs to Christmas Songs to love songs
  • Only man who could play music with a leaf
  • Some famous pieces: Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, Dahil sa Isang Bulaklak, Saan Ka Man Naroroon, Ang Pipit
• Nicanor Abelardo


  • "Father of Filipino Sonata"
  • Prolific composer of the kundiman in the 1920s
  • Works like Bituing Marikit, sarsuela, Dakilang Punglo, Kundiman ng Luha, Mutya ng Pasig and "Nasan ka Irog?" had stirring, poetic lyrics
  • Composed more than 144 songs
  • Composition "Naku... Kenkoy!" (1930) combines the fox-trot and waltz with humor
• Felipe De Leon


  • National Artist for Music (1997)
  • Composer, conductor, and scholar
  • Translated the lyrics of the Philippine National Anthem from Spanish to Filipino
  • Kept the Filipino traditions and culture alive by "Filipinizing" western music forms
  • Composed Alitaptap, Ang Lahi Ko'y Dakila, Noche Buena
• Ramon P. Santos


  • National Artist for Music (2014)
  • Composer, conductor, and musicologist
  • Foremost exponent of contemporary Filipino music
  • Contributed greatly to the quest for new directions in music, taking as basis non-Western traditions in the Philippines and Southeast Asia
• Honorata "Atang" Dela Rama


  • National Artist for Theater and Music (1987)
  • Formally honored as the Queen of Kundiman in 1979
  • First actress in the very first locally produced Filipino film
  • Believes the sarsuela and the kundiman expresses best the Filipino soul
• Col. Antonino R. Buenaventura


  • National Artist for Music (1988)
  • Inherited his interest in music and military from his father, Lucino Buenaventura
  • Conductor who restored the Philippine Army Band to its former prestige as one of the finest military bands in the world
• Jose Maceda


  • National Artist for Music (1997)
  • Composer, musicologist, teacher and performer
  • Explored the musicality of the Filipino deeply
  • Embarked on a life-long dedication to the understanding and popularization of Filipino traditional music
  • Collected an immense number of recorded music taken from the remotest mountain villages and farthest island communities
• Andrea Veneracion


  • National Artist for Music (1999)
  • Founding of the Philippine Madrigal Singers
  • Spearheaded the development of Philippine choral music
  • Organized a cultural outreach program to provide music education and exposure in several provinces
  • Authority on choral music and performance, served as an adjudicator in international music competitions
• Original Philippine Music (OPM)


  • Songs created by Filipino Composers
  • Written in Filipino, or in English
  • Styles are adopted or influenced by western countries with different themes like love, social activities, political, etc.
  • Genres/Styles: Pinoy Rock, Chorale Music, Neo-Traditional Music
• Ryan Cayabyab


  • Most popular Filipino composer of modern times
  • Composed over 400 songs
  • Works often praised for their poetic yet easy to grasp word play mirroring the plight of the common people
  • Incorporated ethnic music in compositions like "Misa", "Kapinangan", and "Maria Makiling"
• Notable works by Ryan Cayabyab

  • Rama-Hari (Two-act musical ballet, 1980)
  • Katy! The Musical (Two-act musical, 1988)
  • Smokey Mountain (Pop CD album, 1990)
  • One Christmas (Christmas Album, 1993)
  • Noli Me Tangere (Tele-sine musical, 1995)
  • Spoliarium (Three-act opera, 2003)
  • Ignacio Of Loyola (Film Score, 2016)
  • Larawan: The Musical (Full-length musical film, 2017)
  • Da Coconut Nut
  • Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika
  • Nais Ko
  • Paraiso
  • Kahit Ika'y Panaginip Lang
  • Kailan
  • Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka
• Different Genres or Style in OPM

  • Pinoy Rock
  • Chorale Music
  • Neo-Traditional Music
• Ryan Cayabyab


  The most popular Filipino composer of modern times
• Ryan Cayabyab has gone into jazz, theater, and pop to cover all listening bases, and has even incorporated ethnic music in "Misa," "Kapinangan," and "Maria Makiling"
• Ryan Cayabyab's works are often praised for their poetic yet easy to grasp word play mirroring the plight of the common people
• Ryan Cayabyab has composed more than 400 songs and counting
• Works by Ryan Cayabyab


  • Rama-Hari (Two-act musical ballet, 1980)
  • Katy! The Musical (Two-act musical, 1988)
  • Smokey Mountain (Pop CD album, 1990)
  • One Christmas (Christmas Album, 1993)
  • Noli Me Tangere (Tele-sine musical, 1995)
  • Spoliarium (Three-act opera, 2003)
  • Ignacio Of Loyola (Film Score, 2016)
  • Larawan: The Musical (Full-length musical film, 2017)
• Songs by Ryan Cayabyab


  • Da Coconut Nut
  • Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika
  • Nais Ko
  • Paraiso
  • Kahit Ika'y Panaginip Lang
  • Kailan
  • Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka
• Ryan Cayabyab was named National Artist for Dance in 2018
• Dance


  • A performance art that involves rhythmic body movement within a given space, choreographed based on a musical beat
  • Performed either in front of an audience or by everyone on a dance floor
• Alice Reyes


  • National Artist for Dance (2014)
  • Dancer, choreographer, teacher and director
  • Founder of Ballet Philippines
  • Has made a lasting impact on the development and promotion of contemporary dance in the Philippines
• The biggest contribution of Alice Reyes to Philippine dance is the development of a distinctly Filipino modern dance idiom, utilizing inherently Filipino materials and subject matters expressed through a combination of movements and styles from Philippine indigenous dance, modern dance and classical ballet
• Leonor Orosa Goquingco


  • National Artist for Dance (1976)
  • Mother of Philippine Theater Dance
  • Dean of Filipino Performing Arts Critic
  • Pioneer Filipino choreographer in balletic folkloric and Asian styles, produced for over 50 years highly original, first-of-a-kind choreographies, mostly to her own storylines
• Leonor Orosa Goquingco brought native folk dance, mirroring Philippine culture from pagan to modern times, to its highest stage of development
• Leonor Orosa Goquingco was the Honorary Chair of the Association of Ballet Academies of the Philippines (ABAP), and was a founding member of the Philippine Ballet Theater
• Francisca Reyes Aquino


  • National Artist for Dance (1973)
  • Acknowledged as the Folk Dance Pioneer
  • Her research on the unrecorded forms of local celebration, ritual and sport resulted into a 1926 thesis titled "Philippine Folk Dances and Games," and arranged specifically for use by teachers and playground instructors in public and private schools
• In the 1940's, Francisca Reyes Aquino served as supervisor of physical education at the Bureau of Education that distributed her work and adapted the teaching of folk dancing as a medium of making young Filipinos aware of their cultural heritage
• Books by Francisca Reyes Aquino


  • Philippine National Dances (1946)
  • Gymnastics for Girls (1947)
  • Fundamental Dance Steps and Music (1948)
  • Foreign Folk Dances (1949)
  • Dances for all Occasion (1950)
  • Playground Demonstration (1951)
  • Philippine Folk Dances, Volumes I to VI
• Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula


  • National Artist for Dance (1988)
  • Applied her findings to project a new example of an ethnic dance culture that goes beyond simple preservation and into creative growth
  • Choreographed suites of mountain dances, Spanish-influenced dances, Muslim pageants, and festivals, regional variations, and dances of the countryside for the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company of which she was the dance director
• Dances choreographed by Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula


  • Singkil
  • Vinta
  • Tagabili
  • Pagdiwata
  • Salidsid
  • Idaw
  • Banga
  • Aires de Verbena
• Ramon Obusan


  • National Artist for Dance (2006)
  • Founder of Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group
  • Researcher, archivist and documentary filmmaker who broadened and deepened the Filipino understanding of his own cultural life and expressions
• Works by Ramon Obusan


  • "Vamos a Belen! Series" (1998-2004) Philippine Dances Tradition
  • "Noon Po sa Amin," tableaux of Philippine History in song, drama and dance
  • "Obra Maestra," a collection of Ramon Obusan's dance masterpieces
  • "Unpublished Dances of the Philippines," Series I-IV
  • "Water, Fire and Life, Philippine Dances and Music –A Celebration of Life"
  • "Saludo sa Sentenyal"
  • "Glimpses of ASEAN, Dances and Music of the ASEAN-Member Countries"
  • "Saplot (Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group): Philippines Costumes in Dance"
• Each group will create a simple dance step/song interpretation of the following musical compositions from the various national artists: Sa Ugoy ng Duyan of Levi Celerio (Dance), Ibong Pipit of Levi Celerio (Music and Dance), Hatinggabi of Antonio Molina (Dance), Nasaan ka Irog (Music), Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika (Music and Dance)