MUSIC

1. Antonino Buenaventura

Antonino Buenaventura was born on May 4, 1904 in Baliuag, Bulacan. He was born in a family
of musicians; his father Lucino Buenaventura was a musician at the Spanish Artillery Band in
Intramuros. He studied under Nicanor Abelardo at the University of the Philippines Diliman
Conservatory of Music and graduated in 1932 with a Teacher’s Diploma in Music, major in
Science and Composition and became an assistant instructor at the Conservatory. He also
studied composition for a post-graduate degree under Jenő Takács.
After the war he became conductor of the devastated Philippine Constabulary Band for 16 years
and he brought it back to its former glory.
He became the music director of the UST Conservatory of Music in 1961 and the UE School of
Music and Arts in 1964.

2. Francisco Feliciano

Feliciano was born in 1941, in Morong, Rizal

Francisco Feliciano graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Teacher's diploma in
Music (1967) with a Masters in Music Composition (1972). In 1977 he went to the Hochschule
der Kuenste in Berlin, Germany to obtain a diploma in Music Composition. In 1979 he attended
Yale University School of Music and graduated with a Master of Musical Arts and a Doctorate in
Musical Arts, Composition. While at Yale University he conducted the Yale Contemporary
Ensemble, considered as one of the leading performing groups in America for contemporary
and avant-garde music. His teachers in conducting were Arthur Weisberg and Martin
Behrmann, while he studied composition under Jacob Druckman, Isang Yun, H.W. Zimmerman
and Krzysztof Penderecki.
He died in September 19, 2014, in Manila at age 73.

3. Honorata “Atang” Dela 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 Pandacan, Manila on January 11, 1902. 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
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 de la Rama died on July 11, 1991. She was married to National Artist for Literature,
Amado V. Hernandez

4. Lucio San Pedro

Lucio D. San Pedro, Sr. (February 11, 1913 – March 31, 2002) was a Filipino composer and
teacher who was proclaimed a National Artist of the Philippines for Music in 1991.
San Pedro came from a family with musical roots and he began his career early. When he was
still in his late teens, he succeeded his deceased grandfather as the local church organist. 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, and at the College of Music of the University of the
Philippines, Diliman, where he retired as a full professor in 1978. He later received the title
Professor Emeritus from the University in 1979. He also became a faculty member of the Centro
Escolar University Conservatory of Music in Manila. San Pedro was known for composing the
official march of Makati.

5. Felipe Padilla De Leon

De Leon was the third of four children by the second marriage of his mother Natalia Padilla to
Juan de Leon. His father died when he was three years old, leaving his mother to raise him and
his elder half-brother, Pedro P. San Diego. Before becoming a musician, he took various odd
jobs to support his family, such as a shoe polisher, carabao herder, carriage driver, and vendor
of various items. In 1927, he took up Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines, but he had to
abandon his studies to make a living. He played the trombone in cabarets and circuses, and
later worked as an assistant conductor of the Nueva Ecija High School Orchestra, where he
started composing music. To improve his composing skills he again enrolled to the University of
the Philippines, and graduated in 1939 with a diploma of music teacher and conductor. Much
later, he continued his studies under Vittorio Giannini at the Juilliard School in New York, U.S.
De Leon married pianist Iluminada Mendoza with whom he had six children, including Bayani, a
prominent composer, and Felipe Jr., a writer.
6. Andrea Veneracion

Andrea Ofilada Veneracion (or Ma'am OA; July 11, 1928 – July 9, 2013) was a Filipina 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 on July 11, 1928, to Macario Ofilada and Raymunda Carriaga. She was raised in
Manila, Philippines.
She 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. She was part of the Philippine swimming team who first competed internationally in
Hong Kong.

7. 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.
On May 10, 1936, Cuenco was born to Feliz Cuenco and Maria Joson in Malolos, Bulacan. As a
boy, he was encouraged to learn the violin and was mentored by his mother, his godmother
Doña Belen Aldaba Bautista and his first teacher, Jovita Tantoco. He finished his elementary
studies at the Immaculata Academy of Malolos in 1948, then went on to study at the University
of Santo Tomas High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in Music, Major in Piano at the
University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music in 1956. He got a scholarship grant at the
UST in the same year and studied the cello under Professor Modesto Marquiz, finishing in 1965.
In 1968, he completed his master's degree in Music at the Sta. ifugao College.
From 1960 to 1968, he was a cellist at the Manila Symphony Orchestra under Dr. Hubert
Zipper, and played for the Filipino Youth Symphony Orchestra. He also played for the Manila
Chamber Soloists from 1966 to 1970. His career as a musical director began in 1960, when he
was discovered by Joseph Estrada playing as part of a band Cuenco formed with friends at an
exclusive restaurant in Makati. In 1963, Cuenco was sent as a delegate to the International
Music Conference in Tokyo, Japan. Aside from being a composer and musical director, he was
also a music teacher at the UST until his death on July 11, 1988.
8. Jovita Fuentes

She was born in Capiz (now Roxas City) to a well-off couple named Canuto and Dolores
Fuentes. At an early age, she displayed interest in music, learning the contemporary songs at
that time.
In 1917, she took up college at the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music. In order
to hone her skills further she pursued her studies abroad, going to Italy. In 1925, Fuentes made
her debut as Cio-Cio-San in Puccini's Madame Butterfly, at the Teatro Municipale de Piacenza,
another of her notable roles were of Mimi in La bohème, Pietro Mascagni's Iris and Richard
Strauss' Salome. She later became an instructor upon her return.
Due to her merits and contributions in her field, she was dubbed as The First Lady of Philippine
Music and in 1976 she earned the title of becoming the first national artist in music.

9. Jose Maceda

Maceda was born in Manila, Philippines, and studied piano, composition and musical analysis at
École Normale de Musique de Paris in France. After returning to the Philippines, he became a
professional pianist, and later studied musicology at Columbia University, and anthropology at
Northwestern University.
Starting in 1952, he conducted fieldwork on the ethnic Music of 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 a
doctorate in ethnomusicology from the UCLA. He began pursuing a 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
Filipino public.

10. Levi Celerio

Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 – April 2, 2002) was a Filipino composer and lyricist who is credited
to writing not less than 4,000 songs. Celerio was recognized as a National Artist of the
Philippines for Music and Literature in 1997.
He is also known for using the leaf as a musical instrument which led to being recognized as the
"only man who could play music using a leaf" by the Guinness Book of Records. This led to him
making guest appearance in television shows recorded outside the Philippines.
Aside from being a musician, Celerio was also a poet and a film actor who appeared in various
Philippine films of the 1950s and 1960s.
Levi Celerio was born on April 30, 1910, in Tondo, Manila to Cornelio Cruz and Juliana Celerio
and was born to a poor family. Celerio's affinity for music was a result of influence from his
mother who is a harpist and a member of a church choir.He was estranged from his father who
is involved in the real estate and jewelry business. His father was never married to his mother.
His mother encouraged him to be involved in music as a distraction from the squalid conditions
of their neighborhood. Despite of this, Celerio became a close acquaintance of gang leader
Asiong Salonga. At his mother's encouragement Celerio started playing the violin at age 11
taking lessons from a member of the Philippine Constabulary Band. Celerio later performed with
the band as its member while simultaneously attending Torres High School. It was during his
high school years that Celerio learned about his father.
He also attended the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music to study violin for two
semesters. Then director Alexander Lippay recommended him for a scholarship at the Academy
of Music in Manila.He received scholarship and became the youngest member of the Manila
Symphony Orchestra.