Music Proj b674

Lucio D. San Pedro He was born on February 11, 1913 in Angono, Rizal, 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. Senyor Lucio San Pedro is a great musician, conductor and teacher. He was born February 11, 1913 in Angono, Rizal. Botong Francisco The Painter is his cousin. Maestro Lucio San Pedro have left a legacy in Angono, he really contributes a lot for the Angono, Rizal to be the center of arts. He was the conductor Peng Kong Grand Mason Concert Band, the San Pedro Band of Angono, who is formerly conducted by his father , and the Banda Angono Numero Uno. Through his works, techniques and talents shared in these two bands they improve and learn a lot in the field of music. Being the conductor of these two bands made him more inspired and devoted for music by seeing the outcome of his imparted talents. Elpidio San Pedro, father of Lucio San Pedro have done a great part of leading his son to the world of conducting and composing. But, Maestro himself find his heart loving music. He studied Conservatory of Music major in Composing and conducting at University of the Philippines Diliman. that UP Conservatory is one of the flagship of UP Diliman, meaning Lucio San Pedro has an inborn talent and he is one of a kind. He was given the title National Artist For Music in 1991. One of the greatest Compositon of Lucio San Pedro is " Ugoy ng Duyan" . It touches many people's heart especially the mother who really offer love, care and protection to their son and daughters.

Lucio San Pedro not just compose a song bu the tries to create a more deeper sense in every lines he construct. "Lahing Kayumanggi" was also a poem made by maestro. It express the way we have to love our country and to be proud that we are Filipinos. He also won awards through his famous works. Maestro Lucio San Pedro's key to succes is not just because of his extraordinary talents but because of his drive to continue working with conviction and devotion. He called his composition " Creative Nationalism", he creates through his talents at the same time he always sees to it that he always comprises the heart of a good musician. 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.

Works: Alabok na Ginto 2. Concerto in D Minor Violin and Orchestra 3. Dalaga ng Bayan Ko 4. Diwata ng Pag-ibig 5. Lahing Kayumanggi 6. Melody in G 7. Overture in B-flat Minor 8. Prelude and Fugue in D Minor 9. Romance in A Major 10. Sa Mahal Kong Bayan 11. Sa Ugoy ng Duyan 12. Triumphal March 13. Visayan Fantasy 14. When Lost in Dreams 15. Woodwind Quartet 1.

Felipe Padilla de Leon A major Philippine composer, conductor, and scholar. He was known best for translating the lyrics of the Philippine National Anthem from the original Spanish to Tagalog. A recepient of numerous awards and honors, he was posthumously named National Artist of the Philippines for music in 1997. He was married to Iluminada Bonus Mendoza and the father of six equally gifted and musical children: (in order of birth) Felipe Mendoza de Leon, Bayani de Leon,Tagumpay de Leon, Luningning de LeonCarbonell, Magdangal de Leon and Marilag de Leon-Mendoza. Felipe Padilla de Leon was born in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija on May 1, 1912. He was educated in Manila and the United States. He taught in various schools in the capital city. He became conductor of Banda Malaya No. 1 of Taytay, Rizal. He was known for Filipinizing western music forms. He was a prodigious composer: for orchestra, Mariang Makiling Overture(1939), Roca Encantada (1950), Maynila Overture (1976), Orchesterstuk (1981); for choral music, Ako'y Pilipino, Lupang Tinubuan, and Ama Namin. De Leon wrote his famous piece "Payapang Daigdig" the morning after he woke up to the destruction of the city of Manila during World War II.He also wrote the classic songs Bulaklak, Alitaptap, Mutya ng Lahi and the kundiman Sarong Banggi. He also composed the first full-length Filipino opera, Noli Me Tangere, and subsequently El Filibusterismo. Many Martial Law babies recall singing his patriotic song " Bagong Lipunan" immediately after the national anthem. Felipe Padilla de Leon is ed as one of the prime exponents of nationalism in Philippine music. He gave the Philippines two fully-written grand operas: Noli Me Tangere in 1957 and the sequel El Filibusterismo in 1970.

He was conferred various awards and distinctions including the Republic Cultural Heritage Award, Doctor of Humanities from UP, Rizal Pro-Patria Award, Presidential Award of Merit, Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award from the City of Manila, among others. On December 8, 1997 De Leon was posthumously conferred by President Fidel V. Ramos the highest honor a Filipino artist can receive, the National Artist Award for music. He is still considered the most prolific composer in Philippine music. The Felipe Padilla de Leon High School in Nueva Ecija was named after him.

Compositions: 1. 11th South East Asian Games March 2. A Christmas Hymn 3. Adios Reina del Cielo 4. Aeit ng Kaaghamang Pambansa 5. Aiiiparo 6. Ako’y Pilipino 7. Ala-ala Kita sa Aking Pagtulog 8. Alay ng Kabataan 9. Bulaklak ng Lahi 10. By the Riverside 11. Calungcaguin March 12. Canyan ang Pagsinta 13. El Filibusterismo (opera) 14. Fantasy for Four Flutes and Percussions 15. Fantasy for Trombone

Lucrecia Roces Kasilag Lucrecia Roces Kasilag (August 31, 1918- August 16, 2008) was a noted composer, educator, cultural and arts , and performing artist. She was named National Artist in Music in 1989. She pioneered the fusion of Filipino ethnic and Western music. She dared to mix indigenous Filipino instruments with Western orchestra in her prize-winning "Toccata for Percussions and Winds, Divertissement and Concertante," and the scores of the Filiasiana, Misang Pilipino and De Profundis. She was fondly called "Tita King". She was born in San Fernando, La Union on August 31, 1918. Her mother, Asuncion Roces-Kasilag, encouraged her in her music studies. Her piano teachers were Concha Cuervo and Pura LacsonVillanueva. She attended Paco High School and graduated as valedictorian in 1930. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English at Philippine Women's University. In 1939 she received a diploma in music teaching at St. Scholastica’s College, where she was a student of Sister Baptista Battig. In 1950, she completed her graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York under a Fulbright Travel Grant. In 1953 she became dean of the PWU College of Music and Fine Arts in 1953. She established in 1957 the Bayanihan Folk Arts Center to research Philippine music. Through her efforts she made Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company the primary artistic and cultural ensemble of the country. In 1977, she retired from her position as Dean and she was honored when she was named Dean Emeritus of the PWU College of Music and Fine Arts. During the Marcos years, Kasilag was very much involved with First Lady Imelda Marcos' Cultural Center of the Philippines. Under the term of President Corazon Aquino she

served three years as special consultant of the Office of the President. She taught at St. Scholastica’s College, Assumption College, the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music, and PWU, where she became dean of the College of Music and Fine Arts from 1953 to 1977. She was president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines during the Marcos years and special consultant during the Aquino istration. She also held key positions in both national and international music organizations, including the League of Filipino Composers, National Music Council of the Philippines, Regional Music Commission of Southeast Asia, Philippine Society for Music Education, Asian Composers League, and the National Music Competition for Young Artists Foundation. She also reaped international recognition as musical director of the Bayanihan Dance Company. Kasilag wrote more than 200 compositions which include folksongs, opera, and orchestral works. Her orchestral body of work includes ―Love Songs,‖ ―Legend of the Sarimanok,‖ ―Ang Pamana,‖ ―Philippine Scenes,‖ ―Her Son,‖ ―Jose,‖ ―Sisa,‖ ―Awit ng mga Awit Psalms,‖ ―Fantaisie on a 4-Note Theme,‖ and ―East Meets Jazz Ethnika.‖ Her compositions as her own preferences are influenced by her professors and Ralph Vaughan Williams, who was introduced by professor, Allan Irving McHose. It is with the so called "EastWest flavour." Kasilag died from pneumonia on August 16, 2008 at the age of 89.

Compositions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Love Songs Legend of the Sarimanok Ang Pamana Philippine Scenes Sisa Awit ng mga Awit Psalms Fantasie on a 4-Note Theme East Meets Jazz Ethnika

Ryan Cayabyab Ryan Cayabyab (born Raymundo Cipriano Pujante Cayabyab on May 4, 1954 in Manila, Philippines but known as Mr. C) is a Filipino musician and was the Executive and Artistic Director of the defunct San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts. He was also a resident judge for the only season of Philippine Idol in 2006. His works range from commissioned full-length ballets, theater musicals, choral pieces, a Mass set to unaccompanied chorus, and orchestral pieces, to commercial recordings of popular music, film scores and television specials. He is now the executive director of the Philpop MusicFest Foundation Inc., the organization behind the Philippine Popular Music Festival, a songwriting competition for amateurs and professionals that seeks to uplift the Philippine Music industry by putting the spotlight on songwriters, and encouraging Filipinos to preserve our musical identity. As music, director, conductor and accompanist, he has performed with leading Philippine music personalities at Avery Fisher Hall in the Lincoln Center in New York City; Carnegie Hall (both the Main and Recital halls) in New York; the Kennedy Center and the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.; the Shrine in Los Angeles; the Orpheum in Vancouver; even at the Circus Maximus of the Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. He has traveled, as music director in most of the Southeast Asian cities, in the cities of Australia as well as in , , Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, and the United States. He has worked in the same shows with Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra, as well as conducted the Philippine

Philharmonic Orchestra for special performances of American jazz singer Diane Schuurand pianist Jim Chappel. He has performed as music director in command performances for King Hasan II in Rabat, Morocco, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia of Spain in Manila, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia inTangiers, Queen Beatrix at the Noordeinde Palace in the Netherlands, and U.S. President Bill Clinton in Boston, Massachusetts. In Manila, he has conducted the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines for a concert of Philippine and American contemporary music; and the Manila Chamber Orchestra for a concert of his original works. Ryan Cayabyab is a laureate of the Onassis International Cultural Competitions (2nd Prize), having won for original music composition for dance (2001). He is a TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) awardee for contemporary Filipino music in 1978. He won the Grand Prize award at the first Metro Manila Popular Music Festival for the song "Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika". As of 2006, he has won three international Grand Prix awards for his compositions; in the First Seoul Song Festival, in the Voice of Asia Song Festival in the former U.S.S.R., and in the Tokyo Music Festival. He has won the Jingle of the Year award from the Philippine advertising industry as well as Bronze Awardee at the New York Film and Television Awards. He has won a total of ten best movie score awards from the various film award-giving bodies.

Works: 1. Bato sa Buhangin 2. Maalaala Mo Kaya 3. Ikaw 4. Minamahal Kita 5. Dahil Sa Iyo 6. Hindi Kita Malimot 7. Ang Tangi Kong Pag-ibig 8. Buhat 9. Kampana ng Simbahan 10. Heto na Naman - music and lyrics by Ryan Cayabyab

11. Namamasko 12. Tuloy na Tuloy pa rin ang Pasko 13. Sa Paskong Darating 14. Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon (Ang Pasko ay Sumapit) 15. Diyos Lamang ang Nakakaalam

Rodolfo S. Cornejo Rodolfo S. Buenaventura is the first Filipino composer who received an honory degree from a government recognized music school in the United States. He is also remarkable for his pianistic and compositional know-how by extemporizing a piano composition at the spur of the moment. He was born on 15 May 1909 in Singalong, Manila. At the age of six, he had his formal piano lessons. After 2 years, he played fourteen pieces and six encores for his recital.In that same year, he became the organist of the Pasay Catholic Church when they moved in. When he was ten, he composed a piano piece entitled, "Glissando Waltz". He became so keen and inspired about music by his mother's genuine . At 13, he composed the "Salute", a military march that was also published. At 14, twenty-six of his compositions were listed by the United Publishing Company Inc. He graduated with Teacher's Diploma on Pianoforte and a Teacher's Diploma in Science and Composition. He taught in his Alma Mater, the UP Conservatory of Music. He became the researcher and official composer of the Philippine government-inexile, as appointed by President Quezon where he was commissioned to write a symphony and an opera. He was also the composer of the documentary film on the funeral of President Quezon. He was also the soloist of the Manila Symphony Orchestra, with theFilipinas Youth Symphony Orchestra and with the [[UP Symphony Orchestra. He was also the musical-director of the Sampaguita and Vera-Perez Movie Companies.

He is a recipient of numerous awards whose compositional style suits to his audience and cannot be classified.

Works: Cicatriz (as Dr. Rodolfo C. Cornejo) 1958 Berdaderong ginto (as Dr. Rodolfo Cornejo) 1958 Anino ni Bathala (as Dr. Rodolfo Cornejo) 1958 Kundiman ng puso (as Dr. Rodolfo Cornejo)

Jose Maceda Maceda, José (b. January 31, 1917, Manila – d. May 5, 2004, Quezon City). Philippine composer of interdisciplinary works that have been performed throughout the world; he is also active as an ethnomusicologist. Prof. Maceda studied piano with Victorina Lobregat at the Academy of Music in Manila, where he graduated in 1935, and with Alfred Cortot at the École Normale de Musique de Paris from 1937– 41. Later he studied in the USA, including private piano studies with E. Robert Schmitz in San Francisco from 1946–49 and musicology studies at Queens College and Columbia University from 1950–52. He then studied anthropology at the University of Chicago and ethnomusicology at Indiana University in 1957–58 and the University of California at Los Angeles from 1961–63, where he earned his PhD. He also worked with the Groupe de Recherches Musicales in Paris in 1958. Among his many honors are grants from the Guggenheim (1957–58, for study in the USA) and Rockefeller (1968, for research in Africa and Brazil) foundations, the honor l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques in (1978) and the University of The Philippines Outstanding Research Award (1985). He has also received the John D. Rockefeller Award from the Asian Cultural Council in New York (1987), the Philippine National Science Society Achievement Award (1988), the award Tanglaw ng Lahi from Ateneo University (1988), and the award Gawad ng Lahi from the Cultural Center of The Philippines (1989). Furthermore, he has received the Fumio Koizumi Award for

Ethnomusicology in Japan (1992), the National Research Council Award (1993), the award Araw ng Maynila (1996), the Nikkei Award in Tokyo (1997), the award of the Fondazione Civitella Ranieri in Italy (1997), and the title of National Artist for Music (1998). He also holds the titles of Officier dans l'Ordre National du Mérite (1997) and Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (2001) from the government of . Initially active as a pianist, he appeared in , The Philippines and the USA from 1935–57, during which time he introduced many new works, mainly by French composers, and pioneered a French style of piano playing in The Philippines. He also appeared as a conductor of avant-garde music that he arranged for various Philippine organizations and UNESCO from 1964–68 and introduced music by Edgard Varèse, Iannis Xenakis and other composers alongside Chinese and Philippine music. Prof. Maceda has devoted much of his time to ethnomusicological studies of the music of The Philippines and Southeast Asia since 1953. He has done field music research throughout The Philippines and in eastern and western Africa, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam and has written extensively about this research for publications in Canada, , Malaysia, The Philippines, the UK, and the USA. He wrote the book Gongs and Bamboos: A Panorama of Philippine Music Instruments (1998, University of The Philippines Press) and the composer-pianist Yuji Takahashi translated many of his articles into Japanese in the book Drone and Melody (1989, Shinjuku Shobo Company). In addition, the University of The Philippines in Quezon City contains an archive of more than 2,500 hours of his field recordings in 51 language groups, complete with musical instruments, photographs, text transcriptions, and translations. He taught as Professor of Piano and Ethnomusicology at the University of The Philippines from 1952–90, where he was named a University Professor in 1988 and as professor emeritus until 2004. He served as Executive Director of its Center for Ethnomusicology from 1997–2004. He has also given lectures throughout the world, including the Charles Seeger Lecture at the meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology in Los Angeles in 1984 and a lecture as the

International Arts Symposium Speaker at the National Academy of Arts in Seoul in 1994. Most recently, he spoke at the Arts Summit in Indonesia in 1995, was the Rayson Huang Visiting Lecturer at the University of Hong Kong in 1999 and served as the Jean-MacDuff Vaux composer-in-residence at Mills College in 2000.

Ramon Santos Ramon Pagayon Santos belongs to the avant-garde musicians with Dr. Jose Maceda whose methods are truly the most modern in the world. Dr. Ramon Santos was born in Pasig, Rizal on 25 February 1941. Since all the of his family except his father were of the Pasig Artists Guild, he was exposed to music at a young age. When he was in the elementary grades, he had his only formal music lessons with her grandmother, Josefa Andrada Pagayon and a few violin lessons with another teacher. He graduated valedictorian at Pasig Catholic School, elementary department in 1954. He completed high school at the San Jose Seminary where he ed a choir. He studied at the UP Conservatory of Music, major in Composition and Conducting. He used to expose himself to all kinds of music in the UP Library. He was so amazed with the avant-garde music of Varese- the association of sounds- sirens, percussions, chimes, and so fourth. He was also exposed to Jose Maceda's avant-garde composition-Ugma-Ugma. The greatest exposure he had was in 1966 International Music Symposium held in Manila where all the avant-garde people came and presented their works. He became a Fulbright-Hays travel grantee and graduated with distinction a Master in Music degree major in composition. He also studied in the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1969 where he studied composition and took contemporary music. There, he also became the assistant teacher from 1969 to 1972, and assistant conductor of the University Chorus.

Upon his return to the Philippines in 1972, he was soon appointed Assistant Professor in Composition at the UP College of Music. He became its chairman of Composition and Conducting Department. He was a conductor of the Ateneo de Manila University Glee Club, chairman of the Graduate Commitee of the UP College of Music, a professor lecturer at the PWU, and also a guest-lecturer of the Philippine Educators' Theater Arts.

Compositions:

1. Ding Ding Nga Diwaya 2. Nabasag ang Banga at Iba't Iba Pang Pinagugpongug-pong na Pananalita para sa Labinganim na Tinig 3. Ang Hardin ni Ligaya (lyrics by the composer), 1965 4. Ang Puting Waling-Waling (lyrics by the composer), 1972 5. Images, 1975

Awards 1. 2nd prize, Bonifacio Centennial Composition Contest, 1963 2. Award of Recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Music, Minerva Association, 1963 3. 2nd prize, National Composition Contest, 1963

Josefino -ChinoToledo Josefino "Chino" Toledo is a Filipino composer and conductor. He teaches music composition and theory at the University of the Philippines College of Music, and is cofounder of the Metro Manila Community Orchestra. He is an active and recognized figure in the contemporary Asian music scene. Toledo’s music is characterized by great energy and often bears a relationship to the traditional music of Southeast Asia. He was a founder of the University of the Philippines Festival Orchestra, Crosswave Symphony Orchestra Project and the chamber vocal ensemble AUIT. He is also former music director of the Manila Symphony Orchestra and Peace Philharmonic Orchestra of the Philippines, and guest conductor the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and theSan Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra in their concerts and other orchestral activities. Toledo is noted for premiering works of Filipino composers as well as other Asian composers. As the artistic director of the 1997 Asian Composers League Music Festival inManila, he was cited for conducting the local premier of twenty contemporary music compositions during the week-long festival. Toledo was also critically praised for his conducting of premier performances of new works by Filipino composers during the Philippine Centennial Celebration. His conducting has been described as "clear and expressive"; and "like weaving a musical magic". Philippine art critic Leonor Goquingco recently wrote that ―Toledo is one of the (Philippines’) finest and best conductors ever.‖ Among his recent awards are the 1997 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award; Civitella Ranieri Fellowship in Italy; the International Award for the Arts, and the Chancellor

Awards for Outstanding Musical Works from the University of the Philippines.

Manuel P. Maramba Fr. Manuel Maramba, OSB, one of the leading musical figures in the country today, began his music studies with the Benedictine Sisters in St. Agnes Academy in Legaspi City and St. Scholastica's College, Manila, and then earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music. He later undertook further studies at the Pedagogy Conservatory of John Hopkins University, obtaining his master's degree at the age of 19. His artistry matured in the Western world's most formidable music institutions like the Peabody Conservatory of Music for Composition and a Teacher's Certificate in Theory; Yale University's School of Music for his Master of Musical Performance; the Kirkenmusikschule in Regensburg, where he studied sacred music, and the Hochschule fur Musik in Vienna, Austria where he studied piano, organ and harpsichord. Fr. Maramba is a Benedictine Monk of the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat and former director of Paul VI Institute of the Liturgy in Bukidnon, Philippines. He is also a faculty member of the UST Conservatory of Music and St. Scholastica's College, Manila, where he teaches Theory, Composition and Piano.

Lea Salonga Lea Salonga, KLD, is a Filipina singer and actress who starred in the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards. Salonga is the first Filipino artist to be signed to an international record label (having been signed to Atlantic Records in 1993). She is also the first Philippine-based artist to have received a major album release and distribution deal in the United States (the second being Charice Pempengco with her 2010 album Charice), and one of the best-selling Filipino artist of all time, having sold over five million copies of her albums worldwide. She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and Fantine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway. She portrayed both roles on the musical's 10th and 25th anniversary show in London respectively. She also provided the singing voice of two official Disney Princesses: Jasmine in Aladdin (1992), and Fa Mulan in Mulan (1998) and Mulan II (2004). Salonga was named a Disney Legend in 2011 for her work with The Walt Disney Company. Salonga has a range from D3 to C6. Salonga has been praised for the control over her powerful vocals which can easily showcase a wide array of emotion and soundscapes. In her popular music releases, Salonga has been known to sing "simple love songs" which is common in traditional Original Pilipino Music. In both Disney princess singing voices, Salonga showcases her head tones which reach up to F5. Salonga's most famous role as Kim in Miss Saigon has been known as showcasing her voice well from the top to the bottom. Her top notes have a bright and angelic quality, while her lower range has warm round tones

Discography 1.Small Voice (1981) 2.Lea (1988) 3.Miss Saigon (Original London Cast) (1990) 4.The King And I (Hollywood Studio Cast) (1992) 5.Little Tramp – The Musical (1992) 6.Aladdin (soundtrack) (1992) 7.Lea Salonga (1993) 8.Les Misérables: The Dream Cast in Concert (1995) 9.Hey Mr. Producer: The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh (1997) 10. I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing (1997) 11. Mulan (soundtrack) (1998) 12. By Heart (1999) 13. Lea... In Love (1999) 14. Lea Salonga Live Vol. 1 (2000) 15. Lea Salonga Live Vol. 2 (2000) 16. Lea Salonga: The Christmas Album (2000)

Cecile Licad One of the most outstanding concert artists in the world is pianist Cecile Licad. Born in the Philippines, Licad began her studies on piano at the age of 3 with her mother and made her public debut in Manila at the tender age of 7. At 14,Licad played for pianist Rudolf Serkin, who upon hearing her exclaimed "when I was her age, I could not touch what she is doing." Licad was soon packed off to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied withSerkin, Seymour Lipkin, and Mieczyslaw Horszowski. In 1980 Licad was awarded the prestigious Leventritt Award, even though she hadn't competed for it and the competition itself had been dormant for several years. Her recording career began promisingly enough, with Licad's early CBS recordings of the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 and the Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 invading the Billboard classical charts. After her work with CBS ended in 1989 with a splendid album of Schumann's piano music, she recorded some chamber music withNadja Salerno-Sonnenberg for EMI, also appearing with the latter at Lincoln Center. In the mid'90s Licad recorded two discs of Chopin and Ravel for the MusicMasters label that represented some of her best recordings. But even asLicad was winning unqualified raves for her work in the concert hall, changing economics in the classical music market sank MusicMasters, taking her recordings along with it. In 2003 Licad made a stunning comeback in the record market with a magnificent recording of piano music by American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk for the Naxos label. All along Licad has continued to tour and give concerts even as competition among soloists for a shrinking number of engagements is growing tighter by each season. About a Licad concert, a Washington Post reviewer once wrote "every sound she made was beautiful, every note and phrase the result of intellect warmed by emotion." Indeed, Licad is so good that she makes you forget the composer and luxuriate in the warmth and deep feeling elicited by her playing alone -- she could probably bring one to tears with a Czerny etude.

UP Madrigals The University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers (UPMS), also known as the Philippine Madrigal Singers or simply Madz, is one of the major cultural groups based in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Its current conductor and musical director is Mark Anthony Carpio. They are the first choir in the world to win the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing twice (in 1997 and in 2007). The Philippine Madrigal Singers (affectionately known as the "Madz") was founded in 1963 by National Artist for Music, Professor Andrea O. Veneracion. The Madz is mostly composed of students, faculty and alumni from the University of the Philippines. The group's trademark performance stance, singing in a semicircle without a conductor, is instantly recognizable. A standard Madz performance clearly exhibits the seamless fusion of their musical virtuosity, technical proficiency and soulful singing. Their highly eclectic repertoire spans the breadth and length of vocal music: from Renaissance madrigals to the avant-garde, from Filipino and international folksongs to the latest pop hits, even from the most cerebral choral masterpieces to the most humorous of novelty numbers. This world-class choir can honestly sing anything with authenticity and professionalism while keeping their audience thoroughly entertained. The group performs a variety of styles and forms but it specializes in the Madrigal, a polyphonic and challenging musical style popular during the Renaissance period where singers and guests would gather around the table during a banquet to sight-sing and make music together. This served as the inspiration for their unique style of singing - singing seated in a semicircle without a conductor. As Philippine ambassador of culture and goodwill, the Madz has had the pleasure and privilege of giving command performances for royalty and heads of state. These include Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, Presidents Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, Queen Sofia of Spain, King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

This choral institution has produced more than 200 choral and vocal pedagogues from its ranks, actively and constantly shaping the local and international choral landscape. Madz alumni are much sought-after as singers, conductors, arrangers and music educators. Its corps of composers and musical arrangers continue to produce new compositions and choral settings of Philippine music, thus contributing to the global growth of choral literature. As resident artists of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, outreach concerts have taken the Madz to far-flung areas seldom reached by most performing artists. Averaging two international concert tours per year, the Madz relentlessly engages in the promotion of Philippine music and the Filipino Artist globally. Presently under the masterful leadership of Madz alumnus Mark Anthony A. Carpio, the Philippine Madrigal Singers continues to set new standards of excellence at a global level. Since their humble beginnings as a university-based chamber ensemble throughout their legendary rise as international choral champions, this 47-year old cultural icon known as the Philippine Madrigal Singers has irreversibly cemented its stature as one of world's best choirs of all time. On 17 April 2011, the Singers were honored to be featured with the historic and Grammy winning Mormon Tabernacle Choir on their weekly broadcast - Music and the Spoken Word.

Andrea Venerecion Andrea Veneracion (or Ma'am OA; July 11, 1928 – July 9, 2013)[1] was a Filipina choral conductor and a recipient of the 1999 National Artist for Music award.[2] She founded the Philippine Madrigal Singers in 1963.[3] She was also an adjudicator in numerous international choral competitions and was an active force in choral music before her massive stroke in 2005. Later on, she continued to pursue her master's degree in Voice at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, as a Fulbright scholar, where she encountered the Indiana University Madrigal Singers, who 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 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 semicircular formation without a conductor. The Choirmaster is at the left-most end of the circle, and leads the group by giving their cues. Under her direction, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won major awards in international choral competitions, including those in Spittal an der Drau, Austria; Arezzo and Gorizia, Italy; Neuchâtel,Switzerland; Debrecen, Hungary; Varna, Bulgaria; Tolosa, Spain; and Marktoberdorf, . 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 Grand Prix for Choral Singing the following year and eventually won the title in Tours, . Veneracion was the founding choirmaster and first conductor of the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music (AILM) Chorale. Later, some of her choristers established their own careers as well-known music performers and choral composers, conductors and arrangers in the Philippines; they

include Ryan Cayabyab, Joel Navarro, Joy Nilo, Victor Asuncion, Montet Acoymo, Robert Delgado, Edgardo Nepomuceno, Jonathan Velasco, Eudenice Palaruan, Fr. Arnold Zamora, Christopher Borela, Anna Tabita Abeleda-Piquero, Ruben Federizon, Eric Robert Santos and the present Madz Choirmaster, Mark Anthony Carpio. In 1997, she was given the TOFIL (The Outstanding Filipino) Award for Culture and the Arts For her contributions to the development of choral singing in the Philippines. In 1999, she 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 ing 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.

Loboc Singers The Loboc Children's Choir or LCC is a school-based choir composed of thirty schoolchildren of the Loboc Central Elementary School, in Loboc,Bohol, Philippines. The children are between the ages of nine and thirteen years old. The Choir has held concerts all over the Philippines and abroad. It plays an active part in school, town, and provincial activities. In 2000, it represented the country during the International Children's Culture and Arts Festival in Tianjin, China, and held concerts in Beijing and Hong Kong. It became the National Champion in the category of Children's Choirs during the National Music Competitions for Young Artists in 2001. These competitions are the most prestigious music competitions in the Philippines. A notable project was its partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, the leading art museum in the Philippines, which launched an exhibit on the arts and culture of Bohol. The Choir, under the auspices of the Met and of its leaders led by Trustee Bea Zobel, Jr. and Executive Director Ino Manalo, regaled the exhibit launch with a special concert which was followed by a Christmas Concert tour in major business establishments in Makati City and Ayala Alabang. This climaxed with a command performance for the Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain in a cultural exchange visit to the Philippines. The group also performed in a back-to-back concert with the University of the Philippines Singing Ambassadors, winner of the prestigious Gran Premio Citta di Arezzo in 2001 during the 49th Concorso Polifonico Internazionale Guido d'Arezzo in Arezzo, Italy. The concert, entitled An Evening of Heaven's Music, was held in line with the Heritage Conservation Program in the Province of Bohol. The Choir also figured in a series of activities in collaboration with the Diocese of Tagbilaran and the Metropolitan Museum of Manila which has selected Bohol as a model partner in developing its art and development programs. On September 2, 2003, the children performed at the Studio at the

Riverbank, Marikina City, under the sponsorship of the Pinatubo sa Pagkakaisa Foundation. Parts of the proceeds of the September 2, 2003 performance went to the salaries of teachers at the Wenceslao Village Elementary School at the Wenceslao Village resettlement project in Dau,Lubao, Pampanga. On 15 October 2013 a magnitude 7.2 earthquake largely destroyed Loboc Church. The choir's current conductor, Alma Fernando-Taldo or "Ma'am Taldo", teaches at the Loboc Elementary School, handling English and Character Education for fifth-grade students. Her first musical education was provided by her paternal grandfather; she later took solfeggio classes. To prepare herself as a choral conductor, she attended workshops and master classes from known Filipino conductors such as Edgardo Manguiat of the University of the Philippines Singing Ambassadors (UPSA), Ramon Santos, Chino Toledo, Andrea Veneracion of the Philippine Madrigal Singers or MADZ and Francisco Feliciano. Edgardo Manguiat also acts as a consultant to the choir.

Jovita Fuentes Jovita Fuentes, the great diva, is the first female National Artist for Music in 1976. Her significant contributions are the publication of the song of Filipino compositions and the organization of the Boys Town Band Concert. theater artist, she made a name in European operas portraying the role of Cio-cio-san in Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly at the Teatro Municipale di Piacenza. She was given the unprecedented award of "La Embahadora de Filipinas a su Madre Patria" by Spain. Also responsible for producing operas in the Philippines. She became the chairperson of the Music Promotion Foundation of the Philippines. An internally acclaimed artist, she also made performances in Manila, Japan,, United States. She was the first Filipina who had sung all over the world. She also sang for charitable organizations to raise funds with San Lazaro Hospital, Abiertas House of Friendship, La Liga de Damas Catolicas, Convento de Monjas Carmelitas, and the Casa de Buen Pastor. he establishment of the Music Production Foundation by an act of Philippine Congress was due to her influence and appeals. It was signed into law by President Ramon Magsaysay and was funded by the government. With the foundation's accomplishment and successful productions under her as the appointed chairman, Republic Act No. 3630, that appropriated P900,000 a year as the government's aid to the Music Promotion Foundation in order to organize, develop, and maintain a Filipino symphony orchestra and a Filipino opera company was signed by President Diosdado Macapagal. She continued to be a dynamic leader in the filed of music as she was working with musical clubs and organizing concerts. The chairperson of Music Promotion Foundation Board of Trustees, she became the president of the Artists Guild of the Philippines, head of the voice department of the UP Conservatory of Music and of Holy Ghost, and the president of the Associacion de Damas de Caridad of Sta. Isabel College, to mention a few.

Gilopez Kabayao Third generation scion of a musically gifted family, GILOPEZ KABAYAO was born on December 23, 1929 at Fara-on, the sugar plantation of his family near Fabrica, Negros Occidental, the Philippines. His maternal grandfather was Gil Lopez, wellknown Philippine musician and composer who taught his five daughters to sing and play the violin, viola and piano. His daughter Marcela, a piano prodigy at nine and later a teacher of that instrument, married Doroteo Kabayao, a violinist as well as a surgeon and farmer. Doroteo had worked his way through Rush Medical College of the University of Chicago in the United States, playing his violin. Born into such a musical family GILOPEZ and his three sisters—Punay, Nita and Marcelita—were early introduced to fine music. All were to become distinguished performers, in particular GILOPEZ—named for his grandfather whose two names were combined into one—and his youngest sister, Marcelita. From the age of three GILOPEZ improvised short pieces in the style of the minuet on the piano. At six he began to study the violin under his father and the piano under his mother. At age nine he made his debut with the local symphony orchestra playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor. Nevertheless, in his early years GILOPEZ aspired to be a surgeon like his father, and his sisters still how he operated mercilessly on their dolls. Young KABAYAO continued his musical studies during these years and acted as courier to the Philippine guerrilla fighters when the occasion arose. In June 1946 when life had returned to a semblance of normalcy after the war the Kabayao children, considered the "leading child prodigies of the day," gave a t recital in the gymnasium of Santo Tomas University, Manila, playing a "select repertoire of highly difficult pieces rarely played by artists of their age." On May 1, 1948 GILOPEZ aged 18, and his pianist sister Marcelita, 14, made their international debut at the Town Hall in New York to critical acclaim. Two years later, March 18, 1950,

GILOPEZ gave a recital at Carnegie Hall where he again gained high accolades. The New York Times critic wrote: "he has a place among the finest of our young virtuosi," and noted that he "seemed to hold the large Carnegie Hall audience in the palm of his hand from beginning to end." The New York Herald Tribune reviewer rhapsodized that KABAYAO’s "poetic sense, his extraordinary tonal range, his strength and tranquility bespeak the eloquent heart that can lift him from among technicians and place him among artists." GILOPEZ won second place. As a result he and, on her own merits, Marcelita were accepted for the Academia Musicale Chigiana, a summer school of music subsidized in full by Count Chigi who annually turned half his palace over to the academy for living accommodations and classes. Jacques Thibaud, world renowned violinist, was one of the masters that summer and he singled out young KABAYAO for special attention. Of GILOPEZ Thibaud said: "You have fire, you have feeling, you have elegance." When he plays in the barrios or for schools, KABAYAO often talks as well as plays, and uses amusing "tricks" and guessing games to capture the audiences' attention. He then offers them a program which he likens to a "balanced meal," a light Mozart melody for an "appetizer," Richard Strauss or a Beethoven sonata for a "main dish," Sarasate or Kreisler pieces for "vegetables" and Filipino folk songs for "dessert." For his concert hall performances, critics have noted, he adopts a "comfortable stance with no more flourish than is necessary," and proceeds to "sweep through a taxing program." On Guam KABAYAO made his first appeal for donations of used records for Philippine schools. He was convinced that young people were not deterred from concert-going by cost, but by lack of exposure to classical music, and that they need to hear good music from a young age in order to appreciate and benefit from it. He had also become concerned over the adverse effect on young people of "rock" and other popular music that consists primarily of noise and beat, a concern that was to increase over the years. Noting that African tribes use an incessant beat to arouse warriors to fight, he said that the same aggressive attitudes can be seen in young people who listen to such music, pointing out how groups of youth have

turned into destructive mobs as the result of rock concerts. He believes that good music, on the other hand, reduces tension and aggressiveness in young people, refines the sensibilities and helps create better human beings. He developed this theory fully in his article "Music As Therapy for the Masses," incorporated in The Role of Music in a Changing Society which was published by the National Music Council of the Philippines in 1970. KABAYAO is not against popular music per se. There is a dance band on the family hacienda and he has helped upgrade its standard of playing. What concerns him is the lack of an alternative. The media, he says, emphasizes "pop" to the exclusion of all else, "yet pop music comes and goes while the music of the masters lingers on. I am trying to balance the interests of our people. As of now it is 90 percent pop music." KABAYAO tested his theory that exposure to classical music engenders an understanding and appreciation of such music. In 1957 he gave phonographs and records to seven elementary schools in provincial barrios. Teachers were asked to play the records between classes and identify them for the students. In January 1966 KABAYAO said that the "results were amazing, even among school children who had been originally cynical and defiant of authority. Moreover 90 percent of the students, after a short period of time, were able to acquire a large repertoire, ranging from the simplest to the most complicated musical works." For example, in 1964 a young man at a barrio concert came up to him and asked when he would play Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor. Questioned as to how he knew it, the youth said he had heard it in his school where KABAYAO donated a phonograph and records. A hobby, rather than a business, but one that interests him as much as music and farming, is photography. KABAYAO is never without his camera, and his sisters have long complained about having to pose for him under any and all conditions. He even rowed out to photograph them being rescued from the water when their boat overturned. Sister Punay, herself a concert violinist, says he could easily be a professional photographer, an art director—he supervises the art layout for his programs—or an architect. He is, she adds, an extraordinarily well rounded personality. He is fond of all forms of sports, from horseback riding to scuba diving, and does not seek to protect his talented fingers from break or sprain.

Hardworking, extremely methodical and neat (necessary, he says, because the less time one has the more orderly one must be), he is also fun loving, with a strong sense of humor, and enjoys being with people. For almost 20 years now KABAYAO has been taking music to the people—wherever they are. He has played for Philippine mountain tribesmen on remote northern rice terraces, for science students in the Muslim south, and even for convicts in prison in General Santos, Cotabato, Mindanao. Warned that the latter were dangerous, he nevertheless went into the cell block after the concert to talk to the men, some of whom requested help in obtaining instruments so that they, too, could learn to play. In 1972, while on tour in Hawaii, he learned there was a colony of retired Filipino field hands living at Kona on the island of Hawaii. He flew there at his own expense "to lift the spirits of the old men of Kona," many of whom had been caught in the islands by World War II and had never gotten home. He visited them first in their shacks and invited them to a free concert in their honor. To his surprise they arrived dressed immaculately, and their tears flowed freely as he finished the recital with Filipino folk songs. Many of the oldsters, in their appreciation and pride, pressed money into the hand of his accompanist. He also volunteered to play for the lepers on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, in exchange for a shipment of used medical equipment and a portable X-ray for a medical mission on the island of Bungao, Sulu. At the other end of the spectrum his concerts in Japan were attended by Japanese royalty, and when Crown Prince Akihito and his wife came to the Philippines on a state visit in 1972 he played "a command performance." In 1968 KABAYAO also came out against the proposed—and since constructed—Philippine Cultural Center, which was actively ed by Imelda Marcos, wife of the Philippine president. He argued that, "one transistorized record player in every school will do a lot more to bring culture through fine music than a big massive hall located in only one point of the Philippines," and reminded his fellow citizens once again that since "good music can develop your sensibilities, your sensitivity to things around you and your comion for your fellowman," it should be made available to as many people as possible.

Oscar Yatco Oscar Yatco (23 November 1931) is a Filipino conductor, professor and violinist in the Philippines. He was the conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (previously known as the C Philharmonic Orchestra). He was born in 23 November 1931 in Tanuan, Batangas, from a musically-inclined family. He became the youngest member of the Manila Symphony Orchestra at the age of 14 and graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Music at the age of 16. e pursued his study in music in the United States and . In 1956 he received first prize in an exclusive, nationwide competition in Munich, and later became a regular soloist of various philharmonic orchestras in Berlin and Munich. After a couple of years, he returned to the Philippines and became the musical director of the Manila Symphony Orchestra for ten years. Due to his exemplary skill and recognizable unique talent, he was given lifetime tenure as a professor in the Academy of Music in Hanover, in 1979. A year later, he was appointed as the conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. He also held the position of First Concertmaster of the Wagner Festival Orchestra at Bayreuth from 1974 to 1979.

Conducted Music: 1. Juan Nakpil's Pahimakas (Farewell) 1897 (Funeral March) 2. Julian Felipe's National Anthem (March Nacional Filipinas) for orchestra 1904 3. Antonio Molina's Hatinggabi 4. Jose Estela's Ang Maya 1905 5. Nicanor Abelardo's Cinderella Overture 1931 6. Francisco Buencamino, Sr.'s Piano Concerto 7. Rodolfo S. Cornejo's First Piano Concerto in D Minor 1933

OPM (Original Pilipino Music) Original Pilipino Music, now more commonly termed Original Pinoy Music or Original Philippine Music or OPM for short, originally referred only to Philippine pop songs, particularly ballads, such as those popular after the collapse of its predecessor, the Manila Sound, in the late 1970s, up until the present. In the 70's Nora Aunor, Pilita Corrales, Eddie Peregrina, Victor Wood, ASIN and many more. In the 1970s the major commercial Philippine pop music artists were, Pops Fernandez, Claire dela Fuente, Didith Reyes, Rico Puno, Ryan Cayabyab, Basil Valdez, Celeste Legaspi,Hajji Alejandro, Rey Valera, and Freddie Aguilar, Imelda Papin, Eva Eugenio, Nonoy Zuniga and many others. Between the 1980s and 1990s, OPM was led by artists such as Regine Velasquez, Sharon Cuneta, APO Hiking Society, José Mari Chan, Dingdong Avanzado, Rodel Naval, Janno Gibbs, Ogie Alcasid, Joey Albert, Lilet, Martin Nievera, Manilyn Reynes, Lea Salonga, Vina Morales, Raymond Lauchengco, JoAnne Lorenzana, Francis Magalona, and Gary Valenciano among many others. In the 1990s, the famous artists/bands included Eraserheads, Smokey mountain, Donna Cruz, Jessa Zaragoza, Ariel Rivera, Southborder, Afterimage, Andrew E., Jaya, Rivermaya, Ella May Saison among many others. Underground bands emerged and along with them were their perceptions of idealism and self-expression. The famous lyricist of Circle’s End, Geno Georsua landed on top as the melodramatic expressionist. Bassist Greg Soliman of UST Pendong grasps the title as the best bassist of underground music. From its inception, OPM has been centered in Manila, where Tagalog, and English are the dominant languages. Other ethnolinguistic groups such as the Visayan, Bikol, and Kapampangan, despite making music in their native languages have not been recognized as OPM, except in unusual cases like the Bisrock (Visayan Rock music) song "Charing" by Davao band 1017.

Multiculturalism advocates, and federalists often associate this discrepancy to the Tagalog-centric cultural hegemony of the capital city of Manila. Having successfully created a subgenre of Philippine Rock they called Bisrock, the Visayans by far have the biggest collection of modern music in their native language, with great contributions from Visayan bands Phylum, and Missing Filemon. However, a band called Groupies' Panciteria that hails from Tacloban, a Winaray-speaking city, launched a free able mp3 album onSoundclick.com in 2009 containing 13 Tagalog songs and only one very short one in the Cebuano language.[1] Following suit are the Kapampangans. The debut music video of "Oras" (Time) by Tarlac City-based Kapampangan band Mernuts has penetrated MTV Pilipinas, making it the first ever Kapampangan music video to the ranks of other mainstream Filipino music videos. "RocKapampangan: The Birth of Philippine Kapampangan Rock," an album of modern remakes of folk Kapampangan extemporaneous songs by various Kapampangan bands was also launched last February 2008, which are now regularly played via Kapampangan cable channel Infomax-8 and via one of Central Luzon's biggest FM radio stations, GVFM 99.1. Inspired by what the locals call "Kapampangan cultural renaissance," Angeles City-born balladeer Ronnie Liang rendered Kapampangan translations of some of his popular songs such as "Ayli" (Kapampangan version of "Ngiti"), and "Ika" (Kapampangan version of "Ikaw") for his repackaged album. Despite the growing clamor for non-Tagalog, and nonEnglish music, and greater representation of other Philippine languages, the local Philippine music industry, which is centered in Manila, is unforthcoming in venturing investments to other locations. Some of their major reasons include the language barrier, small market size, and socio-cultural emphasis away from regionalism in the Philippines. The country's first songwriting competition, Metro Manila Popular Music Festival, was first established in 1977 and launched by the Popular Music Foundation of the Philippines. The event featured many prominent singers and songwriters during its time. It was held annually for seven years until its discontinuation on 1985. It was later revived in 1996 as the "Metropop Song Festival",

running for another seven years before being discontinued in 2003 due to the decline of its popularity. Another variation of the festival had been established called the Himig Handog contest which began on 2000, operated by ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiary music label Star Records. Five competitions had been held so far starting from 2000 to 2003 and was eventually revived in 2013. Unlike its predecessors, the contest has different themes which reflect the type of song entries chosen as finalists each year. In 2012, the Philippine Popular Music Festival was launched and is said to be inspired by the first songwriting competition.

OPM Artists: 1. Noel Cabangon

You can feel how genuinely honest his rendition is through his delivery of every note combined with his extreme guitar playing skills. I get this feeling that he is respected by his peers in the music industry.

2. Erik Santos

Give him any ballads and his rendition will just keep blowing you away. His tone and delivery are consistently romantically executed. His emotions show not solely just in his performance but also in his voice. He has total control and knows when to lay down his power or when to keep pleasing his listeners. I look up to this guy.

3.Regine Velasquez

She is a legend! I don’t see the need for me to describe her or her music but please let me. She is not a songbird but a living Goddess gifted with so much Artistry, Brilliance and Range in music. She is a powerhouse. Able to wow the masses and the elites.

4.Sarah Geronimo

a Filipino recording artist, songwriter, producer and actress. Born and raised in Sampaloc, Manila she rose to fame after winning the Star for a Night singing competition in 2003. Her debut album, Popstar: A Dream Come True, reached quintuple platinum status and made her, at age 16, the youngest multiplatinum recording artist.

5. Martin Nievera

a Filipino-American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the main hosts of musical variety show ASAP on ABSCBN. In March 2012, he was announced as one of the four celebrity judges of The X Factor Philippines, which aired on ABS-CBN by the 2nd quarter of 2012.