Pay-an,Mcheal T.

10-Resourcefulness

Levi Celerio
Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 April 2, 2002) was a Filipino composer and lyricist. Celerio was a prolific
songwriter, 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 to parents that hailed from Baliuag,
Bulacan. 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!
He was married to Leonila Jose. They had two daughters, namely Divinia and Nora.
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."
He died at the Delgado Clinic in Quezon City on April 2, 2002, at the age of 91, just two days after the
death of a fellow National Artist, Lucio San Pedro (who wrote the music forSa Ugoy ng Duyan). But
his death was overshadowed by the death a few days earlier of the popular matinee idol Rico Yan,
thus, his death was received with little public attention. He was buried with full military honors at
the Libingan ng mga Bayani (National Heroes' Cemetery).

Constancio de Guzman
November 11, 1903 - August 16, 1982
Birth Place: Guiguinto, Bulacan
Father: Higino de Guzman
Mother: Margarita Canseco
Constancio Canseco de Guzman, acknowledged dean of Filipino movie composers and musical
directors, grew up in Manila where he studied piano and composition under Nicanor Abelardo. He
finished his BS Commerce degree at Jose Rizal College in 1928, and passed the certified public
accountants board exam in 1932. He became the music director of movie production outfits like
Sampaguita, LVN, Royal, Excelsior, Lea, and Tagalog Ilang-ilang. In 1948, his song Ang Bayan Ko
and Kung Kitay Kapiling bagged the gold medal at the Paris International Fair. The same song won
for him the Awit Award for best Filipino lyricist

Mike Velarde
Mike Velarde was a composer, conductor, musical director and screenwriter. His career spanned
almost five decades, from 1920s to 1970s, crossing over from music to film and vice versa. A lover of
jazz, he also played his own jazz arrangements on the piano.
Velarde was exposed to music at an early age when his mother taught him how to play piano and
violin. He studied at the Zamboanga Normal School, where he became a member of the school
orchestra. He went to Manila to take up medicine at the University of the Philippines, but later realized
his passion for music. His father objected to his plans to pursue a career in music. To support his
dream, he became a bus conductor.
Velarde appeared in a weekly show, Stardust Program, where he sang and played his own jazz
arrangements on the piano. He learned the theory of harmony and composition from Antonio Molina
and Ariston Avelino, and further honed his knowledge through self-study. He ventured into musical
scores for Sampaguita Films' movie production and managed the outfit's advertising. During the
Japanese Occupation, he worked as a musical director for Avenue Theater, where his concertized
arrangements of folk songs like Planting Rice were well-received by the audience. Regarded as his
most important works are Luksang Tagumpay (1960), which received the FAMAS Best Picture award
from the Filipino Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), and for which he wrote the story and screenplay,
and Alaala Kita (1961). He won the FAMAS awards for the story of Luksang Tagumpay and for his
musical direction of Alaala Kita. As a composer, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter first influenced Velarde.
Later, he created his own style and produced songs such as Ikaw (1935), Lahat ng Araw (1939),
Habang Buhay (1938), Minamahal Kita, Ikaw ay Akin (1940), and Dahil Sa Iyo'Italic text (1938). In
1970, he won the Best conductor award at the First International Popular Song Contest in Japan,
where his composition As Long as Forever'Italic text was the Philippine entry

Restie Umali
Restituto Umali was born in Paco, Manila on 10 June 1916. He was the second child of Benedicto
Umali and Eulogia Aquino. His early exposure to music was due to the influence of his father who has
taught him how to play the violin. Restie's childhood was also influenced by the regular family
rondalla. He was properly exposed to music techniques such as solfeggio and score-reading at the
Mapa High School. Having been influenced by his family's rondalla, he became an active member of
the school glee club and the school orchestra.
He studied at the Jose Rizal College (JRC), wherein he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
Commerce. He was later exposed to 'pop' tunes during his performances with both the Mapa
Orchestra and the JRC Band. He was a scholar of JRC for playing in the school band. He earned
extra money doing band arrangements of various songs and pieces as well as composing short
school songs. He also played double-basss professionally for radio programs and also for the dance
orchestra of the Army and Navy Club. When World War II broke out, he began arranging for and
conducting musical groups for stage shows and dance halls. He then took formal lesson in harmony,
to broaden his musical horizon, under Felipe P. de Loen. He became a volunteer instructor teaching
the double-bass at the University of the Philippines (UP). While at UP, he took up courses in
composition and conducting. His mentors included Antonino Buenaventura, Bernardino Custodio,
Lucio San Pedro, Ramon Tapales, and Lucrecia Kasilag. In 1957, he transferred to the UST where he
handled chorus and instrumental and choral arrangement up to 1962. During this time, he also
became a "ghost composer" that lasted for 14 years. In 1959, he eventually lost his anonimity and
introduced himself as the musical director or movie scorer for the movie Cry Freedom. This set the
path towards winning his first FAMAS award in 1964.

Antonino R. Buenaventura
Antonio Buenaventura also known as Colonel Antonio Buenaventura, was born on 4 May 1904 in
Baliuag, Bulacan. He inherited his interest in music and military from his father, Lucino Buenaventura.
He was born to a family of musicians and actively involved in the band.
He had formal music lessons in Solfeggio when he was in grade IV. He learned how the band
instruments sounded through observation and experimentation. He organized a seven piece school
orchestra, a children's group in his school.
In 1922, he composed two pieces, a march and a foxtrot entitled "Only You". He was admitted as
clarinetist to the University of the Philippines Symphony Orchestra. He was a student in composition
and conducting and the captain of cadet corps of the university when he organized the first student
orchestra, the UP Junior Orchestra.
After he completed his Teacher's Diploma in Composition and Conducting in the University of the
Philippines (UP), he was appointed faculty member of the Conservatory of Music. He was the UP
President's Committee on Folksongs and Dances when he composed the "Pandanggo sa Ilaw", a
dance accompaniment.
In 1937, he was commissioned to the military service where he became a music instructor and band
conductor at the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City in 1939. He was also appointed as the
assistant conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. He was designated the 'Municipal Symphony

Orchestra's co-conductor and toured in Hongkong, Japan, Guam, and Hawaii in 1948. He also
organized the University of the East Student Orchestra.
In his compositions, he tries to capture the Filipino spirit as a whole. He also composed short piano
pieces to full-length ballets.
He died on year of 1996

Rodolfo S. Cornejo
Rodolfo S. Cornejo, a composer, pianist and conductor, was born on the 15th of May, 1909, in Manila.
His parents are Miguel Cornejo, Sr. and Crisanta Soldevilla. In 1949, he married Nieves Guerrero, a
lyric soprano. The couple had five children.
Rodolfo Cornejo started piano lessons with Gelacio Reyes at age six. At age eight, he had his first
recital, and he became the organist of the Pasay Catholic Church. He wrote his first composition,
Glissando Waltz, at age 10. He also wrote and published a military march, Salute, at age 13. At 16,
twenty-six of his works had been listed by the United Publishing Co.. While he was finishing his high
school, he was already enrolled at the University of the Philippines (UP) Conservatory of Music.
At the UP Conservatory, he studied under Dr. Francisco Santiago, Nicanor Abelardo and Alexander
Lippay. Barely three years after completing his high school, he obtained his teacher's diplomas in
piano, science and composition. He taught for a year at UP, then left for the United States. He
acquired a bachelor's degree in piano and theory at the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt
University in 1932. He won the Wesley Le Violette scholarship in composition, went on to complete
his master's degree in 1933. He studied with Rudolf Ganz and Glenn Dillard Gunn.

In 1934, he returned to the Philippines, founded and directed the Manila Conservatory of Music. He
again left for the US in 1939 to pursue doctorate studies in composition. He earned his doctorate
degree in 1947 at the Neotarian College in Kansas City, USA. In his US sojourns, Cornejo was a
soloist with various orchestras, such as the New York City Symphony Orchestra, National Orchestra
Association, and many others. During World War II, he played at concerts for the Allied Armed
Forces. In 1941, he became researcher and official composer of the Philippine government-in-exile.
In 1945, the Chicago Musical College awarded him an honorary doctorate in music.
In the Philippines, he became director of the Cosmpolitan Colleges Conservatory of Music from 1948
to 1949. He also concertized. He wrote scores for twenty-seven films during his 10 years as musical
director of Sampaguita Pictures. He is founding member of the League of Filipino Composers.
He wrote over 300 compositions. These ranged from classical to pop. His major works include The
Season - Song Cycle (1932), A La Juventud Filipina (1935), Philippine Symphony No. 1 (1939), No.2
(1942), and No. 3 (1947) all for piano solo; Oriental Fantasy (1944) and Philippine Fantasy with
Marimba Solo (1962). He wrote music for the ballets Ibong Adarna (1970) and Baile de Ayer (1974).
His cantata Christ the Redeemer for soloists, narrator, mixed chorus and orchestra, premiered at the
Philamlife Auditorium in 1977. He also wrote a musical A Glimpse of Philippine Life and Culture,
which premiered at the Seattle Opera House in 1978. He is listed in the International Who's Who in
Music.0020
Rodolfo Cornejo died in Manila on the 11th of August, 1991.

Nicanor Abelardo
Nicanor Abelardo was born in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan. His mother belonged to a family of
artists in Guagua, the Henson. He was introduced to music when he was five years old when his
father taught him the solfeggio and the banduria. Abelardo completed his first composition, a waltz
entitled "Ang Unang Buko" dedicated to his grandmother, at the age of eight. By the age of thirteen,
he was playing at saloons and cabarets in Manila, and by fifteen, he was teaching at barrio schools in
San Ildefonso and San Miguel in Bulacan.
N. Abelardo Hall (UP Diliman).
In 1916, Abelardo entered the University of the Philippines Coservatory of Music, taking courses
under Guy F. Harrison and Robert Scholfield. During his studies, he composed the melody of the
university's official anthem, U.P. Naming Mahal. After earning a teacher's certificate in science and
composition in 1921, he was appointed head of the composition department at the Conservatory in
1924. Years later, he ran a boarding school for young musicians, among which were Antonino
Vuenaventura, Alfredo Lozano, and Lucino Sacramento.
Abelardo died in 1934 at the age of 41, leaving behind a collection of roughly 140 compositions. [1]
He is known for redefining the kundiman, bringing the form to art-song status. Notable among his
works are 'Nasaan Ka Irog," "Magbalik Ka Hirang," and "Himutok."
The main theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the building housing the College of
Music in UP Diliman (Abelardo Hall) were named in his honor and memory.

Francisco Santiago
Dr. Francisco Santiago was born on the 29th of January, 1889 in Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines.
He was a composer, pianist, teacher and film director. His parents were Felipe and Maria Santiago.
He married Concepcion de Leon in 1923 and they had four children.
The young Francisco had his elementary education at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran. He
finished high school at the Liceo de Manila. When he was seven years old, he took piano lessons
from a private tutor. After three years, he studied pianoforte under Blas Echegoyen, and then
Faustino Villacorta and Primo Calzada. Because his family was poor, he had to support himself
throughout school.
When the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music was founded in 1916, he was taken in
as a piano instructor. He studied advanced harmony and counterpoint under Robert Schofield. Dr.
Santiago obtained his teacher's certificate in science and composition from the University of the
Philippines in 1922. He obtained his masters in music at the Conservatory of Chicago, USA in 1924
and his doctorate at the Chicago Music School in the same year. It was there that he presented his
Concerto in B flat minor for pianoforte and orchestra, which is considered his masterpiece. He
returned to the Philippines in 1925 and resumed teaching at the University of the Philippines.1 He
became the director at the UP Conservatory of Music from 1930 to 1946. He was appointed
Professor Emeritus at the University of the Philippines.
Among Dr. Santiago's popular kundimans are "Sakali Man" and "Hibik ng Pilipinas" (1917);
"Pakiusap" (1921); "Ang Pag-ibig" (1922); "Ano Kaya Ang Kapalaran?" (1938). Among his undated
kundimans are "Hatol Hari Kaya?"; "Aking Bituin" and "Pagsikat ng Araw". The kundiman entitled

"Kundiman, Anak Dalita", which he wrote in 1917, was sung before the Royal court of Spain under the
request of King Alfonso II.2
Among his works in the classical genre are the "Philippine Overture" and the "Sonata Filipina in D flat
Major" written in 1922. The latter is the "first sonata written in the Philippines introducing Philippine
musical themes" according to the films, among which are "Kundiman", "Leron-leron Sinta", "Madaling
Araw", "Manilena", and "Pakiusap" (the movie which was inspired by his own composition). Dr.
santiago also composed a version of "Ave Maria" for high voice with violin obligato in 1919. He did
musical transcriptions of "Ay, Kalisud!" (1928); "Ang Kumintang", "Kura-kura" (a Jolo folk song) and
"Hawi-hawi" (an Aeta folk song). These last three pieces are undated. He also composed "Sumilang
na Ang Manunubos" in 1932, a Philippine Christmas carol, which according to composer, Antonio
Molina, is the "first Philippine Christmas carol ever written for mixed chorus and symphony
orchestra."3 Dr. Francisco Santiago wrote the music of the sarswela, "Si Margaritang Mananahi" in
1913, with libretto by Severino Reyes.
Dr. Francisco Santiago died on the 28th of September, 1947. He was posthumously given the
Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award by the City of Manila in 1968.

Carlos Modesto Villaluz Francisco

Carlos Modesto Villaluz Francisc (November 4, 1914 March 31, 1969), popularly known as Botong,
was a muralist from Angono, Rizal.
Francisco was a most distinguished practitioner of mural painting for many decades and best known
for his historical pieces. He was one of the first Filipino modernists along with Galo Ocampo and
Victorio C. Edades who broke away from Fernando Amorsolo's romanticism of Philippine scenes.
According to restorer Helmuth Josef Zotter, Francisco's art "is a prime example of linear painting
where lines and contours appear like cutouts."[3]
His great works include Blood Compact, First Mass at Limasawa, The Martyrdom of Rizal,
Bayanihan, Magpupukot, Fiesta, Bayanihan sa Bukid, Sandugo, Portrait of Purita, The Invasion of
Limahong, Serenade, and Muslim Betrothal. Some of his murals have suffered damage over the
years. The "Pageant of Commerce" emerged from several years of restoration in 2000.[3] His murals
in the lobby of the Philippine General Hospital were restored for the 3rd time in 2007.[4]
He was also responsible for the discovery of the now famous Angono Petroglyphs in 1965. He was
also involved in Costume Design in Philippine cinema.

Jose Monserrat Maceda

Jose Maceda (31 January 1917 - 5 May 2004) was a composer of traditional music, a pianist,
ethnomusicologist, and professor. He has done field music researches and has devoted much of his
time to ethnomusicological studies of the music of the Philippines and Southeast Asia. He was named
national artist for music in 1997.
Maceda was born on 31 January 1917 in Manila. At a young age he studied under Victorina Lobregat
and often participated in piano recitals and contests. He was a student of Alexander Lippay at the
Academy of Music of Manila in the 1930s. He also studied in Paris with Alfred Cortot.

Maceda presented concerts and recitals in Manila, nearby provinces, and in the Visayas region. He
was mostly a pianist during the early part of his music career.
He also conducted ethnomusical researches as he discovered that music is realistically fresh but
needed to be studied and understood. He conducted researches in Southeast Asia, Sarawak, Africa,
and Brazil.
Maceda studied composition in college and had written compositions such as those required by his
professors. However, he was not interested in European forms such as the sonata . It was in 1963
that he went back to composing. Maceda developed his own unique style in his compositions. His
melodies were sounds native to Asia and the Philippines--inspired by nature such as sounds in the
jungles and rice fields.
Maceda's first composition that was performed in Los Angeles in 1963 really had an unorthodox
sound, as he used Asian musical instruments and voices. It was presented to the Filipino in 1964 and
was performed in Brazil in 1968.

Francisco Feliciano
Francisco Feliciano (19 February 1941 19 September 2014) was a Filipino conductor and song
composer. He was declared as National Artist for Music in 2014. He was one of the country's leading
composers and known as an exponent of liturgical music. Among his major works were Missa
Mysterium and Sikhay sa Kabila ng Paalam.
Feliciano was born on 19 February 1942 in Morong, Rizal. His father Maximiano Feliciano exposed
him to their band Morriz Band and their genre of music.
He started his music career when he joined a band in high school and played cymbals and the
clarinet. He studied at the University of the Philippines (UP) and attained a Masters degree in Music
Composition.
He was the choir conductor and instructor in music fundamentals at St. Andrews Seminary. He
obtained a diploma in Music Composition from Hochschule der Kuenste in Berlin, Germany. He
graduated in Yale University School of Music with Master of Musical Arts and gained a doctorate in
Musical Arts Composition. His teachers in conducting were Arthur Weisberg and Martin Behrmann.
He also studied composition under Jacob Druckman, Isang Yun, H.W. Zimmerman, and Krzysztof
Penderecki

Jonas Baes

A Philippine composer born in Los Baos, Laguna in 1961. He enrolled in the University of the
Philippines' College of Music in 1977 as a student of Ramon P. Santos, and encountered the musical
compositions of Jose Maceda, attended several seminar-workshops of visiting lecturers, and did
research on the music of the Iraya-Mangyan people of Mindoro, which became the inspiration for his
compositions. From 1992-1994, he studied with Mathias Spahlinger in Freiburg, Germany. Baes is
known for writing music utilizing "unorthodox" musical instruments like bean-pod rattles, leaves, ironnail chimes, as well as various Asian instruments such as bamboo scrapers, bamboo flutes, and
vocal music using Asian vocal techniques. His early works in the 1980s were influenced by Maceda in
the use of large numbers of performers, while in the 1990s he experimented with various methods by
which the audience becomes integral in the performance. At the beginning of the new century, Baes
experiments with notions of structure-agency integration [after Anthony Giddens] and simulacrum
[after Jean Baudrillard]. It is typical for social theory to influence the work of Baes who has made a
mark on contemporary music and cultural politics in the Asian region. Jonas Baes is also active as an
ethnomusicologist and writer.