Filipina Composers (Filipino Women Composers)

    I believe Filipina women today in the field of the arts are equally given opportunities in teaching, performance, and in education. Filipina musicians like Cecile Licad, Ernestina Crisologo, Jovita Fuentes, Camille Lopez-Molina, Carmencita Sipin-Aspiras, Carmencita Lozada, Ingrid Santamaria and many many others are widely celebrated locally and internationally. 

    However, Filipina composers seem to be an unpopular choice during those days. Though today there are now a lot more Filipina composers, in the 19th and 20th centuries there are very few who reached prominence. Here are some of them:

Rosalina Abejo's Overture 1081

   

Rosalina Abejo conducting an orchestra

    Rosalina Abejo is one of the Philippines' more underrated composers, and her music is certainly slowly becoming one my favorites. I have already written my thoughts one of her works: the Guerrilla Symphony. I've written a short introduction of Abejo there as well.

    Overture 1081 - a name that has intrigued me for so long. It was written in 1972 as commemoration to Proclamation no. 1081 - the proclamation that officially made Martial Law in effect. We all have our very divided opinions regarding Martial law, so I wondered: what would this overture sound like? A few days ago I finally listened to this piece for the first time after hunting for a copy of the LP for so long.