contemporary Filipino Composers

Yoyoy Villame
Biography
Roman Tesorio Villame (November 18, 1932 – May 18, 2007), better known as Yoyoy Villame, was a Filipino singer, composer, lyricist and comedian. Villame was a native of Calape, Bohol and was the father of singer Hannah Villame. He died of cardiac arrest at the Las Piñas Medical Center in Manila on May 18, 2007.
Villame was the youngest among ten children of a fisherman father and fishseller mother. He started composing songs for the Boy Scouts in his elementary days. Dropping out after his second year in high school, Villame enlisted to become a soldier-trainee of the Philippine Army. Being unhappy in his post in Pampanga, he asked for a discharge after the surrender of rebel leader Luis Taruc. Villame would become a passenger jeepney driver plying the Baclaran-Pasay Taft-Santa Cruz-Dimasalang route. During the ten years of driving jeeps, he would compete in amateur nights held at Plaza Miranda in Quiapo but only to lose because of his strong Visayan accent.[1]
In 1965, Villame went back to Bohol to become a bus driver of the MB (Meneses-Butalid) Liner fleet, where he had a bus numbered 13 that plied the Tagbilaran-Ubay-Talibon route. At the bus company, Villame formed with some fellow drivers the MBs Combo, a rondalla band where he sang and played the mandolin. Villame was soon invited to parties and eventually as an entertainer at fiestas, baptisms, weddings, funerals and special events.
The owner of the bus company took notice of Villame's efforts and set up a music studio named Kinampay Records, after a local dish, just for him. Villame's first recording was in 1972 and entitled "Magellan", a parody of historicism of Ferdinand Magellan's failed conquest of the Philippines. This became the top-selling record in the Visayas-Mindanao region. Comedian Chiquito recognized his potential and brought Villame to Manila to be signed to Vicor Records, which re-issued most of the Kinampay catalogue. Touring Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and other parts of Luzon helped Villame establish his name in the country.[2]
Notable works
Villame blended Filipino folk melodies, popular tunes and nursery rhymes for his music and then added witty, comedic lyrics that mixed Tagalog, Cebuano and English in a form of grammar that he concocted. He became a national figure in 1977 with his near-anthemic "Mag-exercise Tayo", which has been adopted by government agencies and public schools as the official music for their Monday morning exercise after the flag ceremony.
His most popular song was "Butse Kik", a song written from made-up Chinese-sounding words which Villame allegedly came up with by writing down the names of Chinese stores while waiting for a mechanic to fix his broken-down jeepney in Manila's Chinatown; it borrowed from the tune of Dee Dee Sharp's "Baby Cakes", a 1962 hit. The song would then be covered by a host of artists, Aiza Seguerra and The Company to name a few. The Chinese community in Cebu felt slighted by the song but dropped plans to bring Villame to court because not a single Chinese word was included in the song.[1] The song, moreover was actually released by Yoyoy Villame earlier in his career originally under the title "Vietcong Palagdas" with the Embees and the MB Rondalla Band through Kinampay Records.





Chito Miranda

Biography
Alfonso "Chito" Yanga Miranda, Jr. (born February 7, 1976) is a Filipino singer and songwriter best known as one of the founding members and lead singer for the band Parokya ni Edgar.
Miranda is good friends with fellow Filipino artists Kamikazee vocalist Jay Contreras, the late rapper Francis Magalona and rapper Gloc-9. Miranda is a member of the Alpha Kappa Rho fraternity in Ateneo de Manila batch 1994. Miranda is also notable amongst the public as a fishing enthusiast. Known to be an avid smoker since high school, Miranda quit smoking after undergoing executive check-up in late 2013.[2][3]
Miranda previously dated actress Kaye Abad from the early 2000s until their breakup in 2009.[4] He is currently in a relationship with actress Neri Naig.[5][6]
On August 3, 2013, video snippets of Miranda having sexual intercourse with Naig, and 2 two other women in three different occasions appeared in YouTube.[7]The video snippets with the other two women were taken down the same day, but the one with Naig became a viral hit that was shared in different blogs and social media sites. On his Twitter account, Miranda said his room was recently robbed. Among those stolen was his hard disk drive, where photo and video files were stored.[8][9] On Parokya ni Edgar's Facebook page and on Miranda's Instagram page,[10] Miranda expressed his sadness on the leaking of the private video. He also asked for forgiveness from both his and Naig's families.[11] A second more graphic clip, which is 11 minutes and 20 seconds long,different from the first video that spread in August was uploaded Monday afternoon on a Facebook page.[12][13]
Work
Miranda attended grade school and high school at the Ateneo de Manila University where he met Gab Chee Kee, Vinci Montaner, Jeric Estaco, and Mikko Yap. They formed a garage band during their high school years.
The group was known in school to be class clowns. Normally in shows, they would show up in women's clothing to entertain victims of earthquakes and typhoons and sing off-key in poetry readings.
They eventually landed the role of front act band for the locally well-known Filipino alternative rock band The Eraserheads. Later on, Buwi Meneses and schoolmate Dindin Moreno joined as bassist and drummer, respectively. When they graduated high school, Estaco and Yap decided to leave the group to pursue other interests. Shortly thereafter, Darius Semaña (lead guitar) joined to complete the sextet.
Originally, Parokya ni Edgar was called 'Comic Relief'. However, they decided to change the name in homage to a Noli Me Tangere joke in their student days.




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Lucio D. San Pedro

Biography
Lucio D. San Pedro (February 11, 1913 – March 31, 2002) was a Filipino composer and teacher. On May 9, 1991, President Corazon C. Aquino proclaimed San Pedro a National Artist of the Philippines for Music. He married Gertrudes Díaz with whom he had five children: Rhodora, Bienvenido, María Conchita, María Cristina and Lucio, Jr. San Pedro died of cardiac arrest on March 31, 2002 in Quezon City, at the age of 89. Many peers from the Order of National Artists attended his tribute at the Tanghalang Pambansa, including: Napoleón Abueva, Daisy Avellana, Leonor Gokingco, Nick Joaquín, Arturo Luz, José Maceda, and Andrea Veneración. He is buried in his hometown of Angono, Rizal.
Career
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[citation needed], 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.[citation needed] He also became a faculty member of the Centro Escolar University Conservatory of Music in Manila.
Levi Celerio
Biography
Levi Celerio is a Filipino composer and lyricist, born on April 30, 1910 in Tondo, Manila, Philippines. He received a free education to the Academy of Music in Manila and became the youngest affiliate of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. He was a creative songwriter, with more than 4,000 songs to his acclaim including Filipino folk, Christmas, and love songs that are popular pieces, which many consider to be immortal. Famous for being a lyricist, his songs treasure life; express nationalistic sentiments and completegrand philosophies. At one instance or another, no Filipino can miss the song or lyrics of Levi's Christmas songs namely Pasko na Naman, Ang Pasko ay Sumapit , and Misa de Gallo.
He is probably best recognized for being a leaf-player, an achievement where he was place intothe Guinness Book of World Records. He wrote a huge number of songs for local movies, which gained him the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Film Academy of the Philippines. He was awarded as National Artist of the Philippines for Music in 1997. He died on April 2,2002
Work / Achievements
His major works include:

Ang Pasko ay Sumapit (music by Vicente Rubi, original Cebuano lyrics by Mariano Vestil)

Ang Pipit (music by Lucio D. San Pedro)
Bagong Pagsilang (music by Felipe Padilla De Leon)
Sa Ugoy ng Duyan (music by Lucio D. San Pedro)
Misa de Gallo (music by J. Balita)
Itik-itik (folk song)
Tinikling (folk song)

Achievements:

1993 – Natatanging Gawad Urian
Lifetime Achievement Award, from the Film Academy of the Philippines
Ryan Cayabyab
Biography
Warmly known as Mr. C, born Raymundo Cipriano Pujante Cayabyab was born on May 4, 1954 in Manila, Philippines. Ryan's mother was an opera singer; she died when he was only 6, while his father fight to sustain him and his three siblings. His mother's wish was that no one of her children would make music as a line of work; knowing how tough life is for a musician with in sufficient income. Ryan Cayabyab firstly took up Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. But at the same moment, he searched for an employment to sustain his studies, and sooner join with then-Senator Salvador Laurel as accompanist for the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) Chorale Ensemble. Noting his incomparable ability on the piano, the Senator presented him a scholarship that would allow Ryan to alter his course and hold learning in music. Cayabyab afterward graduated from the UP College of Music earning a Bachelor of Music, Major in Composition degree. Following that, he became a complete professor for the Department of Composition and Music Theory in the UP Diliman for about two decades. At the twist of the century, he was about to take his family and transfer abroad, but when presented by Danding Cojuangco, President of the San Miguel Corporation, a authority post that would give him full way in producing and performing new music that would carry out a new wave to the Philippine music scene, he acknowledged the proposal. Ryan Cayabyab is a prominent Filipino musician and the existing Executive and Artistic Director of the San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts. His works vary from specially made full-length ballets, theater musicals, choral pieces, a crowd set to unaccompanied chorus, and orchestral pieces, to salable recordings of popular composition, film scores and television specials. Now, he is presently in his 7th year as Executive and Artistic Director of the San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts
Achievements
Ryan Cayabyab is 2004's Gawad CCP Awardee for Music. On February 2, 1999, he was selected as one of the 100 awardees of the CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts . He became the first recipient of the Antonio C. Barreiro Achievement Award on 4 May 1996 for significant and lasting contributions to the growth and development of Filipino music. Likewise, in 18 June 1996, Awit Awards, the recording industry awards, awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award for "invaluable contribution and outstanding achievements in the promotion and development of Filipino music." The University of the Philippines Alumni Association has conferred upon him the Professional Award in music for the year 1998. In 2012, Ryan won as MYX Magna Award 2012 for achievements in music in the opm history.
Ryan Cayabyab The Music Studio, a music school that specializes in developing outstanding performance artists is run by Emmy Cayabyab, Ryan's wife. Established in 1986, the music studio has trained a whole generation of young singer-performers who have become nationally known Filipino performing artists.