Ramon Santos
Filipino composer and ethnomusicologist (born 1941)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ramón Pagayon Santos (born 25 February 1941) is a Filipino composer, ethnomusicologist, and educator known for being the Philippines' foremost living exponent of contemporary Filipino classical music,[1][2] for work that expounds on "the aesthetic frameworks of Philippine and Southeast Asian artistic traditions,"[2] and for finding new uses of indigenous Philippine instruments.[2] [3] A University Professor Emeritus of the composition and theory department at the College of Music of the University of the Philippines Diliman,[4] he was proclaimed National Artist of the Philippines for music in 2014.[3][4]
Work as ethnomusicologist
In 1976, Santos began doing fieldwork among folk religious groups in Quezon, collecting and documenting their music.[1] He later also did similar fieldwork among the Ibaloi, Mansaka, Bontoc, Yakan and Boholano peoples.[2] The Philippines' National Commission on Culture and the Arts notes that as a result, Santos' compositions beginning in this period in his professional life were characterized by "the translation of indigenous musical systems into modern musical discourse."[1]
Compositions
Recognition
Santos was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 1987.[3][6]
He was one of six people added to the roster of National Artists of the Philippines in 2014.[7]