Happy International Women’s Day!
Today and every day, OICA proudly honors the impactful work of women around the world and the institutions that support them. These include the PCW, UPCWGS, UPDGO, and OASH, which all persist with a purpose – addressing ongoing challenges and promoting gender equality. Let’s recognize the significance of their existence and unite for a more inclusive and equal world.
Together, let us inspire inclusion!
Posters and Content by Jolien Monteyne
Artistic Director: Prof. Edna Marcil Martinez
Email Address: uparco1998@gmail.com
The UP Orchestra has a two-pronged purpose: to function as the laboratory class for string and wind majors of the College of Music (CMu) while maintaining its status as one of the university’s performing groups.
Revitalized in 2003 by then CMu dean Prof. Ramon Acoymo by merging the String Orchestra Class and the Symphonic Band Class, it was launched at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in January 2005. Since then, it has made significant contributions to the university by the standard of training that students receive in orchestral performance studies.
The UP Orchestra has performed with the country’s most distinguished concert pianists and opera singers. In September 2011, under a venue grant from the CCP, it held its first full-length performance at the CCP’s Nicanor Abelardo Theater. In 2012 it gave its first full-length performance in its home ground, the UP Theater, in the concert PAMBUNGAD. In all its performances, it features works by renowned Filipino composers, among them Francisc Buencamino, Rosendo Santos, Angel Peña, Ramon Santos, Rodolfo Cornejo and National Artist Antonino Buenaventura.
Artistic Director: Dr. Amihan Bonifacio-Ramolete
Email Address: mulat.puppets@gmail.com ; teatrongmulatngpilipinas@gmail.com
Teatrong Mulat is a theater group that presents plays based on Philippine and Asian folktales with actors and puppets.
Founded in 1977 by the late University Professor Emerita and National Artist for Theater Amelia Lapena-Bonifacio, “mulat” means to open, to awaken the children to the beauty and richness of Asian and Philippine cultures.
It has performed for children and adults in theaters, schools, plazas, hospitals and orphanages all over the country, and has represented the country in various international puppet festivals in Asia and the United States. It also conducts children’s theater and puppetry workshops for kids and adults and now has its own theater, The Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Papet Teatro-Museo at 64 Mapagkawanggawa St., Teachers Village West, Quezon City.
Email Address: upsikat.externals@gmail.com
UP SIKAT (UP Sirkulo ng Kabataang Artista) is a performing arts organization that aims to inspire students to freely express themselves while utilizing the performing arts as an avenue for social change.
Based at the College of Arts and Letters, UP SIKAT encourages artists to have their voices be heard through artistic expression. With its banner statement, “Sining. Boses. Pagbabago,” the organization’s advocacy is to promote performance art as an avenue to have one’s voice be heard and to pave the way for social change. SIKAT is home to artists from diverse backgrounds and courses across the university.
Email Address: upsamaskom1@gmail.com; upsamaskom.externals@gmail.com
UP SAMASKOM is a university-wide academic-performing organization based at the College of Mass Communication. Founded in 1974, it is composed of students who have a passion for communication and self-expression.
SAMASKOM stages the annual comedy variety show, Live A.I.D.S. (And Istoryang Dinebelop ng Samaskom), along with a variety of events such as tree planting and fora on pertinent media issues. These activities aim to develop the creativity and discipline of its members and give them hands-on training on events management, performing, writing, directing, marketing and publicity, production and costume design, and many more.
Artistic Director/s: Mx Giano Ray C. Potes
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Luna Sicat-Cleto
Email Address: theup.repertorycompany@gmail.com
The UP Repertory Company (UP Rep) is a student theater organization established in 1972 by the late artist-activist Behn Cervantes as a socially responsible performing group, given deteriorating social conditions prevalent during the Martial Law period.
UP Rep’s wide repertoire of plays are written by National Artists and acclaimed writers. It has produced talents, most of whom are successful in their chosen field and has performed in venues outside the University.
For its commitment to Philippine culture and the arts, UP Rep was named an Official University Performing Arts Group under the UP Diliman HASPAG Program from 2016 up to the present.
Artistic Director: Prof. Banaue Miclat-Janssen (DUP)
Email Address: dulaangupmarketing@gmail.com
Under the DUP umbrella is the UP Playwrights' Theater which stages new and prize-winning plays by Filipino playwrights and has ventured into reviving the zarzuela. The UP Playwrights Theater also serves as the venue for new works of prize-winning local playwrights.
Artistic Director/s: Prof. Banaue Miclat-Janssen
Email Address: dulaangupmarketing@gmail.com
Dulaang UP (DUP) was established in 1976 by the late Professor Emeritus Antonio “Tony” Ocampo Mabesa as the production arm of UP’s Speech Communication and Theatre Arts program.
Dulaang UP stages works of classical theater as well as original works by Filipino playwrights, reaching out to audiences in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. It has also yielded a veritable who’s who of Philippine Theater, establishing a reputation for innovation and excellence in theatre as a training ground for young talent, a venue for published and new works, and a source of new talent for local and international theatre, cinema, television and the advertising industry.
Email Address: upundergroundmarketing@gmail.com
The UP Underground Music Community is a duly recognized non-profit student organization in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. The organization which was founded by 5 UP students and alumni on September 21, 2002 is open to all music lovers. It aims to provide venues for independent local musicians to showcase their talents and passion for music.
UP Underground Music Community bands have gained popularity in the local music scene. Known home-grown bands include Ang Bandang Shirley and Giniling Festival. The organization has also made history in the University of the Philippines by being the first to mount a mobile concert during the UP Lantern Parade of 2003.
Artistic Director: Prof. Verne C. de la Pena
Faculty Adviser: Prof. Ma. Patricia Silvestre
Email Address: tugtugangmusikaasyatika@gmail.com
The UP Tugtugang Musika Asyatika (UP TUGMA) is an organization of Asian music student-performers in the country affiliated with the College of Music Department of Musicology. The organization was established to build and develop a more conscious audience base for Asian music and culture that has deep awareness of these traditions, and to raise the banner of Philippine indigenous music to the global community. In line with these, the organization regularly conducts workshops, field works, and performance nights. Members of the organization study and perform the Mindanao Kulintang Ensemble, the Cordillera Bamboo and Gong Ensemble, the Indonesian Gamelan, the Japanese Koto, the Chinese Sizhu and the Korean Samulnori.
UP TUGMA has represented and showcased Philippine music in a few cultural events abroad such as the International Country Music Week held in 2009 in Hunan, China, and the International Music and Dance Festival regularly held in Thailand years 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2015.
For its commitment to Philippine culture and the arts, UP TUGMA was named an Official University Performing Arts Group under the UP Diliman HASPAG Program from 2020 up to the present.
Faculty Adviser: Prof. Ena Maria Aldecoa
Email Address: updtiklado@gmail.com
Tiklado is an organization at the College of Music composed of former and current piano performance students with the mission to share and promote classical piano music to the listening public through musical and performance excellence.
Artistic Director/Conductor: Josefino “Chino” Toledo
Email Address: info.upsymphonyorchestra@up.edu.ph
The UP Symphony Orchestra is the official system-wide orchestra of the University of the Philippines. Its members consist of alumni, students, faculty members and staff members of the University who underwent a rigorous audition process. They come from three different constituent universities of UP –Diliman, Manila and Los Baños.
The formation of the UPSO was formally approved by the UP Board of Regents during its 1337th meeting on August 30, 2018, which established its status as UP’s official system-wide orchestra, funded by the UP System and hosted by the UP College of Music. The UPSO is tagged as being the “Orkestra ng Bayan” (Orchestra of the People), representing the University in the national and global musical stage.
Artistic Director/Conductor and Faculty Adviser: Prof. Rodney Ambat
Email Address: upsymphonicband.official@gmail.com
The UP Symphonic Band, a performance group based at the College of Music (CMu), started as a small wind ensemble initiated by Prof. Raymundo Maigue in 1981, It was renamed the UP Philippine Youth Symphonic Band in 1986 under Prof. Leopoldo Lopez and finally UP Symphonic Band in 1998 under Director/Conductor Rodney Ambat.
The Band has performed in various concerts in UP, Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Philamlife Theater and other venues around Metro Manila. Many of its members are winners of the National Music Competition for Young Artists and Philippine representatives to the Asian Youth Orchestra and Southeast Asian Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.
In October 2018, the band held the concert "Symphonicity" at the Abelardo Hall, its latest in long list of remarkable concerts, the most recent of which also include the closing concert of the CMu centennial in September 2017, at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino in April 2017, and the CCP International Winds and Jazz Festival in July 2016.
For its commitment to Philippine culture and the arts, the UP Symphonic Band was named an Official University Performing Arts Group under the UP Diliman HASPAG Program from 2016 up to the present.
Band Instructor: Maj Theodore C. Lumagui (AGS) PA
Band Coordinator: C. Lt. Col. Jester Jay DV Buluran 1Cl
Conductors: James Ryan Mixto, Chris Jowell Mangulabnan, and John Gerald Calma
Email Address: dmst.updiliman@up.edu.ph
As the official marching band of the UP Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), the UP-ROTC Band provides martial music for parades, reviews, and other ceremonies of the Corps. The Band is composed of students enrolled in the College of Music’s specialized ROTC Mil Sci ROTC Band course.
Originally called the UP Band in 1912, it was renamed the UP ROTC Band after the UP Department of Military Science and Tactics was organized in 1922. After 2001, upon the addition of brass and woodwind sections, multi-percussion, timpani, and a string double and bass section; the word “Symphonic” was added to its official title.
The Band has since produced a long line of distinguished alumni, among whom are top caliber musicians with diverse specializations, National Artists, Gawad CCP Awardees, numerous winners of the prestigious National Music Competitions for Youth Artists, top military band commanding officers, and members of some of the finest marching bands.
Band members enjoy a scholarship and residence at the UP ROTC Barracks.
Founder/Conductor: Prof. Elaine Juliet Espejo Cajucom
Email Address: uprondalla2009@gmail.com
The University of the Philippines Rondalla or UPR is an official performing group of the College of Music’s Music Education Department. It was founded in August 2009 by Prof. Elaine Espejo-Cajucom.
The UPR aims to preserve and promote the rondalla music heritage, raise the standard in rondalla playing and develop an exquisite and challenging technique by exploring the versatility of the rondalla.
The Rondalla has performed in many venues, among them the 10th festival of Eurasian Sounds in Ulan Ude, Russia in 2010, the 3rd International Rondalla Festival “Cuerdas sa Pagkakaysa” in 2011 in Tagum City, Davao del Norte and the ASEAN Music and Dance Festival in Thailand in 2012. The successful solo concert “Las Cuerdas de Armonía (Strings of Harmony)” was held on Sept. 8, 2011 at the College’s Abelardo Hall Auditorium and featured a distinctive repertoire consisting of music arranged for the rondalla as well as rondalla original contemporary compositions.
Email Address: padayonrondalla@gmail.com
Padayon Rondalla is a performing group under the College of Music’s Department of Musicology. It was established in July 2016 by a group of friends who share a love for rondalla music, composed of music educators, composers, and performers from the College.
"Padayon," a Visayan term meaning "to go on" or "continue," embodies the group's mission to pursue their passion for rondalla music and bring it to the world. With its repertoire of Philippine folk songs, pop and foreign classical music, the group aims to promote Philippine rondalla not just to other countries but also to the Filipino community.
In 2016, the group performed in Taiwan at the Yilan International Children's Folklore and Folkgame Festival and at the Chen Ding Nan Memorial Concert and at the 2018 China-ASEAN Music Festival held in Nanning, Guangxi, China, representing UP alongside other UPD performing groups. The group also participated in the 5th International Plucked String Festival: Cuerdas Sang Pagkahiliusa held in Silay City, Negros Occidental in November 2018 and had a concert tour in Romblon in 2019.
Artistic Director: Mr. David Dino SA Guadalupe
Email Address: musikasophia@gmail.com
Musika Sophia is composed of faculty, students, and friends of the College of Music. The Department of Music Education conceived of the group in 2006, inspired by the soprano recorder, an instrument widely used in music education. A consort of recorders later evolved into a chamber ensemble of recorders, strings, keyboard, and percussion, offering a colorful repertoire consisting of a collection of renaissance dances, baroque dance suites, folk songs, popular tunes, and Philippine airs arranged in simple and uplifting harmonies.
Musika Sophia has performed for many special occasions. Notable performances include Mostly R n B, Hardin ng Liwanag, Musique De L'amour (Abelardo Hall), El Siglo De Oro (39th International Bamboo Organ Festival), Philippine Music Panorama (St. Mark’s Cathedral, Infanta), An Old World Advent Christmas (Paco Park Manila), and Bravo Filipino (DZFE-FM radio program).
Email Address: theupmusiccircle@gmail.com
The UP Music Circle or UPMC is a university-based organization of music enthusiasts. UPMC promotes the appreciation of various musical forms and genres, the enhancement of musical talents and skills, and the use of music as a means for personal affirmation and a ground for social interaction.
It does dorm tours on campus, performs at gigs, functions and concerts, gives musical clinics, and offers “harana” services during Valentine’s.
Faculty Advisers: Ms. Marielle Justine Sumilong and Mr. John Paolo Sandicho
Org President: Erwin Ray Gerona
Email Address: uplirikaofficial@gmail.com
The UP Likha sa Ramdam at Isip ng Kabataan (UP LIRIKA), a special interest organization, believes that the art of singing-songwriting freely expresses the creative and artistic minds of the youth. The organization's main advocacy is empowering people by voicing out one's perspective, emotions, and ideology through music.
One of the group’s main initiatives is a live recording session called LIRIKA Saturday Sessions or LSS, where original compositions are showcased on various social media platforms. LIRIKA also holds workshops primarily focused on singing-songwriting, instrument playing, and music productions every semester. They have also hosted several Alternative Classroom Learning Experience classes with guests such as Dane Hipolito, Paolo and Miguel Guico of Ben&Ben and Munimuni.
Founder/Artistic Director: Prof. Pedro R. Abraham Jr.
Faculty Adviser/Artistic Director: Prof. Erwin F. Rafael
Email Address: kontragapi@gmail.com
Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino, more popularly known as Kontra-GaPi, was appointed resident gamelan or ethnic music and dance ensemble by the Dean of the UPD College of Arts and Letters (CAL) in February 1993.
Kontra-GaPi strives to express music and kindred arts from indigenous well-springs, using ideophones such as the kulintang and gangsa; chordophones like the hegalong and kulibet; aerophones such as the diwdiw-as and esmi; membranophones like the debakan and solibaw; and Cordilleran drums of varying sizes and shapes.
The group was formed by Prof. Pedro R. Abraham Jr. of CAL’s Department of Arts Studies in 1989 when he was asked to conceive a score for Dulaang UP’s production of August Strindberg’s “A Dream Play.” The music, for its ‘stunning exotic appeal,’ consistently received excellent reviews by critics, academics, students and regular theater-goers alike. This encouraged the then ad-hoc band to transform itself into an independent performing organization.
Over the years, the ensemble has presented more than a thousand shows for audiences of all types and age-groups in all kinds of venues, much more if one includes lecture-demonstrations, workshops in music and dance and other types of engagement.
For its commitment to Philippine culture and the arts, UP Kontra-GaPi was named an Official University Performing Arts Group under the UP Diliman HASPAG Program from 2016 up to the present.
Artistic Director: Royal Hartigan
Faculty Coordinator: Tusa Montes
UP Kekeli African Drumming and Dance is, so far, the only African drum-dance ensemble in the country. Based at the College of Music, the ensemble focuses on West Africa music and dance, particularly on music from the Ewe and Asante people of Ghana. It was formed by Dr. Royal Hartigan, a visiting professor from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2006. He named the ensemble “kekeli,” from a Ghanaian word that means light.
UP Kekeli performs at concerts of traditional and cross-cultural music and holds open rehearsals, conducting workshops and lecture-demonstrations. At the 1st CCP Jazz Festival in August 2011, the ensemble performed with Dr .Hartigan’s jazz group Blood Drum Spirit.
Artistic Director/Conductor/Faculty Adviser: Prof. Raymundo Maigue
The UP Jazz Ensemble is a university based jazz group founded in 1977 by College of Music Prof. Rayben Maigue, an accomplished trumpet player, composer and arranger. The Band has 30 members consisting of students and alumni of the College. The group’s repertoire ranges from works of composers and arrangers like Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Sammy Nestico, George Gershwin and Count Basie as well as contemporary composers such as the Beatles, John Williams, Dave Gruisin and even Pinoy jazz works of Filipino composers like Angel Pena, Richie Quirino and Jon Palacio.
Aside from the main group, smaller groups of about three to 10 members are active professionally. In effect, the UP Jazz Ensemble has served as a training ground for student arrangers, composers and conductors and has spawned many of our country’s young professional jazz musicians like the Ugoy Ugoy Band, Side A, Brass Monkeys, Parliament Syndicate and the AMP Big Band.
Artistic Director/Faculty Adviser: Prof Lester Demetillo
Email Address: upguitarorchestra@gmail.com
The UP Guitar Orchestra (UPGO) is the first Guitar Orchestra in the country. It was founded in 1982 as the UP Guitar Ensemble by Lester Demetillo, a classical guitar professor at the College of Music (CMu). The group changed its name to UP Guitar Orchestra in 1997. The UPGO is composed of outstanding Guitar majors at CMu and boasts of a wide range of repertoire that includes works from the renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, 20th century music periods along with other genres such as flamenco, jazz and popular music.
Artistic Director/Faculty Adviser: Mr. Solaiman Jamisolamin
Email Address: guiguild.2013@gmail.com
Guitar Guild or GuiGuil is an official performing group under the Junior Music Educators' Guild, an organization under the Music Education Department of the College of Music. Formed in February 2013 by Solaiman Jamisolamin, GuiGuil is composed of guitar concentration and minors at CMu, and students from other academic units at UPD, Ateneo de Manila High School and Philippine Normal University.
With a repertoire from pop to baroque music, the group aims to foster the ensemble playing experience, develop musicality and sight-reading skills while serving as a laboratory ensemble for arrangers, composers, conductors and for the guitar methods class.
The group performs in the department's recitals, culminating activities, workshops and other activities, as well as in guitar festivals such as PWU Guitar Festival 2015, Manila GuitarFest 2016 & 2017 and Cebu International Guitar Music Festival 2017. GuiGuil won the First Prize in the 2017 St. Scholastica's College Classical Guitar Competition - Ensemble Category.
Artistic Director/Faculty Adviser: Prof. Mary Katherine Cabral
Email: upconemus@gmail.com
The UP Composers of New Music (CONEMUS) is an organization of student-composers at the College of Music. Conceived in 1997 and formally organized in 1998, this pool of composers is committed to the development and dissemination of 21st century contemporary Art Music of the Philippines. This group is set to advance “New Music” within and beyond the confines of the academe through audio CD productions, workshops, symposia, outreach concerts, and lectures of a primarily academic nature.
Faculty Adviser: Asst. Prof. Ronald Balane
Email Address: up.arkaira@gmail.com
ARKAIRA (est. 1983) is the only performing arts organization at the UPD College of Architecture, providing a platform for harnessing and exhibiting talents of architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design students in the domains of band, choir, dance, and theater. The organization has been an avenue for creative energies and an expression of the college’s constituents by engaging entertainment and encouraging cultural growth in the college, as well as in university-wide events such as Hiyas ng Arki, Haraya, and Karolfest, among others.
Artistic Director, Conductor, and Faculty Adviser: Prof. Edna Marcil Martinez
Email Address: uparco1998@gmail.com
UP Arco-The UP String Orchestra was initially known as the UP String Chamber Orchestra. It was conceived in 1998 as a resident performing group of the College of Music.
From a core of string students in the orchestra class of Prof. Edna Marcil “Michi” Martinez, today, the group is composed of 20 select student artists, all of whom are majors of the Strings and Chamber Music Department.
The UP Arco is part of the UP Orchestra and its members complete the orchestra’s strings section. It is a resident performing group of the UP Theater and has been featured in concerts at UPD as well as major concert halls and public venues. The group has performed major string orchestra works of Buenaventura, Buencamino, Corelli, Bach and Vivaldi, among others.
The group also represented UP and the country in the prestigious Festival International de Musique Universitaire – FIMU (International University Music Festival) in Belfort, France in May 2012, at the UNESCO Miollis in Paris, the Filipino communities of Paris at the Saint Bernadette Church and the Notre Dame Church in Geneva, Switzerland.
Email Address: upeepzofficial@gmail.com
Dance Company from the Philippines founded in 2011
Two-time World Hip Hop Dance Champions
NBC World of Dance Season 3 & 4
The Peepz | VPeepz | Lilpeepz
Artistic Director/Club Moderator: Von Ace Asilo
Email Address: upstreetdanceclub@gmail.com
The UP Streetdance Club is a non-profit organization duly recognized by the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Formed in 1997 by a group of students, led by Mr. Jerome B. Dimalanta, looking for a venue for creative expression, fueled by their shared passion for dance, with a vision to establish a streetdance organization. The UP Streetdance Club is now one of the most prominent dance organizations in the country.
Through dedication to rigorous training and having the Christian doctrine as their main foundation, the initial years of the UPSDC were blessed with many accomplishments and milestones, helping the Club slowly make its name in the hip-hop scene.
Now handled by its current club moderator and artistic director Mr. Von Ace Asilo, along with Dr. Leilani Gonzalo as its faculty adviser, the Club continues to take a prominent spot in the hip-hop scene through its many achievements, both local and international.
The Chosen Ground (CG) series, a group competition following a fresh new theme each year, and the Street Fuzion (SF) concert series are the two distinguished annual events of the Club, aiming to showcase the expertise of various members of the Philippine dance community, and certainly, the club’s own homegrown talents.
At present, the Club continues to train interested students of the UP community in the art of dance and remains steadfast in its mission to represent, inspire, and reinforce God-centered living through dance.
1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”
UP Motions is the first and only duly-recognized dance organization in the UP College of Law.
Artistic Director: Mr. Peter P. Alcedo, Jr.
Email Address: FilipinianaDanceUP@gmail.com
The UP Filipiniana Dance Group is one of the most acclaimed cultural performing groups in the country, showcasing the Philippine’s rich cultural heritage both in local and international venues. Composed of students from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, the country’s premiere state university, the group performs a wide array of Philippine dances from the Cordillera region in the north to Muslim Mindanao in the south— and, in recent years, from works of contemporary choreographers.
As cultural ambassadors of the Philippines, Filipiniana remains true to its vision of embodying Philippine traditional and modern-day cultures through dance. The group has performed, among others, at the Midosuji Parade in Japan; Surin International Folklore Festival in Thailand; and Sayaw Pinoy, Pasinaya and WiFi Contemporary Dance Festival in Manila. This August it will be one of the few groups to represent the country at Pyesta Kolon Datal, an international dance festival in Koronadal, Philippines organized by the Conseil International des Organisations de Festival de Folklor et d’arts Traditionnels (CIOFF).
In 1935, Mrs. Francisca Reyes-Aquino, the first National Artist for Dance, founded the group, which was originally named the “UP Folk Song and Dance Club.” Through her extensive research, Aquino notated and disseminated close to 200 folk dances from the country’s different regions. These dances are now part of the country’s physical education curriculum and are present in the repertoires of Philippine folk dance groups within and outside the Philippines. The artistic directorship of Mrs. Corazon Iñigo led to the group’s almost 3 decades of phenomenal tours abroad, especially to Europe. Under Mrs. Iñigo not only did Filipiniana secure its place on the world’s stage, it also garnered prestigious awards at folkloric festivals and won international dance competitions.
After Mrs. Iñigo’s tenure, Dr. Leilani Gonzalo assumed Filipiniana’s directorship that led to the training of emerging choreographers and folk dance artists. However, Filipiniana’s current thrust toward jazz and modern dance began when Mr. Van Cornelius Manalo was appointed as Filipiniana’s next director. The group is now under the directorship of Mr. Peter Alcedo, Jr., who has received training from and been mentored by Mrs. Iñigo, Dr. Gonzalo, and Mr. Manalo. With him, the group continues Filipiniana’s tradition of artistic excellence and creative versatility set forth by the directors before him.
Filipiniana steadies its mission of furthering and deepening the practice of Philippine folk dance and its accompanying dance forms through research, teaching, re-staging, and participating in cultural events locally and internationally. While the group remains committed to training the next generation of scholars, artists, and leaders in Philippine dance, Filipiniana remains a proud bearer of the country’s amazingly diverse dance heritage and artistic choreographic products. (Edited by Russ Patrick P. Alcedo, Ph.D.)
Artistic Director: Mr. Jojo Cariño
Faculty Adviser: Prof. Mynette Aguilar
Email Address: updancesportsociety@gmail.com
The UP Dancesport Society (UP Dancesport) is a duly recognized student organization of the University of the Philippines Diliman, based in the College of Human Kinetics and under the guidance of Prof. Mynette Aguilar and art direction of Mr. Jojo Cariño. With its mission to promote social ballroom and competitive ballroom dancing within and outside the university, UP Dancesport has established its name as a performing arts group having performed in various events, and having successfully organized interclass, secondary school and intercollegiate ballroom dance competitions entitled Tagisayawan (September 2005 and 2006) and Strictly Ballroom (March 2006 and February 2007). UP Dancesport also aims to produce high-caliber dance athletes and future coaches and this goal’s realization continues to be reached as the number of its members joining and winning competitions not only in the intercollegiate level but also in the open pre-amateur category increases.
Artistic Directors: Assoc. Prof. Angela Lawenko-Baguilat, Ms. Ma. Elena Laniog, and Mr. Herbert Alvarez
Email Address: updancecompany@gmail.com
Founded in 1987, UPDC was set up for the apprenticeship and professional training of dance major students in the College of Music, University of the Philippines. It is meant to develop the technique and creativity of student dancers and choreographers as a company. Moreover, it serves the university’s choreographic needs (dance and allied arts, other curricular studies and extension programs) not just in UP Diliman but also in other UP campuses nationwide. It also aims to promote dance as a serious form of study and profession, and a public and communal expression. UPDC compliments a main program of the college, the dance degree program: 4 years as diploma, 5 years a baccalaureate.
The program is the most comprehensive in the country in dance practice and theory, in music and theatre, in Asian and Philippine dance and music, in movement notation (Benesh system, the only one in the country), etc. Diploma requires the production of a dance recital while the Bachelor of Music includes a thesis requirement. Students often collaborate with music composition majors and sometimes with the faculty in recitals and performances, as performers and composers. Many students/graduates have been involved in Asian festivals, workshops, Laban notation studies and academic complementation (the last three mostly in Taiwan).
Prominent students have received UP awards, invitations to festivals, and workshops in Asia and Europe and special studies in Taipei and Sumatra, Indonesia. Two had scholarships in India to study Bharatanatyam classical dance. Also, it is the only company known to have deconstructed the dance classics like The Nutcracker (into Maria Clara’s Colonial Dream – as japayuki), Giselle (into Ang Higanti), Cinderella (into Mariang Sinderela Ang Bagong Bayani), Petrouchka (into Pedro Kusinero), and Les Noces (into Ang Kasal).
The UP Dance Company has premiered a good number of original works from dance recitals and a commissioned work for the 30th anniversary of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts had once sponsored UPDC’s national tour, performing from Aparri to Davao. It has joined festivals in Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia and Korea in their individual capacity. Furthermore, UPDC has once organized the Contemporary Dance Map in Quezon City that had routes of several dance studio venues, and the Wifi Body Festival with the Contemporary Dance Network Manila.
National artist Leonor Orosa Goquingco once wrote of the dancers as “talents coming up brightly in the firmament of dance.”
Recent awards:
Email Address: pepupsquad@gmail.com
The University of the Philippines Varsity Pep Squad, more popularly known as the UP Pep Squad, was formed and became the official cheerleading and cheerdance team of the University of the Philippines in 1994. The squad performs halftimes in the UP Fighting Maroons men’s basketball games at the UAAP and represents the university in the UAAP Cheerdance Competition, where they were champions for eight non-consecutive years (1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012) and consistent runner-up.
The group also holds Elevate: Lift One Another Up, a dance concert and annual cheerdance competition in the university. The squad also performs at different university events and functions.
The group has also performed and represented the country as they participated and placed in several international cheerleading competitions from 2002 until the present in the following countries: Korea, Japan, Italy, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.
Email Address: upvoiceandmusictheaterguild@gmail.com, upvmtgofficial@gmail.com
The UP Voice and Music Theater Guild is a duly-recognized non-profit organization composed of UP students that aims to bring classical vocal music to Filipinos for greater appreciation of the performing arts through projects, outreach programs, and concerts.
Artistic Director/Conductor:
Dr. Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng
The Villancico Vocal Ensemble is the official performing arm of the Junior Philippine Conductors Association of the UP College of Music. Founded in 2009 under the baton of conductor Eudenice V. Palaruan, it is mainly composed of student conductors, professional musicians, and active members from various university and church choirs. The group’s repertoire primarily centers on early music, Bach motets, and works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, with regular performances in the International Bamboo Organ Festival along with the Musica Sofia and guest artists from abroad. Currently under the musical directorship of Dr. Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng, the Villancico Vocal Ensemble continues to uphold its mandate to perform choral music in its highest standard and to make it accessible to its growing audience.
The UP Staff Choral Society is a performing group composed of employees from the faculty, administrative, extension, research and professional units of the Diliman campus. Through the initiative of Dr. Ramon C. Portugal, then UP Vice President for Administration, the group was created on October 25, 1973 during the 838th meeting of the UP Board of Regents with a mission of enriching and promoting Philippine culture and the arts among Filipinos here and abroad, and providing an opportunity for the University staff to develop into well-rounded individuals. The group has since brought its gift of music to audiences as close to home as the UP Diliman campus and as distant as the US through their own productions and by taking part in other important University events.
Choirmaster: Mark Anthony Carpio
Email Address: upms2000@gmail.com
The Philippine Madrigal Singers was organized in 1963 by National Artist Professor Andrea O. Veneracion. Recognized by the UNESCO as Artists for Peace, the choir is one of the most awarded choral groups in the world, having consistently won all top prizes in major choral competitions. They hold the distinction of being the first choir in the world to win the prestigious European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (1997 and 2007). Currently led by choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio, Madz, as a pioneering force in choral music, continues to promote Filipino choral works through its virtuosity across a vast repertoire and performances with rousing and deeply emotional impact to audiences all over the world.
Email Address: uplawcharivari@gmail.com
The UP Law Charivari is the official choir of the University of the Philippines College of Law.
Email Address: upiec.ichoir@gmail.com
iChoir is the performing arm of the UP Industrial Engineering Club, an organization based in the College of Engineering. Founded in 2010 to represent the org in Awitan, the college’s annual choral competition, the choir is composed of the org’s members and recurring alumni. Since their inception, they have repeatedly performed great in Awitan winning 4 championships, and have shone in university events such as Karolfest, Himig, and the 2nd UP Gawad Pangulo Choral Competition.
Email Address: upenggchoir@coe.upd.edu.ph
The UP College of Engineering Choir is a choral group initially established by the Engineering Student Council as a staple performing group for events and functions within the college. Over the years, the choir, consisting of dynamic and talented individuals bonded by sheer passion for music, has grown to be one of the formidable college groups in UP Diliman.
Email Address: updawani@gmail.com
The UP Dawani Women’s Choir is recognized as the first all-female resident choir of the UP College of Music. Through the initiative of its conductor, Dr. Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng, it was formed in January 2013 and has been active in the Philippine choral landscape ever since. Priding itself on musical ambassadorship, the choir has performed in music festivals and has produced major concerts, such as The Road Home (2013), Music In My Soul (2013), Serenade to Music (2014), and Still I Rise (2015). With a growing membership base and promising musical potential, its intention is to continuously develop a diverse and progressive repertoire that will enable them to uphold musical excellence and to have a niche of their own in the choral society.
Email Address: officialconchords@gmail.co
ConChords is a contemporary a cappella group that has won several competitions in the local and international scenes. Consisting of five singers who all share a common passion for music, their repertoire includes genres such as Classical, Jazz, OPM, and Pop.
Artistic Director: Prof. Janet Sabas-Aracama
Email Address: upconcertchorus@gmail.com, theupconcertchorus@gmail.com
The UP Concert Chorus (UPCC), or simply Korus, is an official performing group of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Established in 1962 under the leadership of the late Dean Reynaldo T. Paguio, Korus has become a veritable icon of choral performance arts in bridging musical genres such as classical, folk, pop, and Broadway, and as the pioneer of ChoreoCapella or choreographed a capella in the Philippines. With Prof. Janet Sabas-Aracama at its helm today, Korus continues to revolutionize the scene as an internationally-acclaimed performing group with prestigious awards such as the Grand Prix at the 6th International Krakow Choir Festival in Poland in 2015 besting 23 other choirs from all over Europe and the USA.
Director:
Dr. Elena Rivera-Mirano (Director)
Email Address: elena.mirano@gmail.com, up.cherubimandseraphim@gmail.com
The UP Cherubim and Seraphim (UPCS) is the official children’s choir of the University of the Philippines serving also as a laboratory choir for the College of Music. Founded on September 21, 1971 by Flora Zarco Rivera, the group has championed the development of a unique Filipino repertoire for children, regularly commissioning new works and drawing on the expertise of artists from various colleges of the University. This repertoire is shared with children and audiences all over the University and the rest of the nation in the form of live performances, workshops, recordings, as well as appearances on television for various networks. Its present director is Elena Rivera Mirano of the College of Arts and Letters.
Founder/Artistic Director/Conductor/Faculty Adviser:
Dr. Edgardo L. Manguiat
Email:
upsa21@yahoo.com, theupsingingambassadors@gmail.com
The University of the Philippines Singing Ambassadors (UPSA) is one of the Philippines’ foremost choral groups. It was founded on August 12, 1980 by internationally-renowned conductor Edgardo Manguiat. From its humble beginnings at the Kalayaan Residence Hall of UP Diliman, it has gained recognition in prestigious choral competitions all over the world including the first Asian choir to win the Grand Prize in the Concorso Polifonico Internazionale Guido d'Arezzo in Italy twice (in 2001 and 2018). Today, this amateur choir with professional aspirations and an international prominence remains to find fulfillment in sharing their music to the less privileged who are constant recipients of their musical generosity through fundraising activities.