JazzPhil-USA
Filipino-American Jazz Festival
2007 Lifetime Achievement Awardee
Born on April 22, 1921, Peña was surrounded by music as a child. His mother, Rosario Velarde Matias, a schoolteacher, studied voice at the University of the Philippines and it was from her that he learned the solfeggio. His father, Gregorio Cid Peña, played the violin, and his grandfather was handy with the guitar. Apart from genetics, Peña had the good fortune of growing up in Malabon, famous for its musicians and marching bands. His mother died when he was 11 years old. His father had discouraged Peña from studying music, hoping he would take up law, medicine or some other “respectable profession.” By then, it was too late. A self-taught musician, Peña read books on musical theory and composition.
Just before WWII, Peña wrote his first original jazz composition. In his youth, he also wrote kundimans for the young women he would be courting. “Musicians are romantic,” he says “it’s part of our music.” The outbreak of the war put a temporary halt to music-making, but not for long. When life returned to normal after the war, Peña became one of the most sought-after arrangers in Manila. He had also switched from guitar to bass. This led to writing orchestral background music for LVN Pictures. This, in turn further kindled Peña’s interest in classical composition. In 1956, Peña formed a big band for the Upsilon Sigma Phi’s traditional concert at the University of the Philippines. He decided to write something special for the occasion, and the result was “Bagbagtulambing,” a landmark in Filipino music. In 1959, the University of Santo Tomas launched a national symphonic composition contest open to all Filipino composers. Peña’s entry “Igorot Rhapsody” won the first prize the following year. Since then, Peña moved effortlessly between the jazz and classical worlds, sometimes, straddling them. In the mid-1960s, during his 3-year stint in Hong Kong, he earned a Licentiate with the Royal School of Music in London, which is equivalent to a music degree. His biography and works are cited in the Encyclopedia of Philippine Music and Arts, Cultural Center of the Philippines.
In
1969 Peña auditioned for the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and was
immediately accepted as bassist and later as arranger. He would spend
the next 28 years in Hawaii. As farewell homage, the Manila Symphony
Orchestra performed his “Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra.” In
Honolulu, Peña continued to write his own music. In 1981, on the
occasion of the 75th anniversary of Filipino presence in Hawaii, the
Honolulu Symphony premiered his “Concerto for Jazz Quartet and
Orchestra” with an all-star Filipino jazz quartet. In 1982 Cultural
Center of the Philippines performed a concert of his classical works in
honor of the Philippine expatriate artist. During his absence from
Manila, jazz groups “back home” continued to play his compositions, and
the seeds that he had sown began to bear fruit. A new generation of
Filipino musicians is discovering the composer. Since his
“homecoming,” Peña has been teaching scholars in Double Bass as an
adjunct faculty at the University of the Philippines and collaborating
with the UP Jazz Ensemble on a number of concerts.
Although
music remains a consuming passion, Peña is also very much involved in
spiritual development. Peña believes that “since all music emanates
from the Divine, there is really no barrier between the musician and
the seeker. Even in his 80s, Angel Peña is still showing the way.
2006 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDEE
TOTI FUENTES
Mr. Toti Fuentes, the Chicago-based pianist, arranger, conductor, has performed with Sergio Mendes and Brazil 88, Aretha Franklin, and Jeffrey Osborne, and conducted the North Dakota Symphony Orchestra and the Louisville Pops Symphony Orchestra. Fuentes, who has lived in the United States for many years, admits his true passion has always been Brazilian music. "My heart always searches for a way to make Brazilian music -- and my obsession with Sergio Mendes is a case in point. He was a big challenge for me since 1966. I would meet him in person more than 20 years later in 1988 and I shared the stage with him. It was an honor for me to be face-to-face with a legend."
Rare for a professional performer, Toti Fuentes lived clean all his life. He is said to neither smoke nor drink. No nights out, either -- unless he performs. But in a horrible irony, he was diagnosed with a rare gastro-intestinal tumor about two years ago and was given a few months to live. His recovery was nothing short of a miracle, and his presence brings new meaning to the phrase "living legend." Fuentes celebrates his life pursuing his greatest passion: music!
Emil Mijares
