Ugnayan (“interlinking”) (1972), by the late Philippine composer José Maceda, was a composition created for simultaneous transmission by 20 radio stations, spreading the sounds of traditional bamboo instruments through radio receivers held by hundreds of participants in public places around the city of Manila. It was conceived as an expression of collective social action and realized under the purview of the political agenda of the regime of then President Ferdinand Marcos as an effective instrument in the exercise of power in political governance.
Dr. Santos’ lecture will be followed by a performance of Ugnayan, organized by Chris Brown of the Mills Music Department, with graduate students from the Seminar in Electronic Music Performance, and with the collaboration of radio station KFJC.
Audience members are strongly encouraged to participate by bringing portable, battery-powered radios, especially boom-boxes, to act as receivers for the sounds of the piece. They will be instructed to tune their radios to one of five FM frequencies while moving through the performance area of Mills’ Greek Theater, dynamically altering the mixture of sounds in the piece.
Dr. Ramon P. Santos belongs to the New and Experimental Music group of Filipino composers. He initially trained in Composition and Conducting at the University of the Philippines, and earned his Master of Music and Ph.D. degrees at Indiana University and State University of New York at Buffalo, respectively. He has been elected as Member of Honor of the Asian Composers League which he led as Chairman in 1994-1997, as well as elected Vice President of the International Music Council at UNESCO from 2001 to 2005. He is currently serving as University Professor Emeritus of the UP, President of the Musicological Society of the Philippines, and Executive Director of the UP Center of Ethnomusicology.
Cost: FREE