UP Center for Ethnomusicology

06/05/2026

Join us on May 20, 2026 (Wed) at 10 AM with Dr. LaVerne David C. de la Peña for an online lecture titled Songs from the Ruins: Music, Memory, and the Reconstruction of a Nation in the Philippines' Historical Data Papers, 1951-9153.

This public lecture explores a remarkable archive of folksongs preserved in the National Archives of the Philippines in the Historical Data Papers. Dr. de la Peña draws on this collection of community-gathered songs, lyrics, and melodies and investigates what makes these songs distinctively Filipino. These manuscripts compiled by public school teachers across the archipelago in the early 1950s under President Elpidio Quirino’s Executive Order 486 is itself a response to the devastating loss of the National library during the Battle of Manila in 1945. Gestural analysis uncover the recurring musical mannerisms - such as descending scalar contractions, neighbor-tone oscillations, and the combination of small melodic cells - that appear across regional traditions from Luzon to Mindanao. The presenter also reflects on the methodological challenges of working with such a large and heterogenous corpus, discussing the experimental use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and large language models as analytical aids for identifying patterns in both the lyrical and musical data, while situating the research within the broader history of the Philippines; postwar cultural reconstruction and the underappreciated role of teachers as grassroots ethnomusicologists.

Dr. de la Peña is the former Director of the UPCE and former Dean of the UP Kolehiyo ng Musika (UP College of Music). He also serves as Vice Chairperson of the UNESCO-Philippine National Commission, contributing to the preservation of cultural heritage through archival and documentation initiatives. Following his retirement, Dr. de la Peña continues to serve as professorial lecturer at the University of the Philippines where he teaches courses in ethnomusicology and musicology. He is the first recipient of the Trimillos Visiting Distinguished Professorship in Ethnomusicology for the Spring 2026 semester at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, a post honoring the legacy of Dr. Ricardo Trimillos. Dr. de la Peña holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from UH at Manoa and both bacherlor and master degrees from the University of the Philippines.

To join, register through https://bit.ly/SongsFromTheRuins or scan the QR code below!

Admission to the lecture is free!

05/05/2026

It’s been 22 years today since National Artist for Music and founder of the UP Center for Ethnomusicology, Dr. Jose Maceda, passed on. The UPCE remembers him and his contributions in the preservation of Philippine creative expressions and practices.

05/05/2026

SERVICE ADVISORY

The UPCE Collections Portal will be down for maintenance and data migration until further notice.

Other UPCE web services remain operational

For research concerns, you may reach us through the following email contacts:
General Email
[email protected]
Library and Archive
[email protected]
Musika Jornal
[email protected]

20/04/2026

"Using perspectives from sound studies, affect theory, and Indigenous studies, this paper examines how indigenous traditional practices develop through tensions and disagreements over representation and creative innovation among members of indigenous communities, drawing on the history and practices of left-wing activism in the Cordillera Region of the northern Philippines. In particular, it examines how an elderly member of an indigenous Igorot community, who is also an activist and a member of a political organization, responded to members of his community who criticized his use of traditional practices, costuming, music, and dance in street protests. His response, which involves a solo performance that symbolically reaffirms his political convictions, demonstrates how indigenous practice can evolve through an individual’s agency."

Soon after graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Musicology at the UP College of Music, Lisa joined the UP Center for Ethnomusicology team as a junior researcher during the 2013 Field Exchange project in Sagada, Mountain Province with a team from the National Taiwan Normal University.

Check out the article of UPCE Director Dr. Lisa Decenteceo in the Malaysian Journal of Music.

RESEARCH | Street protests led by Igorot left-wing activists feature gangsa (flat gongs), political speeches, and chants mixed with traditional celebratory dances. For many, these protests express important Igorot values such as collectivism, sovereignty, and territorial defense. However, not all Igorots agree with this approach. In 2017, some performances by leftist Igorots sparked debates within the community concerning linking Igorot identity with political activism. This was especially difficult for one elder who had, since his youth, seen Igorots defend their ancestral lands from corporate intrusion using traditional practices.

Using perspectives from sound studies, affect theory, and Indigenous studies, this paper examines how indigenous traditional practices develop through tensions and disagreements over representation and creative innovation among members of indigenous communities, drawing on the history and practices of left-wing activism in the Cordillera Region of the northern Philippines. In particular, it examines how an elderly member of an indigenous Igorot community, who is also an activist and a member of a political organization, responded to members of his community who criticized his use of traditional practices, costuming, music, and dance in street protests. His response, which involves a solo performance that symbolically reaffirms his political convictions, demonstrates how indigenous practice can evolve through an individual’s agency.

Author: Lisa Decenteceo (Department of Musicology, College of Music, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Published in the Malaysian Journal of Music

Read more: https://ovpaa.up.edu.ph/research/tensions-and-disagreements-within-indigenous-communities-over-representation-and-creative-innovation-influence-indigenous-traditional-practices/

08/04/2026

Service Advisory

In observance of Araw ng Kagitingan, the Center for Ethnomusicology will be closed tomorrow, 09 April 2026. Services will resume on 10 April 2026. Please plan your visit accordingly.

31/03/2026

ANNOUNCEMENT

The UPCE offices will be shifting to ONLINE SERVICES ONLY tomorrow, April 1, and will be closed for the rest of the week in observance of the Holy Week.

Regular services will resume on April 6, Monday.

Please plan your research accordingly.

For research concerns, you may reach us through the following email contacts:
General Email
[email protected]
Library and Archive
[email protected]
Musika Jornal
[email protected]

26/03/2026

Some of the songs to be sung at Tanglaw: Pamana ng Himig were results of the archive research done by the UP Manila Chorale’s choirmaster, Steven Verrosa. The UP Center for Ethnomusicology is always proud of artistic endeavours that activates our archives through music research.

Listen in and watch them reanimate archival materials on Sunday, March 29, 2026 at the Metropolitan Theatre! See post below for more details!

26/03/2026

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐘
Beginning on 6 April 2026, in line with Memorandum Circular No 114, the announcement from the UP Diliman Office of the Chancellor, and the guidance from the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Development, the Center for Ethnomusicology will be implementing will be implementing one (1) common work-from-home (WFH) day and four (4) in-person work days every week.

Our services remain accessible online every Monday, and we will sustain full onsite operations from Tuesdays through Fridays. Please plan your visit and research accordingly. You may reach us through our official communication channels for any inquiries.
[email protected]
[email protected]

25/03/2026

The UP Center for Ethnomusicology congratulates Atty. Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II on his reappointment as UP Diliman Chancellor!

The University of the Philippines Board of Regents in its 1407th meeting today has voted for incumbent UP Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Carlo Vistan II to continue his leadership of the constituent university. He will serve his second term until April 2, 2029.

Vistan teaches at the College of Law, where he was dean prior to his first term as UPD chancellor.

13/01/2026

ANNOUNCEMENT

The UPCE Library will be closed on 14-16 January 2026 for cleaning and maintenance of the collection.

Services will resume on January 19, 2026.

Thank you for your understanding.

For research concerns, you may reach us through the following email contacts:
General Email
[email protected]
Library and Archive
[email protected]
Musika Jornal
[email protected]