New music is slowly taking roots in Pampanga thanks to composer Conrado del Rosario who is behind the Sunlag Ensemble based in Angeles City.
According to Del Rosario, the music played by Sunlag is inspired by nature, Asian Traditional Music and the European Avante Garde in its textures, colors and compositional processes.
Sunlag in Kapampangan means to give light, brightness and to shine.
The Sunlag ensemble based in Angeles City, Pampanga aims to create music which veers away from Filipino mainstream music including rock, folk, jazz, pop with ethnic hybrids.
Sunlag will perform some of its signature pieces at the exhibit opening at Kalye Lakandula Arts Gallery on Wednesday, October 23, 6 p.m. The venue is located at 3076 P. Tablante St. Pulungbulu, Angeles City.
The featured performers and their featured pieces are Josh Santos (Alaya, Sowing Seeds and Bulan (Moon), Jetrho Limiac (Baguio with a Friend and Ganadu la reng Magobra) and Conrado del Rosario (Kulekang, So Long and Terak da reng Anak king lalam Tete (Dance of the Children under the Bridge).
Del Rosario said this latest performance — informal as they are — mark the next step in the ensemble’s journey as it continues to explore the possibilities of bamboo instruments within a contemporary context.
Del Rosario pointed out the ensemble included a diverse group of members—visual artists, teachers, housewives —who did not need to read music. “The focus back then was more on exploring timbre, texture, and rhythm rather than melody or harmony, and the instruments themselves lacked a standardized tuning. This approach lost some of its appeal to me as I sought to develop the ensemble’s capabilities. I began tuning the instruments to introduce melodic and harmonic aspects, shifting the focus to more structured compositions. This shift required musicians with more experience, including the ability to read music. It led to the downsizing of the group. However, finding committed musicians who can align their schedules for regular rehearsals has been challenging, limiting the group’s growth. Despite these challenges, the current members—Josh and Jetrho—have remained committed. Josh, formerly a high school teacher, now works at a Call Center Hub, while Jetrho, who recently completed his architecture course, works for an architecture firm and still plays tuba in his former college’s symphony orchestra. The three of us rehearse every Sunday in the late afternoon, where in addition to practicing our repertoire, I also guide them in composition, providing lessons and discussing their works in progress.”
Of late, one of Del Rosario’s works veered away from the avantgarde like the one called Mahal performed by the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra (MSJO) at the MiraNila ancestral house early this month.
It’s been a long time since one heard an original Filipino composition so detached from cloying sentimentality and yet so well-structured to illumine the composer’s native roots. The music blended well with the MiraNila’s historic past and its vibrant future. Never has one heard a piece of music so reminiscent of the past and yet pulsating with the sounds of the contemporary world.
Indeed Filipino-ness of his piece emerged even better the second time around on native soil. The feeling wasn’t as overpowering when the piece had its world premiere in February 2023 in a music festival in Chile. “The appeal of the composition was even stronger in MiraNila with ample preparations. I refined some sections for better balance and clarity and worked closely with the musicians to fine-tune their interpretation. They were wonderfully receptive—eager to learn, curious, and very easy to work with. Their natural understanding of the emotional core of Mahal allowed us to focus on technical aspects like tightening the ensemble’s cohesion.”
Del Rosario admitted he was deeply moved by the MiraNila audience reaction. “It’s an immense honor as a composer when your music resonates with people. Many approached me afterward to express how much they were touched by Mahal which is perhaps the greatest compliment a composer can receive.
What the audience didn’t know was that Del Rosario was a winner of the League of Filipino Composers Chamber Music Composition Competition in 1982 for his String Quartet No. 1.
That enabled him to have studies at the Berlin University of the Arts with Isang Yun and Witold Szalonek. That Berlin exposure refined his artistry which resulted in his winning his first international competition among them the Hambacher, Hitzacker and Irino which gave him recognition from the Berlin Cultural Senate. In time, his compositions reverberated globally and his educational influence extended to institutions like the Berlin Charlottenburg Musikschule and Berlin University of the Arts.
The composer’s musical odyssey started at the University of the Philippines where his mentors included National Artists for Music Lucio San Pedro and Francisco Feliciano. They paved the way for his life as musician, composer, and arranger in Manila’s music scene.
His versatility cuts across orchestral pieces to jazz which led to the establishment of the KAPAMU Jazz Collective and the Sunlag Bamboo Music Ensemble. Without fanfare, Del Rosario became part of the country’s colorful landscape of music.
The composer returned to Manila in 2013 when his father passed away and settled in Angeles, Pampanga. “While I wish there were more classical music performances here, I strive to contribute to a richer artistic environment. I teach piano and composition privately, compose regularly and am actively involved in my KapaMu Jazz Collective which focuses on true improvisation-based jazz. I also work with the Sunlag Bamboo Instrument Ensemble, blending traditional and contemporary sounds. I continue to wish for more classical performances here in Pampanga. I long for an artistic scene that goes beyond mainstream entertainment. Nonetheless, I keep busy with my private teaching, composing, and performing with the KapaMu Jazz Collective. I work weekly with the Sunlag Bamboo Instrument Ensemble, where we explore a fusion of traditional bamboo instruments and contemporary music. I’m slowly developing an orchestral work focused on tree conservation, which will have two versions—one with voice and another purely orchestral. I’ll soon begin a commissioned piece for the Germany-based Asian Art Ensemble, titled Mountain Stories, which will feature Korean traditional instruments alongside a Western string quintet. This will be performed in Berlin next May. I also plan to write a solo flute work for a talented Filipino-American flutist while continuing to review my tonal compositions for potential performances with the MJSO.”
In all these musical endeavors, he doesn’t forget jazz which is part of his regular music gigs. “Jazz — with its emphasis on improvisation — is essential to my creative process. I play jazz on both piano and saxophone and I love the spontaneity it allows—exploring new harmonic possibilities and solutions in real-time, some of which I incorporated into Mahal. It’s the thrill of creating something in the moment that excites me the most. This isn’t limited to jazz either. I remember German church music students who could improvise fugues in the style of Bach, a lost art! In Berlin, I founded the Berlin Improvising Composers’ Ensemble (BICE), where five of us composed and performed together. We blended composed and improvised elements in our performances across Europe, Canada, and New York over a span of ten years. Performing helps keep me sharp and engaged.”
(For inquiries on Conrado del Rosario’s compositions and coming engagements, call 09338658735 or email: conradelrosario@icloud.com).