Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

Pakighinabi 2025: Harmonies of Identity: Exploring Filipino Music and Dance Across Time | Research Forum and Cultural Performances

Details
The TriCollege Ph.D. Philippine Studies Program invites you to the PAKIGHINABI SERIES, "Harmonies of Identity: Exploring Filipino Music and Dance Across Time," an afternoon of research presentations, discussions, and live performances on 24 February 2025, 2:00 to 5:00 PM at the GT-Toyota Asian Center Auditorium, UP Diliman. This event is free and open to the public. Online pre-registration is recommended due to limited seating.

ABOUT PAKIGHINABI 2025

A Cebuano term meaning "weaving of conversations" or "exchange of ideas," Pakighinabi is a series of events that seeks to provide a platform for the students of the Tri-College Ph.D. Philippine Studies program to share their research using various methods, offering insights into Philippine Studies, and discussing experiences on fieldwork. The event gives researchers the opportunity to network, exchange best practices and lessons learned, with the hope to inspire fellow students in doing their own individual research.
Pakighinabi intends to help bridge coursework and research. It seeks to benefits not only students of the Ph.D. Philippine Studies program but also graduate students from the College of Arts and Letters (CAL), College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP), and Asian Center (AC), especially those working on their thesis or dissertations. Even BA and MA Araling Pilipino students can gain valuable insights.
The Pakighinabi Series happens every semester, featuring two to three speakers per session. Each event lasts two to three hours, with time for presentations and open discussions. This semester, the event is open to the public, allowing more people to learn from these research presentations.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS AND PERFORMERS

The Filipino Contemporary Commercial Music Singer: Mimicry as Phenomenon

Filipino singers are often admired worldwide for their "beautiful" voices, but is this reputation merely a result of mimicry? This dissertation challenges the common belief that Filipino contemporary commercial music (CCM) singers simply imitate foreign styles. Instead, it argues that these artists are shaped by a complex mix of cultural influences, personal agency, musical structures, and deeply embedded habits that have been passed down through generations. Using an ethnographic approach, the study examines how singing competitions, mass media, technology, and commercial music institutions have influenced the development of Filipino CCM singers from 1972 to 2015. By analyzing amateur contest winners, stage performers, international champions, and lounge singers, it provides a deeper understanding of their journey in the industry. Based on interviews and industry insights, the research introduces a theory on the aesthetics of Filipino CCM singers, showing how their craft has evolved from the country’s vibrant singing culture. The study concludes with a development program proposal to nurture and support Filipino singers as they compete on the global stage.
KATHERINE FRANCES VALDELLON-MOLINA, Ph.D.
Retired Associate Professor, Department of Voice, Music Theater and Dance, UP College of Music
Prof. Katherine Frances Valdellon Molina, also known as “Kitchy Molina”, is a highly respected voice coach and performer with over 30 years of teaching experience at the UP College of Music. She has played lead roles in operas, performed as a soloist in major symphonies, and spent 25 years as a commercial jingle singer and backup vocalist for both local and international artists. She is also the only foreign Master Teacher of the McClosky Institute of Voice in Boston, USA and works as a voice therapist at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City.

The Symphony Orchestra in the Philippines: A Cultural Outline (1896-1986)

This paper is a study on the culture of the Philippine symphony orchestra as it developed in Manila between 1896-1986, focusing on selected orchestral organizations from the post-WWll and later periods. Interest of the study cover questions such as - how do these groups serve in the greater society? Have these organizations developed practices and relationships from the membership that are unique in their social setting? Why are individuals attracted to become part of these organizations? Why do groups continue to invest in these musical organizations in spite of difficulties in maintaining such organizations? This paper delved into the orchestra and how it has developed in the Philippines and attempted to uncover its 1neaning in Philippine social life, culture and tradition. The study looked into the orchestra culture as it developed in Manila in the late nineteenth until the twentieth century, specifically the years between 1896 - 1986; which is considered the peak of orchestra music organization and performance in the country. 1896 is the year that the Molina Orchestra was identified as the first non-church orchestra that intentionally promoted the study and propagation of orchestra music in Manila. The years following are of great historical significance to the Philippines and Manila in particular, as Filipinos experienced winds of change from foreign invasion, rule and governance. Included in the paper are case studies of Philippine orchestras which are intended to describe the unique facets of each orchestra's culture in detail, as seen through their organizational structure, program designs and curation, shared orchestra experiences, common music education backgrounds, among other things. The paper ends in the Marcos era and the years immediately following that brought about the historic and phenomenal EDSA Revolution of 1986. Throughout all these historical events, the Philippine orchestra was always part of the social scene.
EDNA MARCIL MARTINEZ, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of String and Chamber Music, UP College of Music
UP Arco, the UP String Orchestra, was founded in 1998 as a performing group of the UP College of Music. Under the baton of Prof. Edna Marcil “Michi” Martinez, this talented ensemble of student musicians specializes in both classical and Filipino compositions. They have performed in major concert halls and public events, bringing to life the works of Buenaventura, Buencamino, Corelli, Bach, Vivaldi, and many others.

 

The Filipino Ballet: Examining the Process of Indigenization and Its Identification in/of Nation

This dissertation examines the Filipinization of ballet, that is the processes of indigenization and localization of a foreign art form into an undeniable part of Philippine culture. It analyzes key Filipino ballets to determine what about the Filipino and Filipino culture are their choreographers trying to present or represent, and why these are important to perform, whether for international audiences or for other Filipinos. This analysis is framed within existing discussions of Filipinization, particularly the indigenizing of cultural elements, theoretical perspectives and modes of thought, as articulated by Virgilio Enriquez, Prospero Covar, and F. Landa Jocano, and their, along with Resil Mojares’ separate yet similar concepts of diwa as a shared national soul. The Filipino ballets that will be discussed in this paper are choreographed by seven of the most prominent ballet choreographers in the Philippines: Felicitas Radaic, Basilio Esteban Villaruz, Tony Fabella, Gener Caringal, Eli Jacinto, Agnes Locsin, and Ronilo Jaynario. 
JOELLE JACINTO, Ph.D.
Repertoire Manager and Restager, TEAM Dance Studio
Prof. Joelle Florence Patrice Jacinto, known as “Joelle,” is a dancer, choreographer, writer, and academic. Trained in ballet, jazz, and modern dance under her father, Eli Jacinto, she performed lead roles in classical ballets such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and Cinderella. She also worked as a repetiteur for TEAM Dance Studio, restaging ballets and original works. Joelle holds a BM in Dance, an MA in Art Studies, and a PhD in Philippine Studies from the University of the Philippines. She has had a prolific career in dance writing, founding Runthru Dance Magazine in 2008, and has taught at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur from 2014-2017, where she also choreographed several works for UMa Dance Company and Balletbase. Currently, she serves as the Dean of the School of Heritage Education at the Asian Institute of Maritime Studies.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

The Pakighinabi Event Series is organized by the TriCollege Ph.D. Philippine Studies Program of the University of the Philippines Diliman, jointly administered by the Asian Center, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy and the College of Arts and Letters. Learn more. 
For more details, you may reach us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 8891-8500 loc. 3578.
The Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The UP Asian Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. It also offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. As an area studies institution, the Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website.