Composer Jerry A.

Dadap &
the Andres Bonifacio Concert Choir
Jerry A. Dadap is one of the leading Philippine composers of our time, steeped in music
since the 1960s when he was a student at the University of the Philippines College of Music. In
1965, he founded the Concert Philippines Choir after he and a group of young poets from the
University of Santo Tomas organized the Concert Philippines Society. They went on to stage
highly successful concerts at the Philamlife Theater with an all-Filipino repertoire, including
works by composers who would later become National Artists like Felipe P. de Leon, Antonio
Molina and Lucio D. San Pedro.
In 1968, Dadap left the country for further studies in the United States. Upon his retune
he conducted the Manila Symphony Orchestra for a series of performances called Lahi Concerts
during the 1970s, capped by a big concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1979 which
featured 1,000 performers.
That year was a breakthrough in the career of the composer, known for his nationalism
and love of history. His monumental musical Andres Bonifacio: Ang Dakilang Anak-Pawis was
presented at the CCP with a cast of 200, with the late great baritone Elmo Makil as the Supremo,
Jay Valencia-Glorioso as his wife Oryang, and Tommy Abuel as the Narrator. The libretto was by
playwright Dionisio Salazar and poet Rogelio Mangahas.
Filled with memorable music, arias, duets, choruses and marches, the musical traces
Bonifacios life as a young man taking care of his siblings, his founding of the Katipunan,
marriage, the discovery of the secret society, the conflict between the Magdiwang and the
Magdalo, and the heros death at the hands of Aguinaldos hatchetmen.
Since then the musical (with some important changes by the composer) has been restaged
many times, but not on the same scale as the landmark CCP production.
Flushed with the success of his musical, Dadap renamed Concert Philippines Choir the
Andres Bonifacio Concert Choir (ABCC) in the early 1980s, and so it has been known ever
since. Through the years, the durable ABCC has staged many concerts in the metropolis and in
the provinces. The choir has performed in theaters, auditoriums, concert halls, churches, schools
and open-air venues. Its repertoire is all-Filipino (although a song in English or even a pop song

may be interpreted if a sponsor so requests): patriotic songs, religious hymns, regional songs,
folk songs arranged in a sophisticated style, love songs and choral cycles.
The choir also specializes in presenting key excerpts from the Bonifacio musical, so the
birth (May 10) and death (November 30) anniversaries of the Supremo are important dates for
the ABCC. Their concerts usually conclude with patriotic hymns capped by the mighty choral
work Alay sa Inang Bayan by Dadap.
Born in Hinunangan, Southern Leyte in 1935, Dadap is a composer, arranger, teacher,
choirmaster and pianist, among other musical skills. He has won many prizes for his works,
which have been performed in the US and Canada. He is the first Filipino composer who has
performed his works in Carnegie Hall, New York.
He has composed over 50 major compositions apart from the musical, including an opera
about San Lorenzo Ruiz, an oratorio about the life of Jesus, a violin concerto, chamber music,
music for ballet, choral cycles, love songs, religious hymns and rondalla music, not least. As the
CCP Encyclopedia for the Arts has noted, Dadap is among the first Filipino composers to
explore the symphonic potential of the rondalla.
But, arguably, his masterpiece is the musical Andres Bonifacio: Ang Dakilang AnakPawis.

The official school choir of NCBA

CHOIR AUDITION 2016

WHEN: June 17 & 24, 2016

WHERE: NCBA MINI THEATER

Contact Person:
MR. ROGELIO RC VALINTE JR.
Director, OSA / Adviser, NCBA Singing Ambassadors

EDGIE SARCIA
Choirmaster

The official school choir of NCBA

Audition Form
NAME: _____________________________________________
(Last Name, First Name, M.I)

Grade: ___________________

Address: ___________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Birthday: __________________

Age: _______________

Contact Number: _______________________ (student)

I hereby allowing my (son/daughter) __________________________________, to

join and become part of NCBA Singing Ambassadors

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