Josefino "Chino" Javier Toledo (born March 6, 1959) is a Filipino composer and conductor.
Biography
Early Life
Josefino Toledo is born on March 6, 1959 to Victor Toledo and Lolita Javier. Born to a musical family, his father Victor was the founder and directors of Pangkat Kawayan,[1] a musical ensemble of bamboo instruments played by elementary school students.[2] It was his father who first taught him the rudiments of music. He likewise played in his father's ensemble during his childhood days, playing the marimba and xylophone.[3]
After he graduated at the UP College of Music in 1979 he became the principal percussionist of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. At the same time he taught percussion and composition in his alma mater the UP College of Music. He also taught at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music until 1983.[6]
He eventually became the music director and conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra from 1985-1987,[6] as well as guest conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra on several occasions in the 1990s and 2000s.
In the 2000s, he maintained his faculty position as chair of the Composition and Theory department at the UP College of Music, eventually obtaining the title of Full Professor. He was also the executive director of the Miriam College Center for Applied Music. In 2000, he founded the Metro Manila Concert Orchestra, serving as its music director until 2016.[1]
In 2016, he became the founding director and conductor of the University of the Philippines Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, he was bestowed the title of Professor Emeritus by the UP Board of Regents.[8]
Personal Life
Chino Toledo is currently married and has two children.[1]
Compositions
Chino Toledo's compositions are in the avant-garde style. His music is characterized by its "fusion of contemporary western language and Southeast Asian aesthetics".[5] His first commissioned work, Angklungan, written in 1976 when he was 17 while studying at the UP College of Music already showed the influences of his composition teachers, particularly of Jose Maceda.[3] Toledo's catalog of works includes music for theater, films, scoring libraries, orchestrations and arrangement for different performing forces, and revisions and edition of Philippine sarsuwelas.
The following is a selection of his compositions:[8][4][5][9][10]
SUDI 2021 National Music Award - National Commission for Culture and the Arts (2020)
Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award - UP Alumni Association (2022)
Best Musical Direction for “ANAK DATU” 35th Aliw Award (2023)
References
^ abcJorge, Rome (February 22, 2009). "Conductor Chino Toledo Orchestral music plugs into today's youth". Sunday Times Magazine.
^Carunungan, M. (1994). "Pangkat Kayawan". in CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art (Vol. 6: Music). Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines.
^ abcQuintos, Floy (1981). "Chino Toledo: between Avant garde and Ethnic music". Arts Monthly. 2: 24.
^ abcReyes, F. and Brillantes, P. (1994). "Toledo, Chino". in CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art (Vol. 6: Music). Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines.
^ abc"Biography". Chino Toledo. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
^ abCummings, David (1993). International who's who in music and musicians' directory (13th ed.). p. 1113.
^Besa, Della, ed. (1991). CCP Sarswela Series: Walang Sugat. Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines.
