Original Article by David Dino Guadalupe
“Musika ng Kawayan, Yaman ng Bayan” was a virtual online concert held on November 27, 2020 as part of the National Science and Technology Week (DOST NSTW) activities. The concert featured performances from selected performing groups and instrument makers from the Philippines who make use of bamboo musical instruments. Musicians from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao were represented by Dipolog Community Bamboo Rondalla, Pangkat Kawayan, Prof. Armando Salarza of the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ Foundation, Dr. Benicio Sokkong of Cordillera, Dulag Karatong Festival Ensemble from Dulag, Leyte, Joseph Gara of Huni Ukulele Cebu. They were selected from the ethnographic field research documenting the existing bamboo musical traditions and the various species of bamboo utilized for making instruments in the country.
Additional performances from Joey Ayala, Philippine Normal University (PNU) Himig Kawayan, and the Department of Science and Technology – Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI) Himig Agham Kawayan and a special number by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña and Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra on prototype bamboo instruments were also featured.
The concert highlighted the collaborative field research work done in the program “Bamboo Musical Instrument Innovation R&D” of the Department of Science and Technology Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI), the UP Diliman Electronics and Electrical Engineering Institute (UPD-EEEI), UP Center for Ethnomusicology (UPCE) and the Philippine Normal University (PNU).
Link to the Concert video on the DOST NSTW 2020 Facebook page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/nstw2020dost/videos/2752243448362573.
Photos from the documentation of BMI Project 1 taken by Marc San Valentin and Dea Nadal
Photo of Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña and Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra from the Department of Science and Technology
Screenshots from the DOST NSTW 2020 concert video
Click on individual photos to view in better resolution:
