Peña and his Double Bass - Honolulu Symphony Orchestra | Born on April 22, 1921, Peña was surrounded by music as a child. His mother, Rosario Velarde Matias, a schoolteacher, studied voice at the University of the Philippines and it was from her that he learned the solfeggio. His father, Gregorio Cid Peña, played the violin, and his grandfather was handy with the guitar. Apart from genetics, Peña had the good fortune of growing up in Malabon, famous for its musicians and marching bands. His mother died when he was 11 years old. His father had discouraged Peña from studying music, hoping he would take up law, medicine or some other “respectable profession.” By then, it was too late. A self-taught musician, Peña read books on musical theory and composition.
Just before WWII, Peña wrote his first original jazz composition. In his youth, he also wrote kundimans for the young women he would be courting. “Musicians are romantic,” he says “it’s part of our music.” The outbreak of the war put a temporary halt to music-making, but not for long. When life returned to normal after the war, Peña became one of the most sought-after arrangers in Manila. He had also switched from guitar to bass. This led to writing orchestral background music for LVN Pictures. This, in turn further kindled Peña’s interest in classical composition. In 1956, Peña formed a big band for the Upsilon Sigma Phi’s traditional concert at the University of the Philippines. He decided to write something special for the occasion, and the result was “Bagbagtulambing,” a landmark in Filipino music. In 1959, the University of Santo Tomas launched a national symphonic composition contest open to all Filipino composers. Peña’s entry “Igorot Rhapsody” won the first prize the following year. Since then, Peña moved effortlessly between the jazz and classical worlds, sometimes, straddling them. In the mid-1960s, during his 3-year stint in Hong Kong, he earned a Licentiate with the Royal School of Music in London, which is equivalent to a music degree. His biography and works are cited in the Encyclopedia of Philippine Music and Arts, Cultural Center of the Philippines. In 1969 Peña auditioned for the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and was immediately accepted as bassist and later as arranger. He would spend the next 28 years in Hawaii. As farewell homage, the Manila Symphony Orchestra performed his “Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra.” In Honolulu, Peña continued to write his own music. In 1981, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Filipino presence in Hawaii, the Honolulu Symphony premiered his “Concerto for Jazz Quartet and Orchestra” with an all-star Filipino jazz quartet. In 1982 Cultural Center of the Philippines performed a concert of his classical works in honor of the Philippine expatriate artist. During his absence from Manila, jazz groups “back home” continued to play his compositions, and the seeds that he had sown began to bear fruit. A new generation of Filipino musicians is discovering the composer. Since his “homecoming,” Peña has been teaching scholars in Double Bass as an adjunct faculty at the University of the Philippines and collaborating with the UP Jazz Ensemble on a number of concerts.
Although music remains a consuming passion, Peña is also very much involved in spiritual development. Peña believes that “since all music emanates from the Divine, there is really no barrier between the musician and the seeker. Even in his 80s, Angel Peña is still showing the way. Article excerpted from Philippine Daily Inquirer Sunday Magazine dated 01/12/2003, written by Eric Caruncho. |