Art Events in Manila and Beyond

Khavn plays piano at "Kung Hindi Man"
Alwin Reamillo's "Nicanor Abelardo Grand Piano Project"

Tuesday, December 9, 2008
6:00pm - 9:00pm
Vargas Museum, UP Diliman

Contact Info:
639178394676
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You are cordially invited to the Kung Hindi Man, an evening concert to
be held on 09 December (Tuesday), 6:00 P.M. at the Lobby of the UP
Vargas Museum. The concert is in line with the Nicanor Abelardo Grand
Piano Project of artist-in-residence Alwin Reamillo and in celebration
of the 25th anniversary of the UP College of Arts and Letters (CAL).

The concert is once more a tribute to Nicanor Abelardo, the first
modernist composer of the country and the composer of the university's
hymn, UP Beloved/UP Naming Mahal. Invited performers will serenade
guests with classic Abelardo compositions such as Mutya ng Pasig and
Bituing Marikit. Featured artists include students, professors, and
alumni from the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Music.
Other guest performers include the UP Cherubim and students and alumni
from the Philippine High School for the Arts, Reamillo's alma mater.

A program also pays tribute to a contemporary of Abelardo, the poet
Jesus Balmori who provided the lyrics to some of the composer's works.
The program includes Balmori's poem El Alma de los Pianos (The Heart
of a Piano) to be read in three languages. The evening will be
concluded by performances of contemporary music by artist Khavn de la
Cruz, saxophonist Jay Gomez, the Kontra-Gapi, and invited UP students.
Guests are invited to play their favorite piano pieces at the end of
the show.

To celebrate the centenary of the University of the Philippines and
the 25th year of the UP College of Arts and Letters , the UP Jorge B.
Vargas Museum presents Kung Hindi Man, the Nicanor Abelardo Grand
Piano Project Concert on 9 December 2008 @ 6 : 00 PM at the Lobby of
the UP Vargas Museum.

The Nicanor Ableardo Grand Piano Project is an ongoing residency
project of Australia-based artist Alwin Reamillo at the UP Vargas
Museum. This developmental restoration project involves the artist's
sourcing of old found upright and grand pianos and its transformation
as art case instruments. As modified pianos, these art case pianos
also function as conceptual portraits to pay tribute to the memory of
Nicanor Abelardo. Considered as the first modernist composer in the
country and the composer of the university hymn, UP Beloved / UP
Naming Mahal. Abelardo also wrote the first piano concerto in the
country and pioneered the research of traditional musical forms that
led to the development of the Kundiman to art music status.

The art installation will feature two art case instruments, built from
found Wittemberg upright pianos (1990) as prelude to the development
of the grand piano. The installation will thematically focus on
Abelardo's classical work Mutya ng Pasig, which will be animated
through text, objects, found piano parts and imagery drawn from extant
photographs and popular culture to mark the artist's musical journey
as a composer. To signify work in progress, the artist will also
feature a found grand piano, which will be developed in the months to
come. A series of small-scale, wing-shaped piano lids and its mirror
construction will also be developed to depict the artist's journey as
a government scholar to the United States. These `wing works'
thematically reference other classic Kundiman compositions such as
Nasaan Ka Irog and Bituing Marikit.

Admission is free. For more details on the Kung Hindi Man concert,
please contact the UP Vargas Museum at 928-19-27 (direct line),
928-19-25 (telefax), 981-8500 loc. 4024 or send an e-mail at
vargasmuseum@ gmail.com.

Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center
Roxas Avenue, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101
Philippines
Telephone Numbers: (+632) 928-1927, (+632) 981-8500 locals 4021 to 24
Fax Number: (+632) 928-1925
Website: www.vargasmuseum. org
Email addresses: vargasmuseum@ up.edu.ph, vargasmuseum@ yahoo.com,
vargasmuseum@ gmail.com