Music in the Philippines

INTRODUCTION

F

ilipino musicians are among the best in Asia. The Philippines has produced international class performers like the acclaimed pianist Cecille Licad; Lea Salonga, the star of the West End and Broadway musical hit, "Miss Saigon"; and the jazz pianist Bobby Enriquez. Top performers include Vernie Varga, Zsa-Zsa Padilla, Kuh Ledesma, Regine Velasquez, Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera and Jose Mari Chan. Popular groups are the APO Hiking Society, the Tux, and the Side A Band.

Many Filipino performers are now actively supporting OPM (Original Pilipino Music). Filipinos are just as good at composing as they are at performing.

Traditional filipino music and dance are offered at theaters or hotel restaurants where cultural dance troupes have regular performances. The shows will take visitors from the mountain tribes of the North and the Chritianized Central provinces to the colorful Muslim ethnic groups of the South. A native dinner precedes this cultural feast.