Sunday, November 19, 1PM
Lobby of the Young Centre for the Performing Arts
50 Tank House Lane, Toronto (Map)
JOIN THE PERFORMANCE
We’re looking for 100 volunteers to perform in Cassettes 100. People of all ages, backgrounds and abilities are welcome to participate. Volunteers will be required for four hours on Sunday, November 19 from 10AM-2PM and will be provided with a light lunch. If you are interested in being a part of the Canadian premiere of Cassettes 100, please register here. Learn more about volunteering here.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
In 1971, an immersive inter-arts piece called Cassettes 100 created by National Artist of the Philippines, José Maceda, was performed in the lobby of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The 30-minute piece consists of one hundred ‘musicians’ weaving their way through and around an ‘audience,’ each carrying a cassette player playing one of the hundred pre-recorded tracks of various Philippine instruments, voices and natural sounds.
On November 19, 2017, José Maceda’s granddaughter, Andrea Mapili and her husband, Byron Abalos, along with Soulpepper Theatre Company and the University of the Philippines’ Center for Ethnomusicology, will present the Canadian premiere of Cassettes 100 in the lobby of the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, Canada. This project is a part of Maceda 100, a year-long international celebration of the life, work and legacy of National Artist of the Philippines, José Maceda.
Original performance of Cassettes 100 in the lobby of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1971.
A performance of Cassettes 100 in the Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines celebrating the launch of Maceda 100, 2017.
ABOUT JOSE MACEDA – NATIONAL ARTIST OF THE PHILIPPINES
José Montserrat Maceda (January 17, 1917 – May 5, 2004) was a noted Filipino composer, ethnomusicologist, pianist, philosopher, scholar, and National Artist. His collection of indigenous field recordings are part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World collection.
Among his many honors are grants from the Guggenheim (1957–58, for study in the USA) and Rockefeller (1968, for research in Africa and Brazil) foundations, the honor l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques in France (1978) and the University of The Philippines Outstanding Research Award (1985). He has also received the John D. Rockefeller Award from the Asian Cultural Council in New York (1987), the Philippine National Science Society Achievement Award (1988), the award Tanglaw ng Lahi from Ateneo University (1988), and the award Gawad ng Lahi from the Cultural Center of The Philippines (1989).
Furthermore, he has received the Fumio Koizumi Award for Ethnomusicology in Japan (1992), the National Research Council Award (1993), the award Araw ng Maynila (1996), the Nikkei Award in Tokyo (1997), the award of the Fondazione Civitella Ranieri in Italy (1997), and the title of National Artist for Music (1998). He also holds the titles of Officier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite (1997) and Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (2001) from the government of France.
José Maceda’s field recordings are now part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World.
ABOUT MACEDA 100
Maceda 100, curated by the University of the Philippines’ Ethnomusicology department, is a series of special events in celebration of José Maceda’s 100th birth year which will feature an international symposium, musical performances of his compositions, sound art exhibits, and research activities scattered throughout the year of 2017. One of the auspicious events for the Maceda 100 year is the inauguration of the Maceda Hall. Included in the construction of new physical facilities in the UP College of Music in 2017, the hall is a music resource center which will house the UP Center for Ethnomusicology in its second floor.
ABOUT SOULPEPPER
Soulpepper is one of Canada’s largest and most renowned theatre companies. It seeks to be a National Civic Theatre is a place of belonging for artists, audiences, and aspirants. It has received dozens of Dora Mavor Moore awards and hundreds of nominations. It currently produces the award-winning CBC television show Kim’s Convenience and is taking residency in New York’s Pershing Theatre on 42nd Street for three performances in repertory in July. Cassettes 100 is the featured festival opening performance for the Shen Series (November 18-19), which seeks to promote the development of Asian-Canadian arts leaders, and provide funding for new creative initiatives by artists of the Asian diaspora.
ABOUT UP CENTER FOR ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
The UP Center for Ethnomusicology is a center for music research with material collections on the musics and musical traditions in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and representative areas from other continents. The Center was founded by Dr. Jose M. Maceda (1917- 2004), composer, ethnomusicologist, pianist, philosopher, scholar, and National Artist.
PARTNERSHIPS
This is a community-based project and we have partnered with the following:
Lunch for our volunteers is generously donated by:
FUNDERS
This project was supported by a Multi and Interarts Project grant from the Ontario Arts Council Ontario Arts Council.
ABOUT THE PROJECT LEADS
Andrea Mapili and Byron Abalos are Toronto-based interdisciplinary artists that work primarily in the areas of theatre, dance, and community arts.
Byron is also Dora-Award winning actor, playwright, theatre creator, producer and fundraiser. Andrea is a dancer, choreographer, playwright, producer, arts facilitator and teacher, and a Tamalpa practitioner specializing in movement-based expressive arts therapy and education. Andrea is the granddaughter of José Maceda and will be reimagining Cassettes 100 through a contemporary, Canadian lens.
Their play for young audiences, Through the Bamboo, appeared in Soulpepper’s Tiger Bamboo Festival last year and in their Shen Series in October.
Artistic and project leads, Byron Abalos and Andrea Mapili
CONTACT
For more information, please contact cassettes100@gmail.com.