Diwa de Leon is a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, arranger and musician based in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, United States. He makes music mainly for television shows, films, and stage productions, with his most notable work the arrangement of GMA Network's ''

Survivor Philippines ''Survivor Philippines'' is a Philippine television reality competition show broadcast by GMA Network. The show is the Philippine version of the television series '' Survivor''. Originally hosted by Paolo Bediones, it premiered on September 15, ...

'' theme music. His songs have been included in multiple films such as ''

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

'' (2010). In 2008, he won the Cinema One Originals Best Musical Score award for his work on the film ''Kolorete'' and Best Music Score for '' Kamera Obskura'' at the

8th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival The 8th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival was held from July 20 until 29, 2012 in Metro Manila, Philippines. The awards night was held at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Entries The f ...

. In 2018, he won the Outstanding Original Composition award for Ibong Adarna Ballet at the 10th Gawad Buhay Awards. He is a founding member of the world music group Makiling. His first mainstream film project was for ''

Mamarazzi ''Mamarazzi'' is a 2010 Filipino comedy film starring Eugene Domingo. It is Regal Films' first offering for its 50th anniversary. This is also the last film appearance of actor AJ Perez, who died in a vehicular accident in Moncada, Tarlac on A ...

'' (2010), produced by

Regal Films Regal Entertainment, Inc. (formerly and more commonly known as Regal Films) is a Philippine film production company based in Pasig. It was founded by Lily Monteverde on August 19, 1962. It has produced movies of all genres; and is the oldest s ...

. He has a large following on social media, with over 2,000 followers of his Twitter account, and over 149,000 subscribers to his "String Player Gamer"

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel, where he posts covers of video game and pop music.

Background

Born in 1980 in the Philippines, he came from a musical family. His father Felipe Mendoza de Leon Jr. is the former chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, a branch of the Philippine government, and his mother Anna Leah Sarabia is a Filipina writer and artist. His grandfather was composer and National Artist Felipe Padilla de Leon. With his mother's urging, Diwa learned the violin from an early age. In 1996, he was strongly influenced by the music of

Joey Ayala José Íñigo Homer Lacambra Ayala (born June 1, 1956 in Bukidnon, Philippines), professionally known as Joey Ayala, is a Filipino singer, songwriter and former chairman of the music committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. ...

, and he began playing the traditional instrument the

hegalong The kutiyapi, or kudyapi, is a Philippine two-stringed, fretted boat- lute. It is four to six feet long with nine frets made of hardened beeswax. The instrument is carved out of solid soft wood such as that from the jackfruit tree. Common to al ...

. De Leon attended the

Philippine High School for the Arts The Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) is a specialized public high school in the Philippines offering arts-focused education established in 1978 by virtue of Presidential Decree 1287. An attached agency of the Department of Education, it ...

in Makiling, and the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

. In 1997, along with some high school friends, he formed a band, the Makiling Ensemble, which released three albums from 2000 to 2005, and composed the music for the film ''

Pandanggo Pandanggo is a Philippine folk dance which has become popular in the rural areas of the Philippines. The dance evolved from Fandango, a Spanish folk dance, which arrived in the Philippines during the Hispanic period. The dance is accompanied by ...

'' (2006). He then wrote music for the film '' Kolorete'' (2008), and won "Best Original Score" in that year's

Cinema One Cinema One (also called C1 and stylized as C1NEMAONE) is a Philippine pay television channel targeted to the Filipino diaspora. It is owned by Creative Programs Inc., a subsidiary of Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. Its progr ...

film festival. In 2014, he appeared in an interview with Mitzi Borromeo on News Cafe Episode 75, where he talked about his musical family background, upbringing, passion for the

, his band Makiling Ensemble and being a content creator o
Youtube
as String Player Gamer.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Diwa De Living people Filipino film score composers 1980 births