Nilo Alcala is a

Filipino-American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New S ...

composer and 2019

The American Prize The American Prize is a set of annual nonprofit national competitions in the performing arts which recognizes and rewards commercial and noncommercial recorded performances of classical music in the United States based on submitted applications. T ...

Winner in Composition. He is the first Philippine-born composer to be commissioned by Grammy winner

Los Angeles Master Chorale The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both The Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one of the t ...

, and also to receive the

Aaron Copland House The Aaron Copland House, also known as Rock Hill or Copland House, is the former home of composer Aaron Copland for the last 30 years of his life, and now also a creative center for American music. Located on Washington Street in Cortlandt Manor ...

Residency Award.

Biography

Alcala has received a number of recognitions, including the 2009 POLYPHONOS Young Composer Award given by the Seattle-based vocal ensemble, The Esoterics. He also received a Young Composer Award from the Asian Composers League, in cooperation with the Israel Composers' League in 2004. He won Best Movie Theme Song and was also nominated for Best Film Score at the 34th

Metro Manila Film Festival The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is an annual film festival held in Metro Manila, Philippines. The festival, which runs from December 25 (Christmas) through New Year's Day and into first weekend of January in the following year, focuses on ...

for his music in the movie "Homecoming" by renowned Filipino director

Gil Portes Gil M. Portes (September 13, 1945 – May 24, 2017) was a Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter. Early life and education Gil Portes took up his Journalism at the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines and received a mas ...

. For the same movie, Alcala also received nominations from the

Golden Screen Awards Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome, Stroud#Golden Val ...

of the Entertainment Press Society and the Star Awards for Movies of the Philippine Movie Press Club. Alcala is the first ever Filipino to be commissioned by the

. His work Mangá Pakalagián was premiered at the

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...

on November 15, 2015. As an arranger, his work in the Sony BMG released Album

Acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

of the renowned

Philippine Madrigal Singers The University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers (UPMS), also known as the Philippine Madrigal Singers or simply Madz, is one of the major choral groups based in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Its current conductor, musical direct ...

was nominated for Best Vocal Arrangement at the 20th

Awit Awards The Awit Awards are music awards in the Philippines given annually by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) to recognize the outstanding achievements in the music industry. The word "Awit" means "song" literally in Filipino. T ...

organized by the

Philippine Association of the Record Industry The Philippine Association of the Record Industry (Filipino: ''Kapisanan ng Industriya ng Plaka ng Pilipinas'', abbreviated as PARI) is a non-profit and private trade organization, that represents the recording industry distributors in the Phili ...

or PARI. Alcala was member/soloist and resident composer/arranger of the two-time European Choral Grand Prix winner and

UNESCO Artist for Peace UNESCO Artists for Peace are international celebrity advocates for the United Nations agency UNESCO. This category of advocate is intended to heighten public awareness in addition to the categories UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador UNESCO Goodwill Amba ...

. The group has premiered Alcala's compositions in prestigious international festivals and competitions, including the Florilege Vocal de Tours in France, and the

European Grand Prix for Choral Singing The European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (in French, Grand Prix Européen de Chant Choral, commonly abbreviated as European Choral Grand Prix or GPE) is an annual choral competition between the winners of six European choral competitions. It was ...

in Arezzo, Italy. His works "Diary of a Synaesthete" and "Speak to me my love/You are the evening cloud" were chosen for premiere by the Metro Manila Community Orchestra during the Music UnderKonstruction concerts at

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines ( fil, Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, or CCP) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines.Presidential Decree No. ...

in 2005 and 2006, respectively. His compositions and arrangements have been performed by various choirs around the world, including: The World Youth Choir, Asia Pacific Youth Choir, San Francisco Girls Chorus (San Francisco, CA), NOTUS (Indiana, IL), and Stellenbosch University choir (South Africa). He was member and resident composer of

. Also, he has been honorary member of the, Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Student,

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

and

Pi Kappa Lambda Pi Kappa Lambda () is an American honor society for undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors of music. There are over 270 chapters nationally; a complete roster of current chapters is listed in the organization's official web si ...

(music honor society).

Education

Alcala graduated BS

Development Communication Development communication refers to the use of communication to facilitate social development. Development communication engages stakeholders and policy makers, establishes conducive environments, assesses risks and opportunities and promotes i ...

from the

University of the Philippines Los Baños The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; fil, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Los Baños), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay ...

(BSDC 1999) prior to his admission in 2001 to 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 ...

Diliman College of Music. Upon graduating Bachelor of Music in Composition Magna cum laude in 2007, Alcala received the Gawad Chanselor Natatanging Mag-aaral (Chancellor's Outstanding Student Award), an award conferred by University of the Philippines to students with outstanding academic and non-academic achievements. Alcala became full scholar under the

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

Fellowship at

Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Located in the city's Uni ...

in upstate New York where he finished Masters in Music Composition and received the Irene Crooker Excellence in Music Award in 2009. He has won fellowships and grants including: Billy Joel Fellowship (Syracuse University),

National Commission for Culture and the Arts The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyon para sa Kultura at mga Sining, ceb, Nasodnong Komisyon alang sa Budaya ug mga Arte) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. ...

(NCCA), and

Asian Cultural Council The Asian Cultural Council (ACC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing international cultural exchange between Asia and the U.S. and between the countries of Asia through the arts. Founded by John D. Rockefeller III in 1963, AC ...

Accomplishments

Awards/nominations

Selected works

Choral

Vocal

Orchestral

Chamber/solo instrumental

Musical theater

Film/animation

Discography

Commissions

References

External links

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Excerpts of compositionsOfficial Youtube ChannelFacebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcala, Nilo 1978 births Living people Music arrangers Filipino film score composers University of the Philippines Los Baños alumni People from Lucena, Philippines Musicians from Quezon Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts alumni University of the Philippines Diliman alumni