Edgardo de Dios
Dong is a graduate of the PWU College of Music with Bachelor degrees in Music Education and Classical Guitar Performance under Jose Valdez. He won 2nd prize in the 1993 National Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA). In 1997, he won a special award for his composition “Ngayon ang Araw ng Kalayaan” (Today is the Day of Freedom) scored for mixed choir and orchestra. The NAMCYA Festival Chorus and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Prof. Joel Navarro in celebration of the centenary of the Philippine Revolution premiered this work.
As
the music director/member of the PWU-Philippine Music Ensemble, he plays an
assortment of ethnic instruments and acts as script writer/arranger for the
group. He has traveled with the group to Hong Kong (1993), Japan (1996), USA
(1995, 1997) and Canada (1997). His choral cycle entitled “Bayang
Malaya, Lahing Dakila” ( Free Country, Noble Race), premiered at the
Cultural Center of the Philippines, was a centennial offering for the group’s
latest tour in the USA and Canada. As a member of the PWU and Ars Nova Guitar
Quartet, he has performed at various performance venues and occasions in the
Manila area and in the provinces.
Dong
presently teaches guitar, History of Western Music and Philippine/Asian Music at
the PWU College of Music and Sta. Isabel Music Department while pursuing a
Masters degree in Musicology. He is married to Sheryl Ann Botabara-de Dios, a
piano teacher by profession and they have two children, Franco Emíl and Ernesto
Luís.