Eudenice V. Palaruan: A Conductor-Composer Forging a Filipino Musical Identity

The choral music composed in the Philippines, and the composers and conductors who have championed this repertory, have become famous throughout the world. One of the basic questions about this extraordinary musical phenomenon is to ask why and how it happened that such a great tradition of choral composition developed within this country. In this thesis I begin to answer this question by exploring the formation of one of the most important living Philippine conductors and composers, Eudenice Vincente Palaruan (b. 1968), and examine his musical beginnings and his formation, leading up to around the year 2000. I then close with an overview of works and activities since that time and describe my own encounters with him through the commissioning of pieces for my work as a choral conductor.