San Francisco Kulintang Legacy

Theo Gonzalvez (presenter); Kulintang Ensemble ;San Francisco Kulintang Legacy presents traditional kulintang ensemble music and traditional dances of the Maguindanaon and Maranao cultures of the Philippines, as taught in the United States by NEA National Heritage Fellow Danongan "Danny" Kalanduyan (c. 1947-2016). Before the arrival of Islamic missionaries in the 1400s and European missionaries in the 1500s, this complex and varied music was played by many cultures spread throughout the Philippine archipelago. Today, this indigenous music is played primarily in the Southern Philippines but it has been embraced by second-, third-, and fourth-generation Filipino Americans in part through the work of artists like Kalanduyan. From California, Virginia, and Washington state, the group performing at the Festival is comprised of artists from among the many students and collaborators who worked with Kalanduyan over the last four decades.