Jonas Baes Artist Bio

JONAS BAES, Philippine composer, ethnomusicologist, cultural activist studied with Jose Maceda at the University of the Philippines and with Mathias Spahlinger at the Staatliche Hochchule fuer Musik in Freiburg, Germany. He earned his doctorate in Philippine Studies at the University of the Philippines. His music compositions for traditional Asian instruments and vocal techniques, explores the aesthetization of philosophies and social theories and constantly searches for the involvement the participation of the audience; these major works have been performed in various international festivals and sound installations in Asia, the United States, Australia, and Europe. His writings about marginality and the sociology of music among indigenous peoples like the Iraya-Mangyan and the Dumagat are published in international peerrefereed academic journals. In 2009, he founded the Manila Composers Lab, an organization that conducts annual workshops for young Southeast Asian composers.

Baes has been invited as guest professor in the United States, Malaysia, Japan and in Germany. In 2008-2009 he was awarded an Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship by the Nippon Foundation. He is a professor of composition and music theory at the University of the Philippines.