Lucio D. San Pedro

Biography

Lucio Diestro San Pedro, Sr. (February 11, 1913 – March 31, 2002) was a Filipino composer and teacher who was proclaimed a National Artist of the Philippines for Music in 1991. Today, he is remembered for his contribution to the development of Filipino regional band music and for his well-known compositions such as the Filipino lullaby, "Sa Ugoy ng Duyan" and the symphonic poem, "Lahing Kayumanggi".

Career

San Pedro came from a family with musical roots and he began his career early. When he was still young, he succeeded his deceased grandfather as the local church organist. By then, he had already composed songs, hymns and two complete masses for voices and orchestra. After studying with several prominent musicians in the Philippines, he took advanced composition training with Bernard Wagenaar of the Netherlands. He also studied harmony and orchestration under Vittorio Giannini and took classes at Juilliard in 1947.
His other vocation was teaching. He has taught at the Ateneo de Manila University, virtually all the major music conservatories in Manila, and at the College of Music of the University of the Philippines, Diliman, where he retired as a full professor in 1978. He later received the title professor emeritus from the university in 1979. He also became a faculty member of the Centro Escolar University Conservatory of Music in Manila. San Pedro was known for composing the official march of Makati.

National Artist

On May 9, 1991, President Corazon C. Aquino proclaimed San Pedro a National Artist of the Philippines for Music.

Personal life

He married Gertrudes Diaz San Pedro with whom he had five children: Ma.Rhodora Soledad, Bienvenido, Ma.Conchita, Ma.Khristina and Lucio Jr.

Death

San Pedro died of cardiac arrest on March 31, 2002, in Angono, Rizal, at the age of 89. Many peers from the Order of National Artists attended his tribute at the Tanghalang Pambansa, including: Napoleon Abueva, Daisy Avellana, Leonor Goquingco, Nick Joaquín, Arturo Luz, José Maceda, and Andrea Veneración. He is buried in his hometown of Angono, Rizal.