Why Michael A. Dadap is someone to look up to
They rose. They lifted others.
A classical guitarist, composer, conductor, and educator whose artistry has been matched by a lifelong commitment to teaching and cultural enrichment.
Michael Amper Dadap
Classical Guitarist • Composer • Conductor • Educator
Some musicians spend their lives mastering an instrument.
Others go further — they use music to open doors for the generations who come after them.
Michael Amper Dadap has done both.
Born into a musical family in Hinunangan, Southern Leyte, Dadap’s earliest musical world included the influence of his brother Jerry, church music, folk tunes, jazz and big-band music. He first earned a degree in Philosophy from the University of the Philippines before moving to New York in 1971 to pursue classical guitar and music theory at Mannes College of Music, followed by composition and conducting studies at The Juilliard School.
His 1974 debut at Carnegie Recital Hall launched a career as a classical guitarist that eventually took him across the United States, Europe and Asia.
But Dadap did not leave his Filipino musical identity behind when he entered the Western classical world.
Instead, he brought it with him.
His work as a composer has consistently drawn from Philippine folk idioms while employing Western classical forms. His compositions have ranged from solo guitar works and art songs to orchestral music, children’s theater, ballet and film.
Among his works are Handurawan Dance Suite, Sinulog, Five Visayan Serenades for Guitar, the kundiman Huling Pagsamo, the children’s musical Alamat ng Ampalaya, and the folkloric ballet Legend of the Tikling Bird.
Decades later, he was still composing.
He wrote the score for the 2021 documentary A Long March, which tells the story of Filipino-American World War II veterans fighting for recognition and benefits long denied them.
He also composed the music for the 2025 documentary The Road to Sydney.
But the strongest reason Michael Dadap belongs among our Filipinos to Look Up To may not be found in his concert résumé.
It is found in the children he taught.
Since 1984, Dadap has served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of New York’s Children’s Orchestra Society, working with generations of young musicians. His own biography emphasizes his belief that through music, children can change not only their own lives but also the world around them.
His contribution went far beyond standing on a podium.
Dadap helped develop a comprehensive approach to music education that included Solfege and ear training, early chamber music, music reading and orchestral instruction — teaching children not merely how to perform pieces, but how to understand the language of music itself.
He also founded the Young Symphonic Ensemble in 1992, giving young musicians the chance to undertake rigorous training and perform alongside distinguished artists.
Over the years, Dadap has conducted and collaborated with internationally renowned musicians including Yo-Yo Ma, Sarah Chang, Cho-Liang Lin, Jaime Laredo, Ray Chen, Emanuel Ax and Cecile Licad.
Yet perhaps one incident reveals his priorities better than the famous names do.
When the Children’s Orchestra Society once considered spending money on advertising, Dadap urged that the funds instead be used for Scholarships and opportunities for young musicians.
That choice says a great deal about him.
When given a choice between promoting the institution and helping a child, he chose the child.
Dadap’s commitment to lifting others has also been inseparable from his commitment to Filipino musical heritage.
He helped pioneer the Philippine rondalla tradition in the United States, mentored young Filipino-American musicians, composed and arranged music for plucked-string ensembles, and developed educational materials for Philippine folk instruments.
Today, that work continues through his vision for Orkestra Sin Arko — an orchestra centered on plucked rather than bowed strings — and through the Bandurlin, part of a family of instruments he developed from the traditional Philippine bandurria.
That distinction matters.
Dadap has not treated Filipino culture as something to be placed behind glass and admired.
He has treated it as something living.
Something to teach.
Something to develop.
Something young people can inherit — and then make their own.
His contribution has also extended beyond music. He is a co-founder of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), reflecting a broader commitment to strengthening Filipino-American community life.
His achievements have brought formal recognition, including the 2000 Artist of the Year Award from the Flushing Council on the Arts and the 2006 Pamana ng Pilipino Presidential Award for his contributions to Filipino music and culture.
But awards may not be the best measure of Michael Dadap’s legacy.
A better measure might be the young musician who learned to read music because someone patiently taught him.
The student who was given a place in an orchestra.
The child who was allowed to perform alongside a great artist.
The Filipino-American youngster who encountered a rondalla and realized that the music of his or her heritage belonged on the concert stage.
Or the former student who eventually became a teacher and began lifting another generation.
That is how a legacy multiplies.
Michael Dadap brought Filipino music onto international stages.
But perhaps more importantly, he spent decades making sure others would have a stage too.
He composed.
He performed.
He conducted.
He preserved Filipino musical traditions.
But he also Taught, mentored, created opportunities and passed what he knew to another generation.
That is why we honor:
Michael Amper Dadap
He used music not only to express who he was — but to help others discover who they could become.