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Born and raised in Agusan, Northeastern Mindanao, Southern Philippines, Grace Nono is a Philippine music artist, Philippine
studies researcher/author, and cultural worker/ administrator. A
product of the University of the Philippines where she earned her
bachelors in Humanities and masters in Philippine Studies, Grace
received further training as an Asia-Pacific Performance Exchange
fellow, and as an Asian Cultural Council fellow for heritage.
For the past fifteen years, Grace studied sung oral traditions from
Philippine elders, infusing these with her own contemporary spirit to
advance issues of living identity, environmentalism, women’s rights,
and inter-faith dialogue. She had been a featured artist at the House
of World Cultures in Berlin, Mercat de les Flors in Barcelona, Circulo
de Bellas Artes in Madrid, the Music Village Festival in London,
concerts in Paris and Monte Carlo, WOMAD in Yokohama, the Exposition
on Nature’s Wisdom in Aichi, the Asian Fantasy Orchestra tours of New
Delhi, Bombay, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Miyazaki, Bangkok, Vientiane,
Yangon, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, the Hong Kong Asian Arts Festival, the
Singapore Arts Festival, performances and conferences in Huairou,
Bangkok, Jakarta, Nanning, Shanghai, Seoul, Penang, Taipei, New York,
Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, and many different
parts of the Philippines.
Grace’s book, The Shared Voice: Chanted and Spoken Narratives from the
Philippines (ANVIL Publishing, Fundacion Santiago) is now available
for those who wish to explore Philippine oral traditions from the
practitioner’s point of view. A second book is in the works, on the
music of the Philippine babaylan (shaman). In collaboration with
composer Bob Aves, Grace has also produced an audio and print series
on Philippine oral traditions and instrumental musics which are being
used by a number of teachers and students in the study of Philippine
music, arts and culture. As a teacher, Grace has taught Philippine
Traditional Arts at the University of the Philippines-Diliman and
Philippine Folk and Oral History at Miriam College.
As cultural worker/administrator, Grace serves as Founding Director
for the Tao Foundation for Culture and Arts, a non-government
organization engaged in cultural regeneration and holistic development
initiatives, for which she has been granted support by the Toyota
Foundation, UNESCO, the British Council, the Cultural Center of the
Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and Arts, Advocates
of Philippine Fair Trade, AusAid, and other institutions.
To date, Grace has won over 40 awards, including TOYM or Ten
Outstanding Young Men, TOWNS or The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s
Service, numerous Catholic Mass Media, Katha, Awit, National Press
Club, and other awards for her artistic and cultural contributions.
Community Work
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