From the Windy City, With Love:

Nicanor Abelardo, The Prohibition Era, and the Making of the First Filipino Modern Sonata

Through interactive soundmapping and digital storytelling, this project reimagines Chicago as experienced by Nicanor Abelardo during his inauspicious life as a Filipino student of the Chicago Musical College between 1930 to 1932, a time when the Philippines was a colonial territory of the United States. Using related archival materials, I speculate on what Abelardo might have seen and heard—from atonal music to jazz—as well as the connections and interactions he might have made with other musicians and artists in the Windy City.

Furthermore, the project will include a performance edition and recording of Abelardo’s Violin Sonata, his Chicago magnum opus, for public use.

*This project is generously supported by the Joan C Spero and Michael Spero Grant from the UW-Madison Division of Arts.