Premiered by Ensemble Mosaik for the UpToThree Festival in Acker Stadt Plast, Berlin, Germany on June 2023.

Sa - Li - Ta - An

performed in the Asian Composers League 2014, Minato Mirai Hall, Yokohama, Japan

5 Pieces For 2 Cellos

performed by Ripieno Ensemble

Oct. 20, 2015

Abelardo Hall, UP College of Music

7 Pieces For Small Ensemble

Prayer Of Serenity

July 20, 2018

Bulwagan ng Dangal, University of the Philippines - Diliman

Danelle Dionisio, clarinet
Pauline Arejola, soprano

A - No - Ba - Yan (2019)

Ikatlong Silakbo (Third Heartbeat)

Alexander John “AJ” L. Villanueva (b. 1989) is a graduate of Composition at the University of the Philippines, College of Music (Cum Laude). He started venturing the world of music at a very young age, singing and playing the piano, drums and guitar in his church.

He has studied composition and orchestration under composer-conductor Josefino “Chino” Toledo and is currently studying composition under composer-ethnomusicologist Jonas Baes. He has also taken lessons from renowned composers like Dieter Mack, Chong Kee Yong, Anothai Nitibhon and Bernd Asmus.

He is the Festival Prize Winner of the Young Composers in Southeast Asia Festival and Competition 2011 with his piece Threnody IV which was performed by the Ensemble Mosaik and Ensemble Kyai Fatahillah under the baton of Robert H. Platz. Lately, he was commissioned by the Manila Composers Lab in partnership with the Ernst von Siemens Musical Foundation of Germany for the piece Ikatlong Silakbo (Third Heartbeat), to be performed by the Ensemble d’Ecoute from Stuttgart, Germany. He has also participated in the Yogyakarta Contemporary Music Festival 2009 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Music Underkonstruction V of the Metro Manila Concert Orchestra (2010).


AJ Villanueva, composer

Popular tracks