Paul Gabriel L. Cosme, a master’s student in composition, collaborated with the JACK Quartet in New York last September 25, 2023 as a part of the ensemble’s JACK Studio. The quartet played Cosme’s piece A Filipino in New York. The work is inspired by stories of Filipino immigrants in New York as well as soundscapes from the city and various Philippine music and dance traditions.
“I wrote this piece while I was staying in New York, where I met many Filipino workers and immigrants from whom I had the chance to hear their experiences,” Cosme says. “I thought of centering their stories as they are often forgotten, even by those within our own communities.”
New York is the state with the third largest Filipino American population and the biggest in the East Coast. More than a third of them are immigrants and primarily work in the medical field as nurses.
“Each movement tells a story of an immigrant,” says Cosme. “I used sounds from the borough where I met them, and also particular Philipppine music and tradition that they belong, as a way to tackle issues of immigration, labor, and the sense of home.”
Cosme was chosen by the JACK Quartet through a competitive process for their 2022 Studio artist cohort. The JACK Studio was founded in 2019 to support commissions, recording projects, and workshops with emerging artists from across the globe.
Cosme has completed his master’s degree in composition at UHM and will continue on to his PhD in the program in fall 2024.