Jose Canseco, Jr.

José Canseco y Rivera del Poso, more commonly known as José Canseco, Jr. (1843 – June 12, 1902), (Other sources claimed that Jose Canseco, Jr.) was born in 1839 (University of the Philippines-Diliman) while other sources claimed he died in 1912 (National Commission for Culture and the Arts).

Biography Early life and education José Canseco, Jr. was born in Intramuros, Manila in 1843 to José Canseco and Cecilia Rivera del Poso. He attended the Saint Augustin convent where he was trained as a choirboy. He later joined the band, Spanish Regiment no. 8, at the recommendation of his friend to escape an arranged marriage by the Augustinian friars to a young girl. He was discharged afterwards due to a petition of his mother to the Captain-General for dismissal without her consent.

Career Being a talented musician, he was granted position as a tenor singer at the Manila Cathedral.

Philippine Revolution In 1898, Canseco was arrested during his time as bandmaster at Ilagan due to suspicions he might have connections to revolutionary leader Rosalio Silos in Mindanao. He then left Ilagan and went to Cagayán de Misamis.

In 1899, at the beginning of the Philippine-American War, he was requested by the revolutionary government to commission a lump sum of 100,000 pesos to General Emilio Aguinaldo to fund Filipino forces. Unfortunately, because Filipinos were losing the battle against Americans in Luzon, he later returned the money to the treasury of Cagayán de Misamis.

Death and legacy Canseco soon retired being bandmaster, instead, pursued teaching harmony, composition, and solfeggio. He also dedicated his time composing marches, sacred hymns, and completed a score for a Spanish zarzuela by Ronderos. He died on June 12, 1902. According to Raymundo C. Bañas, his death "was felt by the music lovers of Orpheus" . His family presented his last composition, "Tonopsis mecanica", in 1904 where it won a gold medal at the St. Louis Exposition.