Gilopez Kabayao

Gilopez Kabayao (December 23, 1929 – October 12, 2024) was a Filipino violinist. Kabayao was the first Filipino to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City, New York, in 1950, leading The New York Times to state that he "has all the earmarks of the true virtuoso".

Born and raised in Hacienda Faraon in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Kabayao was part of a family of musicians and was named after his maternal grandfather, composer Gil Lopez. His father was violinist Dr. Doroteo Kabayao and his mother was pianist Marcela Lopez, whose family were involved in the sugar industry of Iloilo. Kabayao studied at Silliman University, New York College of Music, and Vienna under the mentorship of Theodore Pashkus. Eventually settling in Iloilo City, Kabayao and his wife Corazon Pineda Kabayao with their three children, Sicilienne, Farida, and Gilberto, would perform in the Philippines and overseas as the Kabayao Quintet.

Named as the "Father of Outreach for Classical Music", the "Mozart to the Barrios", and the "Traveling Salesman of Music", Kabayao was noted for promoting classical music and holding concerts in various places in the Philippines including the remote barangays of his native Panay and Negros islands and using venues such as basketball courts, schools, and markets. In addition to his musical outreach, he also became a musical director and conductor for the Manila Symphony Orchestra in the 1970s. In 2010, a coffee table book written by Corazon, Gilopez Kabayao: Artist for the Filipino People — Philippines' Violin Virtuoso and Musical Crusader, was published.

Kabayao received the Presidential Award of Merit in 1969 and the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1972, and with his wife, the couple received the Gawad Alab ng Haraya from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 2007 and the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining from the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 2008. He was also nominated for National Artist of the Philippines in June 2024 by the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation with the endorsement of the government of Iloilo City. Months before his death, Cadiz City named Kabayao among the city's 10 outstanding residents during the city's 57th Charter Day celebrations in July 2024.

Kabayao died in Iloilo City at the age of 94 of an undisclosed illness on October 12, 2024, as announced by his wife. His remains were interred at the Iloilo Memorial Park on October 19.