Rosalina Abejo was born in
Tagoloan in
Misamis Oriental in the
Philippines, and died in
Fremont,
California. She is the first Filipina composer and
conductor, and a
nun of the
Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary. Her aunt, the late Sister Maria Rosario Madroñal, RVM was her first music teacher. She studied composition at the
Philippine Women's University, and in 1977, she moved to the United States, where she studied at
Eastman School of Music and
The Catholic University of America. She was the first nun to direct and conduct symphony orchestras, by permission of
Pope John XXIII. She taught composition and
music theory at the
University of Kansas and St Pius Seminary in
Kentucky. Before this, she travelled extensively in order to fundraise for and attend international music conferences. In 1972, Abejo wrote
Overture 1081, when
martial law was
declared by
Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines through
Proclamation No. 1081. She is interred at
Irvington Memorial Cemetery,
Fremont, California. ==Compositions==