On August 6, 2015, I was honored to give a keynote address at the 22nd International Kodály Society Symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time. During this address, I shared insights from my comprehensive fieldwork in the Philippines and discussed the profound impact Zoltán Kodály had on my journey as a music educator.

In my address, I reflected on my experiences with Western-influenced music education in the Philippines—a byproduct of colonialism—and underscored the critical necessity to safeguard vanishing oral traditions and rituals.

Additionally, I highlighted the difficulties Filipino music educators encounter because of a scarcity of authentic resources. Inspired by Kodály’s influential work as a scholar in Hungary, it became clear that Filipino educators need to devise teaching methods that are congruent with Philippine culture. Stressing this point during my talk, I emphasized how crucial it is for our music curriculum to resonate with local culture in order to bolster national identity and foster cultural pride.