GEMMA FILIPINA T. MALICDEM. A scholar of the Philippine High School for the Arts, she decided to pursue further studies abroad to concentrate on teaching and music administration, thus she became the first Filipino to earn a Master of Music degree in Piano Pedagogy. Her principal mentors were Imelda Ongsiako (Piano), the late Lois Rova Ozanich (Piano and Piano Pedagogy), Jerry Davidson (Piano Pedagogy), and Frank Wiley (New Music). She received the Accompanist Award from OPERA Kent and an International Award for Academic Excellence also from KSU. She is also a prizewinner in the Jeffrey Ching Piano Competition and the Piano Teachers Guild of the Philippines Piano Competitions.

Prof. Malicdem has mentored piano students who have won prizes in competitions such as the National Music Competitions for Young Artists at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Piano Teachers Guild of the Philippines, and UP Piano Concerto Competition.

Prof. Malicdem was Second Vice President of the Piano Teachers Guild of the Philippines from 2012-2014 and Board Member 2014-2016. She has also been elected as member of Phi Kappa Phi (UP) and Pi Kappa Lambda (KSU) Honor Societies and is a “Nationally Certified Teacher of Music” of the Music Teachers National Association, USA. Prof. Malicdem served as College Secretary of the University of the Philippines College of Music from June 2000-February 2015. In 2016, the UP College of Music honored her with the Gawad Fernando Canon-Faculty Centennial Award.