Career
He is also a pianist, singer, music conductor and educator. His sacred composition Amami, a suite of 6 anthems based on the Lord’s Prayer, is well-known among international choirs, and so are liturgical music such as O Magnum Mysterium, Agtalnaca, Denggem, Apo, Isalacannacam, and Umawit Kayo Sa Panginoon. Philippine Choirs competing internationally sing his contemporary choral compositions and arrangements of folktunes Bongbongtit, Kaisaisa Niyan, Pakawanem Ti Basbasolmi, Duayya Ni Ayat, Pakiusap, Malinac Lay Labi, and Oalay Manoc Con Taraz.
His popular church choir works Make My Life a Prayer, Glory, Splendor and Majesty, and Come Live in Maine are regular parts of church choir repertoires.
His compositions for dance include Pasyon, Death and., Women Waiting, Reflections on the Death of a Princess, Ballet Pieces Based on Filipino Folktunes, and Filipinescas Suites.
Nilo composed various themes for movies such as Kristo, directed by Ben Yalung, and Magnifico, directed by Maryo J de los Reyes. The latter’s theme Ang Aking Munting Bituin, co-composed and interpreted by Gary Valenciano, garnered several awards and nominations from major award-giving bodies in the Philippines.
This same song is being used by the soap opera Munting Heredera as its theme song.
This was followed by Mary Johnston College of Nursing Centennial Hymnwriting in 2007 for his composition A Century of Nursing Through God’s Faithfulness. His compositions Foreign The Lord"s Day and Rejoice, The Lord is King appeared in Singapore"s Master of Science in Management Choral Series. He has studied under Francisco Feliciano, Martin Behrmann, Joel Navarro, Ramon Santos, Jonas Baes, Karl Hochreiter, and National Artist for Music Andrea Veneracion.