In August 2026, I had the immense opportunity to present 2 chamber recitals at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand with my friends from the BGSU DMA Cohort.
We presented our own program first. The room was wide, tall, and had a balcony for people loom over the floor-level stage. A rapidly performed 9 pieces in under 1.25 hours. We did not talk until the end, players moved seamlessly on and off stage to play.
The most standout performances for me was Sam Valancy and Wesley Nielsen improvising on saxophone and trombone, as well as An Unexpected Tremor of Lines by Lily Koslow, and Quartet for a Broken World by Katia Geha. In addition to the Koslow, I performed Tyson Davis’ somethin’ outta nothin’, Yeonsuk Jung’s Race to nowhere -inbetween birth/death, and rip, run, ruin by Will Hermanowski.
The following week, after many rehearsals, we performed a concert of student composer works that included, among other great pieces, a really cool cello, clarinet, and hand cymbal trio.
Outside of musical activities, it was always a pleasure to go on night walks, watch the monitor lizards monitor the situation, and eat chocolate lava cakes from 7/11.
I’m thankful to have met such generous and creative people there. Big shoutout to Zia and Raphael!
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