Narong Prangcharoen, b. 1973
Thai composer Narong Prangcharoen currently serves as Dean of the College of Music, Mahidol University, as well as composer-in-residence for the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. Narong received his DMA under the primary tutelage of Chen Yi from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In 2013 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Barlow Prize, and has won other awards such as the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award and the Alexander Zemlinsky International Composition Competition Prize. The founder of the Thailand International Composition Festival, Narong’s music weaves traditional Thai folk songs styles into elaborately rich and complex textures replete with daring technique and musicianship, intoxicating bi-tonalities and sinuously heterophonic melodies. The Pan Pacific Ensemble had the pleasure of working personally with Narong on his quintet Shadow, in Nanning, China in 2016, where it was performed to enthusiastic audiences. In 2019 we commissioned a second quintet from Narong, titled Ambiguous Traces, which will be released on our third album of the same name. Narong’s works are published exclusively by Theodore Presser. https://www.narongmusic.com/
Yii Kah Hoe, b. 1975
Malaysian composer Yii Kah Hoe’s music is perceived as bold and avant-garde. His music has been performed around the globe by ensembles such as Ensemble Mosaik, Interensemble, the Nuremberg Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Singapore Chinese, and Hong Kong Chinese Orchestras. Yii’s works use sounds and rhythms of many traditional instruments from various ethnic cultures. His experience with calligraphy, paints, and other mediums as a young artist is also evident in his music. The Pan Pacific ensemble commissioned Equatorial Rainforest and premiered the quintet in 2016. Through extended techniques including pitch bending, harmonic tones, timbral trills, fluctuations in vibrato speed, freely improvisatory sections, and alternative sounds created through different applications of tonguing, the piece is evocative of the natural sounds of the equatorial rainforests found in peninsular and Borneo Malaysia. http://www.yiikahhoe.com/
Yi Qiao, b. 1984
Yi Qiao graduated from the Guangxi Arts University in Nanning, China with her masters in composition and theory where she now currently works as a professor. She has published papers on motivic developments in Claude Debussy’s string quartet, the origins and evolution of Yulin tea-picking folk music, and motivic development in Jean Sibelius’s symphonies, among many others. Her piano work on the Dong ethnic minority was nominated at the 8th Chinese Golden Bell musical competition. Her works have frequently been featured in live performances at the China-ASEAN New Music Festival in Nanning, China, including her beautiful and serene quintet, Miao Mountain Feeling. https://member.iscm.org/catalogue/composers/yi-qiao
Do Kien Cuong, b. 1975
Vietnamese composer Do Kien Cuong is an accomplished performer, composer and conductor. As an oboe student at the CUNY Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music in New York City, he performed many new works by contemporary composers under the direction of Tania Leon and experimented with new notational styles, extended instrumental techniques and incorporated the use of electronics in his performances. His commissions have been requested from the United States and Asia. Do Kien’s conducting work helped to found the Hanoi Youth Orchestra in 1999, which performs many works by young Vietnamese composers. Đồng Lúa (Rice Field) is a tonally evocative quintet conjuring images of the beautiful rural landscapes of Vietnam. Mr. Do founded the Hanoi Youth Orchestra in 1999, where he also served as the artistic director, composer and conductor. He has served on the faculty at the Hanoi National Conservatory of Music, and as performer at the HCMC Opera Ballet Symphony Orchestra, on the faculty at HCMC Conservatory of Music, and HCMC University of Social Sciences & Humanities-HCMC Vietnam National University. https://dokiencuong.bandcamp.com/
Asha Srinivasan, b. 1980
Indian-American composer Asha Srinivasan draws from her Western training and Indian heritage to create her compositional language. Her music has been presented at SEAMUS, ICMC, the National Flute Convention, and others. Recently, she won the Thailand International Composition Festival and was selected for the Mizzou New Music Festival. Other honors include BMI Foundation's Women's Music Commission Competition, Flute/Cello Commissioning Circle, Prix d'Eté prize, and Walsum prize. Graduate studies include: D.M.A. in Composition at University of Maryland, M.Mus. in Computer Music Composition and Music Theory Pedagogy at the Peabody Conservatory. Ms. Srinivasan composed Kaylvi for the Pan Pacific Ensemble, and its tumbling energy and virtuosity are a crowd-pleasing experience. Dr. Srinivasan is an Associate Professor at Lawrence University. www.twocomposers.org