Pan Pacific Ensemble performs in Thailand and Borneo
The Pan Pacific Ensemble traveled to Thailand and Borneo in July 2023. In Thailand, the ensemble performed a recital at the 2023 International Double Reed Society Conference at Mahidol University in Salaya, Thailand. They also performed a double quintet with the Sawasdee Quintet on a one of the evening gala concert. The ensemble also gave clinics and a performance at the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music Woodwind Weekend. The trip concluded with at trip to the Kinabatangan rainforest in Borneo to research the interaction between the sounds of instruments and the jungle for a new piece by Yii Kai Hoe.
Ambiguous Traces released on Albany Records
Ambiguous Traces was released in September 2022 on Albany Records. The title track, Ambiguous Traces, is by Narong Prangcharoen. The Pan Pacific Ensemble commissioned this work after having performed Prangcharoen's quintet Shadow on the album Feng. This album features a combination of works commissioned by the Pan Pacific Ensemble, and works by composers that the ensemble has met and worked with over the years. The album ends with Woodwind Quintet No. 3: Suite from China West by Chen Yi. With the recording of this work, the Pan Pacific Ensemble has recorded each of Chen Yi's three pieces for wind quintet, one on each album.
Pan Pacific Ensemble Performs at Clarinetfest 2023
The Pan Pacific Ensemble gave a recital at Clarinetfest 2023 in Denver Colorado. The ensemble performed works by Nick Omiccioli, Chen Yi, and Narong Prangcharoen. It was great to share this music with the clarinet community!
Pan Pacific Ensemble wins the American Prize for Chamber Music
The winners of the 2022 American Prize were just announced, and the Pan Pacific Ensemble is honored to be named the 2022 American Prize winners in the Professional Chamber Music division. We are so thankful to all the people we have worked with over the years who have supported our mission, including all the composers we have collaborated with, our recording engineer David Bjur, Albany Records, and everyone who has hosted us for a performance. You can find more information here: http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2022/06/national-winners-chamber-music.html
Pan Pacific Ensemble a finalist for the American Prize
Great News! The Pan Pacific Ensemble has just been selected as a FINALIST in the chamber music division of #TheAmericanPrize national non-profit competitions in the performing arts. The American Prize will be announcing WINNERS soon. You can learn more about this prestigious national competition here: www.theamericanprize.org
Pan Pacific Ensemble performs at the International Double Reed Society and National Flute Association Conferences
The Pan Pacific Ensemble was selected to perform recitals at both the International Double Reed Society Conference and the National Flute Association Conference in 2022. The IDRS conference was in Boulder, CO, and the NFA conference was in Chicago, IL. The ensemble performed works by Nick Omiccioli, Kenji Bunch,Yi Qia, and Xinyan Li. It was great to share this music with all of these wonderful musicians.
Pan Pacific Ensemble to be featured in the Chamber Music America Showcase
The Pan Pacific Ensemble has been selected to perform a showcase at the 2022 Chamber Music America Virtual Conference. We are so excited to share music by Kenji Bunch, Nick Omiccioli, and Xinyan Li. The concert will be held virtually January 6-9, 2022.
Performance in Pullman
On Thursday, November 13, the Pan Pacific Ensemble gave its first performance in Pullman, WA. Although three of us teach in Pullman, and we have recorded three albums in the recording studio at Washington State University. It was great to perform for students, colleagues, and supporters in Pullman.
The Pan Pacific Ensemble welcomes Gabby Baffoni
In November of 2021, Dr. Shannon Scott, founding clarinetist of the Pan Pacific Ensemble, announced her retirement from the group. Shannon has been instrumental in gaining funding for our first two CDs and numerous commissions. We have enjoyed working with her over the past five years and wish her all the best in all of her future endeavors! As a result of Shannon’s departure, the ensemble is pleased to welcome Gabby Baffoni as our new clarinetist! Dr. Gabby Baffoni is Associate Professor of Clarinet at Southeast Missouri State University. We are excited to work with Gabby as the ensemble moves forward!
Pan Pacific Ensemble receives WSU Center for Arts and Humanities Grant
With generous support from WSU’s Center for Arts and Humanities, the Pan Pacific Ensemble will complete and release its third CD, Ambiguous Traces and perform in highly-visible venues across the United States. The ensemble’s third CD includes commissioned quintets by Kenji Bunch (US) and Narong Prangcharoen (Thailand), as well as first recordings of pieces by Chen Yi (US/China), Austin Yip (Hong Kong), Chong Kee Yong (Malaysia), and David Jarvis (US).
Congratulations to Narong Prangcharoen who won the American Academy of Arts and Letters Prize!
Narong Prangcharoen's Shadow for wind quintet can be heard on our first album "Feng," and his newly commissioned work, Ambiguous Traces, can be found on our upcoming album which is set to release in 2022!
Pan Pacific Ensemble featured on Spokane Public Radio
On Thursday, Jan. 23, the Pan Pacific Ensemble spent an hour on live radio at KPBX, Spokane Public Radio. Verne Windham, the host of From the Studio, interviewed us about our music, our travels, and the similarities and differences between Eastern and Western music. We had a wonderful conversation with Verne, and we were thrilled to be able to perform ironhorses by Nick Omiccioli, the title track from our second CD and a piece we commissioned. If you want to hear part 1 and part 2 of the show, click the links for the podcast. Thank you so much to Verne Windham and KPBX for having us!
Feng named a Recording of the Year by the Daffodil Project
Feng, the Pan Pacific Ensemble's debut CD has been named one of the Recordings of the Year by the Daffodil Perspective.
According to the The Daffodil Perspective website: "The Daffodil is a revolutionary new radio show, rewriting classical music history with a more accurate and gender balanced account. The Daffodil Perspective is showing how women fit into our current version of classical music history and exploring the stories of these women, their music and monumental achievements. Each episode features at least 50% of pieces and airtime by women composers."
As Elizabeth de Brito, the host of the Daffodil Perspective, writes: "Recording's of the Year have to be really special. We are talking about new trailblazing recordings, long lost marginalised music finally recorded, innovative and socially conscious pieces, recordings with a great story behind them. In short, they have to be remarkable in every way."
To read the article and explore the entire top 10, please visit the Daffodil Perspective's website. We feel extremely honored by this recognition and our inclusion in this list of other artists doing important work.
According to the The Daffodil Perspective website: "The Daffodil is a revolutionary new radio show, rewriting classical music history with a more accurate and gender balanced account. The Daffodil Perspective is showing how women fit into our current version of classical music history and exploring the stories of these women, their music and monumental achievements. Each episode features at least 50% of pieces and airtime by women composers."
As Elizabeth de Brito, the host of the Daffodil Perspective, writes: "Recording's of the Year have to be really special. We are talking about new trailblazing recordings, long lost marginalised music finally recorded, innovative and socially conscious pieces, recordings with a great story behind them. In short, they have to be remarkable in every way."
To read the article and explore the entire top 10, please visit the Daffodil Perspective's website. We feel extremely honored by this recognition and our inclusion in this list of other artists doing important work.
Feng and ironhorses have been Released!
Our CDs have been released. We are so proud of this music and thankful to the fantastic composers we have worked with. We also have to thank our fantastic recording engineer, Dave Bjur at Washington State University. You can purchase Feng and ironhorses at Albany Records or listen to them on Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, and other streaming services.
The CD is Coming. . .
Our first CD, Feng, is set to be released in the summer of 2019. The album's title track, Feng, is a two movement work by the great Chinese composer and composition professor at UMKC, Chen Yi. We have had the privilege of working with Dr. Chen and are honored to be recording her music. The CD also features music by Xinyan Li, Yii Kah Hoe, and Narong Prancharoen, among others. We are so excited for this album to be released on Albany Records.
The East Coast Tour is in the Books
We all just returned home after a amazing East Coast tour. It was an absolute pleasure to perform at the University of Maryland, James Madison University, and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. We enjoyed meeting students and faculty members at these schools and sharing this brand new music with them. Thank you to Kenji Bunch, Nick Omiccioli, Asha Srinivasan, and Narong Prangcharoen for writing pieces for us that we performed on this tour! If you weren't able to see us this time, we hope to see you soon!
East Coast Tour
Our East Coast tour is coming up March 11-13, 2019. We are looking forward to performances at the University of Maryland, James Madison University, and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Thanks to the faculty at these great schools for inviting us to perform. We will be premiering works by Kenji Bunch and Nick Omiccioli, and Narong Prangcharoen, as well as presenting the East Coast premiere of Kaylvi by Asha Srinivasan. We would love to see you there!
Fridays at Four in Walla Walla
On December 7, 2018, we will be performing at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, on the Fridays at Four concert series. We will be primiering P.Q. Phan's monumental work Phantasia: in memoriam as well as Asha Srinivasan's exciting and intricate Kaylvi. We look forward to sharing this music in one of our very favorite small towns in Eastern Washington!
Getting the Band Back Together. . .
The Washington-based member's of the Pan Pacific Ensemble are thrilled to welcome Michael Garza back to the states for recording and rehearsals in preparation for our upcoming premieres. It is always good when the whole group is back together in the same place! We are beginning to work towards our third CD, which will feature our newly commissioned quintets by Narong Prangcharoen and Kenji Bunch.
ironhorses Recording is Finished
We had a great couple of weeks of recording this January 2017 as we put the finishing touches on the music for our next CD, titled ironhorses. The title track is the brand-new quintet which we commissioned from Nick Omiccioli. This is a brilliant, exhilarating quintet that allow's Nick's metal-inspired voice to really shine. The CD also features works by Chen Yi, P.Q Phan, and Asha Srinivasan, among others. Look for it in 2019 on Albany Records.
The Thailand International Composition Festival
What a thrilling week we enjoyed at the Thailand International Composition Festival! We had a FANTASTIC time rehearsing, performing, hearing new music, and meeting composers and performers from around the world! Narong Prangcharoen was an amazing host. We premiered a new quintet by Chaipruk Mekara and gave the Thailand premiere of David Jarvis' Wynwood Project. For Shannon, Martin, and Sophia, this trip marked the first visit to Thailand. It is hard to describe how much we enjoyed our time in this amazing place. Thanks to everyone for making this trip so memorable.
Recording Wrapped on Feng CD
After a long, intense week in the recording studio, our first studio album, Feng, is in the can. We have a lot of editing to do, but it feels great to have this step completed. The album will feature music by Chen Yi, Yii Kah Hoe, Yi Qiao, Xinyan Li, Tanapon Chiwinpiti, Narong Prangcharoen, Do Kien Cuong, and Siraseth Pantura-Umporn. Look for this CD on Albany Records in the summer of 2019.
Back from the China ASEAN Music Week
After a whirlwind trip in China, the Pan Pacific Ensemble members are all back safely in their respective cities. What an amazing trip we had. A huge thanks to Dr. Zhong at the Guang Xi University School of Music for organizing this event and inviting us to perform. This festival marked the first two public performances for the Pan Pacific Ensemble, and we were thrilled to work with composers such as Chen Yi, Narong Prangcharoen, and Yii Kah Hoe. We gave two full recitals, performed with the Guang Xi Symphony, and gave a education concert at the Guang Xi Yuncai School for students with special needs. We are so excited to begin work on our first CD and can't wait to see what lies in store for this group in the future.
The Pan Pacific Ensemble is Formed
We are excited to announce the formation of our quintet, the Pan Pacific Ensemble! The group is preparing for two recitals at the China ASEAN Music Week in Nanning, China in June 2016. We are all excited to come together and present this music to an audience from around the world. Thanks so much to Dr. Zhong at the Guang Xi University School of Music for inviting us!