Thailand International Composition Festival
Last year I had the pleasure of attending the Thailand International Composition Festival. It was a delightful time of meeting new friends, hearing fresh and exciting new music, sharing ideas and adventures, and eating a lot of great food!!! Next week marks the beginning of this year’s Festival. I send them my best wishes, and congratulate Narong Prangcharoen and all his TICF staff on all their preparations. Their efforts and hospitality last year helped make our experience there not only comfortable and welcoming but also unforgettable.
My friend Tyler Capp has been chosen as a finalist for the composition competition with his piece Bald Mountain Breakdown (https://soundcloud.com/tyler-capp/bald-mountain-breakdown). I have always loved Tyler’s music. Please check it out. Also on the festival as a guest artist is Alia Musica Pittsburgh’s own Federico Garcia de Castro (http://www.fedegarcia.net/main.html). Michael Hall, violist, will be returning as a guest performer for the festival, and will then be making an appearance at the Thailand Viola Conference. Alvin Wong, the cellist who performed my piece Avoidance of a Word (https://soundcloud.com/scottsteele/the-avoidance-of-a-word-1) last fall in NYC with music from China will also be returning as a featured guest artist. Alvin recently took a position as a cello professor at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. My friends Eli Hougland and Cody Kauhl will be attending as a part of an exchange between Thailand’s Mahidol University and UMKC.Other familiar faces include Mara Gibson and the ever charming Bernard Rands, whom Tyler and I met last Spring when he visited Kansas City.
Scott Steele 