Join Tacet(i) Ensemble for three days of events during the 2022 Cornell Biennial. This series of events will be a collaboration between Cornell composers and artists, Piyawat Louilarpprasert, and Tacet(i) Ensemble from Thailand including Ms. Christhatai Paksamai (clarinet), Ms. Kantika Comenaphatt (cello), Mr. Siravith Kongbandalsuk (trombone), Mr. Noppakorn Auesirinuroch (guitar), and Mr. Pisol Manatchinapisit (saxophone).

The project offers a series of performances and workshops centered on extended instruments and global sounds concerning the idea of sonic identities, instrumental connotation in global cultures as well as to hybridize Southeast Asian musical tradition and to transgress boundaries of sounds and instruments.

(See the green panel for more event details, including time and location).

November 2 Discussion: “Contemporary Music from Southeast Asia”
a conversation with Cornell Faculty and Tacet(i) Ensemble as a part of MUSIC 3140: Instrumentation for Composer

November 2 Concert: “Global Sound and Extended Instruments”
a music curation of diverse composers: Daniel Sabzghabaei (Iran/US), Thanakarn Schofield (Thailand), Jia Yi Lee (Singapore), Miles Jefferson Friday (US), Travis Christopher Johns (US), Laura Cetilia (US) and John Eagle (US). Guest performer: Ariana Kim (violin)

November 3 Midday Music Concert: “Human and Machine”
an installation-performative work in collaboration between Tacet(i) and Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri.

November 5 Performance: “Transcending Tradition and Collective of Resonation”
an improvisation performance in collaboration with Christopher J. Miller and Cornell Gamelan Ensemble;
a collective composition, curated and performed by Piyawat Louilarpprasert and Tacet(i)

Tacet(i) Ensemble (Thailand)

Southeast Asia’s leading new music ensemble, Tacet(i), is focusing on the creation of new compositions by both local and international composers and artists, as well as new works with elements of music technology, improvisatory and interdisciplinarity. Tacet(i) premiered and collaborated with new artists and composers on over 50 new works per year within Thailand, Asia, Europe, and the United States. The ensemble has been performing in festivals such as Thailand New Music and Arts Symposium (TNMAS), China-ASEAN New Music Festival (China), Tesselat Collective Collaboration Project (Japan), Cornell Council of Arts (CCA, New York), Crossover Contemporary Music (Netherlands), Diffused Portrait (United Kingdom), Thailand-European Composers (Netherlands) and many other festivals. Tacet(i) is recognized and supported by prestigious organizations and individuals such as the Siam Cement Group Foundation (SCG Foundation, Thailand), British Council Grants–Connection through Cultures (CTC-UK), Japan Foundation Grants (Japan), Prohelvetia, Swiss Art Council (Switzerland), Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music (PGVIM, Bangkok), Vasinee Food Corp. (USA). The ensemble was recently featured on CNN Worlds as part of Piyawat Louilarpprasert’s exclusive interview, “Young and Gifted: The Series: Meet the Rebel Thai Composer Taking Music to Unheard Heights.”

Tacet(i) was founded by a group of Thai contemporary musicians with the strong intention of creating the new ideas of music and arts in Thailand since 2014. Currently, the ensemble intends to focus on collaborative projects involving living composers, musicians, artists, and performers. From 2014 to 2016, Tacet(i) created a variety of works including concert music, music and arts, electronic music, and sound installation, including “Tacet(i) Debut Concert” (Goethe institut Bangkok 2014), “CMC Experimental Sound Project No.1: Hor” (Chiangmai University, 2015), “Shuttling the Space’’ (See-Scape Chiang Mai Gallery, 2015), “Thai Composer and Music” (True corp, broadcast, 2015). Learn more by visiting the Tacet(i) website.

Piyawat Louilarpprasert (US/Thailand)

Piyawat Louilarpprasert is a Thai composer, performer, and curator who works with the interweave of music composition, visual art and sound installation. Piyawat has been awarded commissions and prizes including Südwestrundfunk (SWR) Experimental Studio (Germany), MATA Festival (New York), Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), Gaudeamus (Netherlands), American Composer Orchestra Earshot (USA), ASCAP (USA), Pro Helvetia (Switzerland), British Council (UK), Japan Foundation (Japan), Sergei Slonimsky Award (Russia), Matan Givol Prize (Israel), NUNC (Chicago), Otto R. Stahl Memorial Award (USA), Léon Goossens Prize (UK) and Kultur Kontakt Residency (Austria) and many more. He collaborated with several established ensembles and orchestras such as Berlin Philharmonic Horn Section, American Composer Orchestra, Aguascalientes Symphony Orchestra, Arditti Quartet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Yarn Wire, Wet Ink, Lucerne Alumni Ensemble, Orkest Ereprijs, Oerknal!, Ensemble Platypus, Ensemble Reconsil, Quasars, Ensemble Surplus, Ensemble Mozaik, Switch Ensemble, ASEAN Contemporary Ensemble, Omnibus Ensemble, Vienna Improvisor Orchestra, University of Philippines Symphonic Band, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Stockport Youth Orchestra, RCM Philharmonic Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. He also had studied with composers including Chaya Czernowin, Wolfgang Rihm, Olga Neuwirth among others. In 2019, his “Smelly Tubes” for 14 instrumentalists was featured in CNN News World: “Young and Gifted”. His recent work, “Ohm-Na-Mo” was commissioned by Donaueschinger Musiktage for 100 years celebration in 2021. As a researcher, he is awarded the Don Michael Randel Research Fellowship 2021-22 to conduct his new music course: P.I.Y. (Perform it Yourself) at Cornell University, Ithaca where he obtained his D.M.A. in music composition. He also holds M.M. in composition at Royal College of Music, London. His major teachers are Valeriy Rizayev, Dai Fujikura, Kevin Ernste and Marianthi Papalexandri Alexandri. Piyawat is recently appointed as a Visiting Lecturer position at Cornell University. In Thailand, he is serving as a chair and a program curator for Int-Act Festival (Thailand). Learn more by visiting Piyawat’s website.