South Korean composer Unsuk Chin visits Thailand; Somsak Chalachol gains his MA

Last week, the sky above Bangkok was filled with clouds, thunder and rain, but that did not spoil Unsuk Chin's first trip to Thailand. ''The food is wonderful and I had a massage every day,'' said the South Korean composer.

Chin visited the city in order to participate in Ensemble TIMF Academy 2008, a musical education event organised by the Tongyeong International Music Festival Foundation, an organisation that promotes Korean contemporary music. The programme included lectures, workshops, rehearsals and concerts. Chin conducted a composition workshop for Thai and Korean music students.

''I was surprised. I didn't know there were so many Thai composers, and they are very talented. It was a very interesting experience for me,'' she said.

Ensemble TIMF also performed some pieces from Alice in Wonderland, Chin's only opera.

''It is a story of a dream world, of Alice and her adventures. For me, it's fascinating because many things in my dreams happen in this story,'' the composer, who described her genre as ''contemporary music'', explained why she choose the tale.

It took Chin five years _ two to shape the concept and three to compose the music _ to finish the opera. Alice in Wonderland was premiered at the Bayerische Statsoper in Munich, in June 2007.

''An opera is much longer and harder to finish,'' she noted. ''You have a text that has a clear message and your music should express that idea.''

Chin, like many South Korean musicians, was exposed to orchestral music at a very young age. She began playing piano at the age of two, when her father bought a piano and taught her.

The young Chin played this instrument for several years and hoped to became a professional pianist one day. But life always has a twist. Chin's family could not afford her piano classes so she switched her dreams to composing instead.

Chin studied at Seoul National University, and moved to Europe in 1985 when she received the Daad stipend to study in Germany. Chin also studied composition with Gyorgy Ligeti in Hamburg. She has been Composer in Residence with the German Symphony Orchestra for two years, and with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra from 2006 to 2008.

Chin's name started to be recognised when she won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award 2004 for her Violin Concerto.

It seems that her second choice of career has been more successful than she expected.

''Piano is just a small part of music, but being a composer is something much more ... because I can create music. I can realise my own musical ideas and express them,'' she said.

Having lived in Germany for 23 years, Chin visits South Korea to organise her own concerts twice a year. Despite being trained and groomed in the West, Chin is looking forward to integrating her roots into her music.

''Well, so far I haven't put Korean music [in my work] so directly, but I would like to do it more in the future.''

Congratulations!

Somsak Chalachol couldn't be more proud of himself at the moment; he has just earned a Master of Arts degree in Political Economy, given to him by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn during a recent degree ceremony at Chulalongkorn University.

The hair designer and founder of the Chalachol hair salon has spent the last four years working towards his degree, while keeping his business running at the same time.

Part of his determination came from the slights he received from people when he started the course. Even at his interview, he was asked why a hairdresser would want to study for this degree.

''I was very angry when I heard this,'' he remarked. ''What's wrong with being a hairdresser? I wanted to upgrade the image of the hairdressing business, so I decided I would do a thesis on my profession that can be applied to develop the business in the future.''

His thesis was on the topic ''Political Economy and the Hairdressing Business''. He put a lot of effort and determination into his work, but even then there were rumours that he had ''bought'' his degree.

Somsak is not too worried about this, though. He believes Chulalongkorn University has a standard that is known and respected, and it will not allow sub-standard graduates to mar its image.

To top this off, Somsak has now embarked on the next step of his studies _ a PhD in human resources development, at Ramkhamhaeng University. He's in the third class of this course, and he expects to finish his coursework by the end of this year. The most difficult and challenging part will be the thesis. It will require a delicate balancing act, since he is also managing his Chalachol chain, teaching as a special lecturer at various educational institutes and carrying out various charity projects. The fact that he lives a life of contentment with his family, his work and his studies give him the moral support he needs to get through this, and he hopes he will ultimately be able to use his knowledge and experience to help improve society.