Pan Pacific Ensemble
Established in 2016, the Pan Pacific Ensemble is a collection of daring soloists committed to performing music from composers in Asia and the Americas. The group is passionate about creating, promoting, and recording, and providing experiential opportunities for audiences across the globe.
The Pan Pacific Ensemble has commissioned numerous works for wind quintet by composers from Asia and the United States. Recent commissions include works by P.Q. Phan (Indiana University), Narong Prangcharoen (Mahidol University), Asha Srinivasan (Lawrence University), Kenji Bunch (Portland, USA), and Nick Omiccioli (Singapore and USA). These new works have been glowingly received by audiences across the United States, and express influences ranging from Thai traditional musics to rock and roll.
In concert, audiences have been struck with the Pan Pacific Ensemble’s diversity of repertoire as well as the verve and spirit of its performers. The quintet presented two debut programs at the 2016 China-ASEAN Contemporary Music Festival in Nanning, China, and followed with a showcase of new works at the 2017 Thailand International Composition Festival in Bangkok, Thailand. The group has delighted audiences across the
United States and recently completed a mid-Atlantic tour with performances at James Madison University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and theUniversity of Maryland, College Park.
The Pan Pacific Ensemble released its first two CDs, Feng and ironhorses, on Albany Records in 2019. These albums spotlight the multiplicity of timbres, textures, and styles employed by composers associated with and inspired by Asia. Pan Pacific’s debut album, Feng,features music by Chen Yi, Narong Prangcharoen, Xinyan Li, Tanapon Chiwinpiti, Yi Qiao, Yii Kah Hoe, Do Kien Cuong, and Siraseth Pantura-Umporn. The follow-up album, ironhorses, highlights works by Chen Yi, P.Q. Phan, Nick Omiccioli, Asha Srinivasan, Zhong Jun Cheng, Chaipruck Mekara, and Siraseth Pantura-Umporn.
Members of the Pan Pacific Ensemble are passionate about new music, and have given solo performances around the globe, including China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, Egypt, France, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and the United States.