00:00:04.280 - 00:00:18.020

Hi, Christopher. My name is Irene. I am a student researcher at Rice University, and today I’m going to be interviewing you for about an hour for the Houston Asian American Archive. So, um, can you

00:00:18.020 - 00:00:31.470

introduce a little bit about yourself? Where you were born, your full name, where you grew up, and where you have lived. Uh, my name is Christopher Janwong McKiggan.

00:00:31.850 - 00:00:47.150

I was born in Bournemouth, England, but I lived, mostly at the beginning of my life in Christchurch, Dorset, England. Um, however, I spent most of my life growing up in Bangkok, Thailand, and

00:00:48.310 - 00:01:01.530

I also lived in Kansas City, before I came to Houston. Okay, that’s interesting. Until when did you live in England? Uh, I was there until I was seven years old, then we moved because of the housing

00:01:01.930 - 00:01:17.110

bubble crisis in England. And we moved to Bangkok right after that. Um, so what childhood memories do you have in England? Well, in England, I don’t have that many, actually.

00:01:17.710 - 00:01:32.660

I, the only ones that I have, I can remember walking on the street and getting kicked on the face by a football. That’s one of the few that I remember, although I do have one good memory that I have is with my

00:01:32.660 - 00:01:46.680

half-sister. I remember playing on a tiny little keyboard that my parents had bought. Uh-huh. And she used to play that with me before we moved, and um, I think that’s what led me to my

00:01:48.240 - 00:02:07.060

career. But in Thailand, it was quite a bit more. Um, I attended some schools in Thailand until I was ten. Then I moved to homeschooling when I, at that age. Um, mostly, there was many reasons: cost

00:02:08.230 - 00:02:18.540

and mainly the reason that my parents wanted me to be able to focus on what I loved doing, and it seemed like music was actually what I was really good at. Oh, yeah.

00:02:19.530 - 00:02:35.520

Thank you. So could you describe your hometown in Thailand? Are you from Bangkok? Or are you from, or… Was it a big urban community? Was it rather smaller…?

00:02:35.520 - 00:02:49.970

It was a suburbs, actually, although it was, it was kind of odd at the time. It’s changed so much, but when we were living there, we were living, it was a rich

00:02:49.970 - 00:03:05.580

neighborhood, but it was surrounded by rather ghetto-ish type of area, and that led all my friends, I guess, it’s also more memories to talk about. My friends who I hung out with and played with are not

00:03:05.720 - 00:03:15.400

actually not from the rich neighborhood that we are actually from the poor community outside because they were the only ones who would play sports. And I

00:03:15.400 - 00:03:30.180

think I’ve grown to who I am today a lot due to being hanging out with different societies and cultures, and you know, this poor community helped me get there. Uh-huh. When is the last time you visited there?

00:03:31.480 - 00:03:39.710

Uh, probably four years ago. I just haven’t got round to visit them again. A lot of them have moved and don’t live there anymore.

00:03:39.710 - 00:03:48.290

Like I mentioned, a lot of it has changed. A lot of the rich neighborhood came in and bought the land. Uh-huh. So I see you’re from a suburb of Bangkok.

00:03:49.740 - 00:04:06.030

So from your childhood community, what places stand out most in your mind? It could be Bangkok, any part of Thailand, or England, or… Well, the one that truly stands out at first, this is, semi-joking, is the

00:04:06.030 - 00:04:20.380

football field. Where was it? It was right in my ears right next to my village, but uh, well, the area which stood out the most was the old,

00:04:21.450 - 00:04:35.910

how Bangkok used to be. It was, um, now it has become more of a metropolitan city, but it was, it used to be such a blend of old and new—it had such cultural traditions involved.

00:04:35.910 - 00:04:48.780

There was, you know, you would walk and immediately see a temple adjacent to it. You might see a department store. Yeah, it’s this very odd feeling to it, but it’s something about the

00:04:48.890 - 00:05:00.510

whole tradition of feeling that I really do miss. Uh-huh. So you said that a football field in your neighborhood was the most memorable place for you. Why? Is there any particular reason?

00:05:01.170 - 00:05:17.870

Well, getting to hang out with a, like, real Thai people—I mean, these were people who studied in local schools, you know, they didn’t grow up rich, they didn’t have outside education, and I spoke

00:05:17.870 - 00:05:32.960

English, and they were on the delinquent side, I’d say . But it was just great to hang out with these people, just being able to, you know, they were my best friends growing up.

00:05:33.340 - 00:05:49.030

So all of them are Thais? Yes. Um, so how would you compare your Bangkok neighborhood to those in Houston? Is there any difference like neighbor interaction, interaction with

00:05:49.030 - 00:06:04.740

neighbors? Well, there was a lot of sense, it was strange. The rich village that I lived in was very, it was kind of static and cold, however, the communities outside, they were much more

00:06:04.740 - 00:06:16.320

friendly, much more warm, much more, it was a group mentality, like the sense of community and belonging there. And it felt like a

00:06:16.320 - 00:06:27.600

very close community, but in Houston, everything is so spread out. I have no interactions with my neighbors; I don’t know any of them; I don’t even know what they look like. And so that’s probably one

00:06:27.600 - 00:06:38.130

of the biggest differences is that in Bangkok, I actually got to know a lot of people surrounding me. That’s probably like New York; you walk on the street, and you probably are going to walk into somebody that you know.

00:06:38.600 - 00:06:50.670

That will not happen in Houston. I see. So which part of town do you live in Houston? I live right next to Reliant Stadium. Reliant Stadium? Okay, so do you live in an apartment or a house?

00:06:50.780 - 00:07:00.090

I live in an apartment complex. Is it a big apartment? It’s a moderate size . Why did you decide to stay there?

00:07:00.210 - 00:07:16.530

It was cheap . Okay, um, we’ll move to your ethnic background. Can you tell us a little bit about your ethnic background? Well, my dad is

00:07:17.570 - 00:07:33.000

English-Scottish, at least that’s how he defines himself as, and my mom is Thai- Chinese. Uh, the reason that I mentioned, that’s what my dad identifies himself as. What’s a little more complex is that his dad was actually

00:07:33.860 - 00:07:47.250

half-Scottish, half-Welsh. Oh, I see. And um, but he eventually moved down to England, but he, apparently, my granddad only identified himself as Scottish.

00:07:47.320 - 00:07:59.300

Oh, I see. So was he born in England? He was born in England, um, London. And, so when did he move to Thailand?

00:08:00.340 - 00:08:10.310

Well, he moved there with my mom. We all moved there when I was seven, so in 1992. All right. What about your relatives? Are they all Thais?

00:08:11.520 - 00:08:28.030

My relatives are Thai-Chinese because my relatives moved, my grandfather, moved from China

00:08:29.870 - 00:08:43.500

back in the times of the Cultural Revolution, and then most of their children were born in Thailand. My mom has eleven brothers and sisters, so it’s a very big family. Um, is your name Janwong from China?

00:08:43.820 - 00:08:58.340

Yes, that was actually designated by my grandfather’s will. Wow, so he set your name? Well, actually, let me rephrase. My official name, until I was fifteen, was just

00:08:58.610 - 00:09:13.270

Christopher McKiggan. Oh, you got your Chinese name late! Not quite. I had my Chinese name since birth. My grandfather did give it to me, however, in his will, he specified strangely, no one quite knows why, but

00:09:13.270 - 00:09:27.700

his specified in his will that I take on my Chinese name. Oh, that’s really interesting. So I did. And being Chinese and Thai, we’re all superstitious. So that’s really interesting.

00:09:29.640 - 00:09:43.870

I know it could be a sensitive question, you can choose not to answer this, so what do your parents do for a living? What do they do, and what do your relatives do? Well, my dad is semi-retired now.

00:09:44.780 - 00:09:56.390

He’s been semi-retired for a long time, actually. He helps my mom teach porcelain painting. They do afternoon activities, and that’s what they do. Oh, I see. They do arts, too.

00:09:56.960 - 00:10:06.990

Yeah, they do. And my relatives, most of them, I mean, there’s too many to talk about, but my grandfather started a leather factory.

00:10:07.350 - 00:10:17.820

A leather factory? A leather factory. That’s very interesting. And they export, they make leather and give it to like big production companies. And most of the

00:10:17.820 - 00:10:30.360

family work for this factory. You know Chinese… Is it located in Thailand? Yes, it is. Okay. So what language do you speak to your family members?

00:10:31.950 - 00:10:44.370

I know you speak English, but do you speak English to your parents? Um, I speak Thai to my mom. I speak English to my dad, and when my mom and dad are together,

00:10:44.370 - 00:10:55.100

we speak English plus Thai. It’s kind of a… but English mainly. It’s an odd setup—and my relatives… Thai. I mean, none of them speak—barely speak English.

00:10:55.860 - 00:11:08.350

Actually, it’s kind of a funny story, whenever there’s like a dinner table together, they’ll all be talking, and then, you know, my dad doesn’t understand any Thai, barely, a little bit of it, but barely any Thai.

00:11:08.670 - 00:11:19.430

But someone will make a joke, and then the entire table starts laughing, and my dad, a few seconds afterwards, starts laughing. It’s like ‘Oh, a-ha-ha-ha’ Does that happen often?

00:11:19.650 - 00:11:34.240

Yeah. Every time. So do you speak Thai like a native speaker? I do. I’m bilingual because I could speak Thai since I was born, but I was too shy to speak it.

00:11:34.240 - 00:11:48.650

I understood everything, but when I moved to Thailand, at first, um , I would not speak with people. They would ask me questions I’d point; answer some words in English. I was just too shy to, but yes, I’m

00:11:48.650 - 00:12:01.550

bilingual. Oh, okay. Um, so I was just wondering, because you have a really interesting accent, it’s a little bit of British, but no Thai, I mean it’s very unique, I think.

00:12:01.870 - 00:12:12.330

So do you ever get comments from people about your accent? Well, I mean that’s pretty much the first question that everyone asks me. Where are you from? I

00:12:12.370 - 00:12:26.420

have a hard time placing it. I’m used to the vowels in English, but my euphemism and like slangs tend to be American all the time.

00:12:27.640 - 00:12:41.360

And I do have some sort of odd inflections that I have picked up being in Thailand for a long time. For example? Oh, that’s difficult to say. It’s just like I got this nasal quality of talking.

00:12:44.490 - 00:12:57.710

So, um, we’ll go back to the cultural questions. What kind of food do you eat in Thailand? Did you eat Thai food?

00:12:58.700 - 00:13:14.340

I mean, yes and no. I mean it’s amazing what you miss when you come to America, but I mean, I just took it for granted. I love papaya salad or curries, pad Thai, and all the Thai stuff.

00:13:14.430 - 00:13:25.300

But I wound up wanting to go out to eat was McDonald’s. I know. Until I came to America. And then of course, I realized how amazing Thai food is.

00:13:25.420 - 00:13:39.010

Every time I go back, I eat like crazy. I gain a lot of kilograms every time I go. Did you cook in Thailand? No. God, it’s so cheap to eat there.

00:13:39.010 - 00:13:48.010

Oh yeah, that’s right. And your parents eat Thai food all the time. Your dad loves Thai food? Yeah, my dad loves Thai food, yes. Oh, so mostly Thai dishes?

00:13:48.990 - 00:13:57.790

Pretty much. Uh-huh. And what do you usually eat in America then? Because I know that there’s a Thai restaurant, a lot of Thai restaurants in Houston.

00:13:57.790 - 00:14:12.500

Uh, I don’t go to Thai food very much. Actually, there’s a really good Thai place in Houston, but um, in America, I mean, I used to cook at home; lately I haven’t had the time to, so

00:14:12.670 - 00:14:25.810

now I go to eat every type of cuisine. That’s actually a good thing about America; you can go and have, probably will be able to find every good cuisine, at least in big cities. Oh yes, that’s right.

00:14:25.810 - 00:14:39.290

You can probably find every type of cuisine, and it’s probably going to be pretty good. And uh, yeah. So I eat everything. So you eat Thai food often in Houston in America, too? Um, once every few weeks.

00:14:40.370 - 00:14:53.300

And what else? Vietnamese, American, French, Italian. I mean everything. That’s what I am saying. What do I have

00:14:53.920 - 00:15:05.620

today? Oh, good, I’ll have this. Uh-huh. What about Chinese food? Uh, of course. Did you eat a lot of Chinese food back in Thailand because your relatives are…

00:15:05.620 - 00:15:16.390

My relatives would cook it. Chinese traditional dishes? Chinese dishes. The thing is that there’re a lot of places in Thailand like in the market where they’ll

00:15:16.390 - 00:15:30.730

probably serve food, which is Chinese, but Thai, the Thai take on it. For example, they have the five-spice dish of China, but it’s um, it’s the Thai version of it, so it tastes

00:15:31.090 - 00:15:45.020

very different. But um, with my family, I did have traditional Chinese dishes. So I guess you’re really international because you eat Vietnamese, American, Chinese, Thai, all sorts

00:15:45.350 - 00:15:58.190

of food in America. Well, so we’ll talk about your schooling a little bit. Um, what schools did you go to in Thailand? I mean, you can talk about your formal education as well as your

00:15:58.510 - 00:16:09.540

music education outside school. Well, for my schools in Thailand, I went to two middle schools while I was there. Were they local schools?

00:16:09.840 - 00:16:21.840

They were international. International schools? International schools. And I was only at each of them, one for one semester, and one of them for one year. And my parents pulled me out, like I mentioned, and um…

00:16:22.580 - 00:16:39.570

Why did they pull you out? Well, cost. Oh, I see. it was expensive and to give me freedom to do things. And after a couple of years, I wound up not

00:16:39.570 - 00:16:49.170

studying anything . So homeschooling, right? Yeah, I mean, I focused on music, and then until I was about fourteen. And you know, from fourteen

00:16:49.170 - 00:17:01.380

to sixteen, all I did was music; then I even quit music. Oh, you did? Yeah, from sixteen to eighteen, and I wound up doing nothing related to any sort of studying. I took up acting and modeling and everything.

00:17:01.870 - 00:17:11.820

Wow, that’s interesting. I tried to get into that field. I just love being on stage performing. And eventually, I decided to get back to music. Wow, so

00:17:14.910 - 00:17:31.530

during the homeschooling period, nobody really taught you? No, my parents kind of took this method; they’d give me a book, they’d say ‘Go study and come and ask us questions if you can’t do it.’

00:17:31.560 - 00:17:42.670

That’s pretty liberal. They’re very open and very liberal, and they just—they just, I mean, a lot of people are worried about like ‘Oh, you’re never gonna make it, you’re never gonna do anything.’ But I am in

00:17:42.670 - 00:17:58.680

a doctoral program now, so… You know, I mean, I honestly really believe that it’s what you could make with the time you actually focus on doing; if you just kind of like shut your eyes and go through everything blindly throughout the years, I don’t think you’re

00:17:58.880 - 00:18:08.430

gonna get anything out of it. I know that homeschooling is not very common in Asia. I mean, at least in Korea, so is it very common in Thailand?

00:18:08.430 - 00:18:16.590

Not at all. Not at all? But I guess in America, it’s much more common. Yeah, probably it’s probably the most common in America, actually. England, even, it wasn’t

00:18:17.090 - 00:18:29.850

common. What about your music education? Who did you study with Thailand? Did you take private lessons?

00:18:29.970 - 00:18:42.070

How did you practice? They were all private lessons: I had three or four different teachers throughout my time there. Could you tell us a little bit about your teachers?

00:18:42.950 - 00:18:51.270

Their ethnic backgrounds.. Well, one was a Filipino. Filipino? Interesting. Yeah, he was my first teacher.

00:18:51.850 - 00:19:07.740

One was American; he was my second teacher, probably the most influential on my playing style. The American teacher? The American teacher which actually, I never thought about that, but subconsciously attracted me to

00:19:07.860 - 00:19:21.990

come here, and lastly, I had one Thai teacher and one Lithuanian teacher. Lithuanian? So I guess you were really exposed to different cultures even when you were really

00:19:22.100 - 00:19:37.730

young. Yes. So, how often did you get private lessons? Um, I mean, it really fluctuated. From once a week to once every three months. I mean, it was very

00:19:37.750 - 00:19:48.430

random. Did you have a piano at home? Yeah, I did. It started off with a sixty-six key piano. I didn’t have a full size piano.

00:19:48.430 - 00:20:04.230

It’s kind of a funny story, but I was supposed to play, do an exam, and um, on this exam, I was supposed to play some Clementi sonata or something like… I can’t remember now, but all I remember is that, my

00:20:04.230 - 00:20:17.400

parents, I don’t even remember this, but my parents told me that I was practicing as if the keys were there. That’s really funny. But eventually they got me a Yamaha grand.

00:20:17.550 - 00:20:27.720

Yamaha grand? Yamaha, yes. That’s awesome. Well, so I’ll ask you further questions about your career and about your music later,

00:20:27.720 - 00:20:42.990

um. I have to ask you about what holidays you used to celebrate in Thailand. Well, being in Thailand, it’s a Buddhist country, so I’d usually have to celebrate the Buddhist

00:20:44.590 - 00:20:57.070

occasions. But the one that I celebrated the most frequently, oh there were two actually: one was a Thai New Year, which was my favorite, was called the Songkran Festival. It’s the water festival where they

00:20:57.130 - 00:21:06.720

throw water at each other for all year long. Yeah, I’ve heard of that before. Eh, not all year, all week long . Okay. Um, and Chinese New Year. Uh, that’s a week long…

00:21:06.850 - 00:21:15.540

That’s also a week long. Yes, so I had to do both because my relatives consider themselves Thai, even though they’re of Chinese blood.

00:21:16.100 - 00:21:31.490

Oh, I see. So are you a Buddhist yourself? No. You’re not? But, I am not. I’m just chill about everything because my dad used to be Christian at one point. My mom’s a Buddhist, but I mean, I am just very relaxed.

00:21:31.690 - 00:21:40.920

So how do you usually celebrate Chinese New Year? What do you usually do? I wait to get money . Is it Angpao?

00:21:40.950 - 00:21:55.550

It’s the Angpao, the pink slip that all your relatives give you. Of course, I don’t get that anymore since I’m getting too old. Yeah, Koreans celebrate Chinese New Year, too. Yeah, exactly. So, no, what I would

00:21:55.550 - 00:22:09.910

I do? We’d gather as a family; we used to go watch all these festivals and everything, but it doesn’t happen anymore.

00:22:10.350 - 00:22:22.510

Um, I see. Were there any like monthly family reunions? Weekly, actually, until my grandfather passed away. When was it? Do you remember?

00:22:23.250 - 00:22:37.890

Back in 2004. 2004. So all your relatives – your cousins and everybody—attended the reunion? Was it a Chinese

00:22:37.890 - 00:22:53.740

style of reunion where you sit down around a round table? Yeah, a round table. Yeah, I can imagine that. They’d eat, drink alcohol, and… yeah, it was Chinese. Alright. So I read your bio, and I was really impressed

00:22:54.350 - 00:23:07.190

by your achievement: your competition record, your recording career, and everything. So you’re an internationally recognized pianist, so what did you first start the piano?

00:23:08.500 - 00:23:23.560

Well, my dad first started me on it when I was six, but I only did it for half a year, and then we moved to Thailand, and I didn’t start it again until I was ten. So you stopped?

00:23:23.620 - 00:23:32.800

I stopped. For how many years? Well, from seven to ten. Wow, that’s very unusual for a pianist, I mean, for any musicians to stop practicing when they’re

00:23:32.800 - 00:23:48.710

young, right? Yeah. Wow, so what was your life like in Bangkok when you were young, as a pianist?

00:23:48.930 - 00:23:59.980

Uh, it was pretty good. I mean, probably the first and most influential thing for me was this festival which actually was in Bangkok; it was in Thailand.

00:24:01.010 - 00:24:16.720

It’s called the Lanna Music Festival. Fantastic festival, I loved going there. I did it for three years because that was like the first real classical music festival in Bangkok, and uh, it was

00:24:16.720 - 00:24:34.120

really great to be with everybody, and that’s where I made most of my contacts and I think had I not gone there, I would be nowhere near where I am now. Um, as for the other stuff, by the time I was fourteen, I was known as the

00:24:34.230 - 00:24:46.060

accompanist to go to. Because when I was twelve, my dad got me to try playing with a clarinetist, and um, after that, everybody started to want to play with

00:24:46.060 - 00:24:55.450

me, so I charged 20 euros . Cool! But I got to play with so many people. Actually, I made a lot of money doing that. Oh, since you were fourteen.

00:24:56.100 - 00:25:09.270

I mean when you were fourteen. Yeah. So I feel like Bangkok could’ve been a really relaxing environment for kids to learn music. How much do you agree?

00:25:09.590 - 00:25:22.490

Relaxing? I mean, back then. Laid back, I mean? People weren’t taking it quite as seriously back then, I think.

00:25:22.550 - 00:25:34.810

I think this you know like, Korea has the whole serious music scene that’s been going on. Yes. That’s only kind of starting now, like, right now. Prep-schools and things like that, right?

00:25:35.100 - 00:25:46.400

Yeah, it’s a very new thing there. Back when I was growing up, that didn’t exist. So why did you decide to move to the U.S.? You moved when you were twenty-one, right?

00:25:47.870 - 00:25:58.950

Well, after I eventually got back to music, I went to a Thai college for about a semester and a bit. Oh, music? Yes. I actually attended a Thai college.

00:26:00.130 - 00:26:17.100

Ah, , I realized while I was there that I would never make it as a classical musician, if I stayed. Not, I don’t want to blame the teachers so much, but it was the general attitude at the time towards classical music, so people would go into

00:26:17.100 - 00:26:30.120

classical music just because they couldn’t do anything else, which is odd, because it’s usually the other way around in most countries. You go into classical music because you want to do it.

00:26:30.500 - 00:26:44.560

But it wasn’t this case, so I was surrounded by people who just didn’t care. Um, and there weren’t that many performing opportunities; the pay was terrible. Did you get financial aid from your Thai college?

00:26:44.560 - 00:26:55.060

Yeah, but it didn’t cost much anyway. I mean, it was free for me to attend, but it would cost, I did have to pay like a thousand a semester. It was really cheap anyway.

00:26:55.730 - 00:27:09.780

Um, but the main problem was that I wasn’t inspired. I see. That’s the most, I mean, to have people around you who can inspire you. Um, so why did

00:27:10.320 - 00:27:27.520

you, I mean, I know that all these problems regarding Thai music scene and college probably inspired you to move, did you look up the information online to find out about schools?

00:27:28.510 - 00:27:40.560

No. How did you learn about the U.S. and the opportunities here? Well, one of my long-term friends, Narong Prancharoen, he’s a Thai composer who’s now

00:27:41.230 - 00:27:51.520

internationally recognized. He’s a composer, right? Yeah, he’s a Thai composer. Uh, he has a Thai contemporary music festival; it’s an

00:27:51.520 - 00:28:10.360

international composition festival, and one, the year, I think it was 2005, um, it was like the second one, and he had a teacher who was coming from UMKC named James Mobberley.

00:28:11.770 - 00:28:26.030

UMKC is University of Missouri in Kansas City, which was the university that I attended. Yes, that’s right. And he came, and the pianist who was supposed to perform the piece flaked out last minute,

00:28:26.610 - 00:28:44.580

so a week and a half before the performance, Narong, because of my American teacher that I mentioned, Narong contacted me and said ‘Can you play this?’ And had I really known how hard the piece was, I

00:28:44.610 - 00:28:56.950

would’ve probably said no, but I actually said yes, and once I got the music, I was like ‘Oh, wow! This is really, really hard.’ But I learnt it, and I actually did a really great job in the performance,

00:28:57.080 - 00:29:13.270

and the composer was really impressed. He invited me to go audition in America and said that ‘I can put in a great word for you; I’m sure we can get money for you.’ So I came, I auditioned, and they gave me a

00:29:14.110 - 00:29:23.470

lot of money. So that was when you were twenty-one. So did you have to sit for any standardized testing? Because you were homeschooled, I am sure they require different things…

00:29:23.970 - 00:29:42.890

Well, before I attended the Thai college, I also had to have some sort of high school diploma, so when I was eighteen, I took a six-month crash course . So basically, the entire high school for

00:29:42.890 - 00:29:59.950

six months. Um, and I took the GEDs. Which is? Which is the General Education, but you can take it in Thailand. Oh, I see. So when you first came here, did your family members come along or

00:29:59.950 - 00:30:15.860

stay behind? They stayed behind—I came alone. Um, mainly because I wanted to try just getting away from everything; I had always lived with my parents, and I wanted just to be able to start new and be able to

00:30:15.980 - 00:30:31.130

take risks and see what it was like to do everything by myself because I knew that if they were here helping me, I would not develop as fast. Were they happy with your decision? Or are they happy with your decision to move to the U.S.?

00:30:32.050 - 00:30:51.000

Um, I think they’re very happy, actually. At first, they were sad and everything, but they realized, at the time, we didn’t know that I was going to have a full scholarship and stipend. Um, when they first saw

00:30:51.220 - 00:31:04.620

the figures of how much it would cost, they were like ‘We can’t afford this.’ It’s so expensive. Ah, but I got lucky, and here I am.

00:31:06.030 - 00:31:20.520

Yeah, who helped you settle down in the U.S.? Narong, my Thai friend. He was living here? He was not there at that time;

00:31:21.550 - 00:31:35.740

he was actually doing an Associate Professor job in Illinois State. But I think it’s Illinois State, I might be wrong. He eventually came back the next semester.

00:31:38.450 - 00:31:52.790

I see the reason for coming to the UMKC was the scholarship you got and Narong, right? Was there any friends’ connection there? Or was just him?

00:31:54.480 - 00:32:08.240

Only him. Wow, was there a big Thai community? Well, actually, Kansas City has a really tight Thai community, I wouldn’t say it’s a big one, but everybody seems to know everybody.

00:32:08.840 - 00:32:22.050

And the small group of people that I hung out with are very friendly; they always gather together to eat every week. So it wasn’t just the musicians. No, there was one other musician.

00:32:22.050 - 00:32:37.520

That was a clarinetist who left that semester when I got there. And then there was a guitarist who came briefly but who left and now currently there’s another clarinetist because there’re not that many Thais studying abroad in classical

00:32:38.700 - 00:32:50.910

music. Period. Only, like I said, only recently has it changed. So I believe that the Thai community in Kansas City is very different from the Thai community here because it’s more spread out.

00:32:51.620 - 00:33:05.120

Yeah, I believe that there’s more people, but it seems, it doesn’t seem to be real community base. Maybe I’m wrong about that, but I’ve been attempting to find out more, and this is why I’m saying based

00:33:05.120 - 00:33:21.430

on my feeling, as of current, there’s not much of community based because every time I’ve tried to get involved with the community, there’s no response, and there’s a lack of communication, and it seems

00:33:21.820 - 00:33:42.200

very fractured. Can you give us an example of how you’ve attempted to contact a Thai person? I e-mailed a few communities, and I’ve talked to a few people who own restaurant and stuff,

00:33:42.860 - 00:33:54.550

but they seem like they’re in their own world. You know, they don’t seem to have anything really going on. They just say ‘We don’t really know.’ So they seem more impersonal.

00:33:55.360 - 00:34:09.260

I would say, yes. And that wasn’t the case in Kansas City, right? Because if you talk to someone working at a Thai restaurant, eventually you’ll probably gonna find another Thai, but you mutually know.

00:34:10.570 - 00:34:25.780

So that was Kansas City. Wow. Yeah. So what were some your first impressions and early experiences in the United States? Well, the first place I went to when I came to America was

00:34:25.910 - 00:34:34.700

actually in Maine. Excuse me. Bless you. It was in Maine. It was for the Bowdoin Music Festival.

00:34:34.700 - 00:34:49.400

Oh, at the Bowdoin College? Yes, at the Bowdoin College. And it was a real eye-opener for many reasons. I mean, never before had I been in such a situation where I was meeting people

00:34:49.510 - 00:35:06.790

from every ethnic background. You know, every star you had. You know, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, half, halfies, American-Asians, Americans,

00:35:07.310 - 00:35:28.020

Latinos. You know, every single, every single culture was there. And it was very unique experience. It was, I, it wasn’t really a shock, it was just like, I was in awe of how amazing, actually, I enjoyed it so

00:35:28.050 - 00:35:45.440

much. It was difficult for the first couple of days, then I really loved being in that situation of just having people of so many ethnic background all together, being in multicultural setting. Speaking of halfie, what was it like to live as a halfie, half-British and

00:35:45.870 - 00:35:56.680

half-Thai, in Thailand? Um, it was actually good . Because Thais love halfies. I know that there are some

00:35:56.680 - 00:36:12.960

countries which don’t, but halfies are treated really well in Thailand. In what way? Um, they… Appearance wise, I guess. Appearance wise, they seem to like it.

00:36:15.330 - 00:36:30.670

They come up to talk to you like you know, they’re fascinated by everything, and they always wonder your background. They’re so interested which I know that some countries aren’t like that.

00:36:31.620 - 00:36:46.810

You were kind of in this center of attention, I guess. Yeah, I was. Were they fascinated by your Thai proficiency? Yeah, that’s probably the first thing which came up, if I started speaking Thai.

00:36:46.810 - 00:36:58.630

There was like, ‘Oh, Pon-thai-luh?’ which means, ‘Do you speak Thai?’ Interesting. So were you like homesick when you first came to the U.S.? I know most people who

00:36:58.730 - 00:37:13.560

first arrive in the U.S. have these problems. Um, well, during the first year of Kansas City, not during Bowdoin, it’s

00:37:13.560 - 00:37:22.470

fine, during the first year in Kansas City, and I guess because Kansas City has some of the worst public transportation systems ever. You can’t get everywhere without it .

00:37:23.260 - 00:37:36.690

But, it was, I didn’t get to go everywhere, I remember like the biggest shock for me was that I wanted to, I was hungry, it was like the first night; I was hungry, and it was like 11:30 p.m.

00:37:37.500 - 00:37:50.480

and I just did what I usually do in Bangkok—I walked outside and tried to find somewhere to eat. Yeah, that didn’t work. Everything was closed. That was probably one of the biggest

00:37:51.400 - 00:38:07.650

surprises. That sort of stings continued. A few cultural differences; it wasn’t anything major. It was just like a typical homesickness that you missed a lot of things back home; missed the food, the people, and

00:38:07.650 - 00:38:22.870

everything. But eventually, I grew out of it, I realized that it’s just, I was just being ridiculous. So, yeah. I was gonna ask you something. Oh, so you literally didn’t find any food that night?

00:38:23.270 - 00:38:40.180

No . I went back home, starving. Oh, that’s so sad. I know. Well, so in my opinion, I think that your multicultural background like you had teachers of like from

00:38:40.360 - 00:38:53.870

so many different countries in Thailand, and you were exposed to international community in international schools in Thailand, and you know, your family background is really unique ethnically.

00:38:56.440 - 00:39:14.820

So much do you think that your background helped you adjust to the U.S.? I think the fact that I came from such an open-minded and multicultural background with my dad being English-Scottish and my mom being Chinese-Thai.

00:39:16.770 - 00:39:30.150

I was more, I mean, I can’t speak for everybody else, of course, but just based on my perception of things, I was more open to see things in a different way, seeing things from a different point of view.

00:39:31.660 - 00:39:38.890

And no matter what, you go to a different country, they’re going to see differently from you. That’s just how the world works. Based on the tradition and

00:39:39.040 - 00:39:56.500

values, and uh, it was difficult to adjust at first, but I think, because of my background, it really helped me. Uh-hu. So uh, you think that you had less problems getting used to American culture than other

00:39:56.500 - 00:40:05.500

international students? I’m assuming so. Because you can’t really… I can’t speak for them, but I’ll say that most Asians seem to stick together with other Asians,

00:40:07.100 - 00:40:17.890

especially like Koreans. Really big. . You know. Koreans are really into the Korean culture. Yeah, I agree with that.

00:40:19.020 - 00:40:36.180

That’s part of our culture, just like, to stick together. So now that you’ve lived in America for eight years, do you think of yourself as an American? I mean, I’m not talking about citizenship, but as an American citizen…

00:40:36.610 - 00:40:51.450

I know what you mean. It’s a very difficult question for me to answer because I moved around quite a bit, and again, I’m multicultural, but, uh, I don’t think myself as any particular country.

00:40:52.860 - 00:41:05.910

Wow. I don’t think of myself as an English or Scottish or Thai or Chinese. I mean, those are my bloods. I mean, I’m proud to be part of this country. Um, but I consider myself a person of the world.

00:41:06.460 - 00:41:25.790

I just love trying to see things from different points of view. Now that I’ve said that though, I love England, I love Thailand, and I love America, and I’m proud to be part, you know, part of my country, England,

00:41:26.020 - 00:41:39.110

and part of my country in Thailand; and I’m proud to be living here right now in America. And, um, would I eventually like to become a citizen? Yes, I’d love to become a citizen, eventually.

00:41:40.200 - 00:41:54.470

Uh, do I consider myself as an American? Again, it’s a difficult question for me to answer because I’d rather say that I’m proud to help this country, and if I can, to be

00:41:54.470 - 00:42:08.570

part of it. Wow, that’s a really interesting perspective, I think. Well, you said that you’re proud to be here in America, uh, why are you, why do you think so? Is it the opportunities they give you?

00:42:10.470 - 00:42:26.990

Yeah, the opportunities, the people, it’s so vastly different from every region you go. There’s so many different things, extremely open-mindedness, extremely closed-minded. It has got everything.

00:42:26.990 - 00:42:36.800

And that, it just, shows as many things as you can learn and choose from. Do I agree with everything? No. No, I mean, of course not.

00:42:37.240 - 00:42:51.940

But that doesn’t mean that I disrespect things that are going on. I’m just proud to be part of it. Yeah, that’s a really interesting viewpoint.

00:42:52.520 - 00:43:09.510

You know there’s like, there’s an argument that citizenship is getting less and less important in this world because everything is changing so fast, and things are connected, uh, so much more connected that ever before.

00:43:09.780 - 00:43:23.560

So citizenship is really less emphasized. So what’s your perspective? It seems like you consider yourself as a person of the world, and you don’t associate yourself based on like citizenship.

00:43:25.150 - 00:43:35.070

What do you think of that? I mean, do I think citizenship is less important? Yes. I do. Um, do I think it’s invalid?

00:43:35.070 - 00:43:52.160

No. I mean, of course, I do understand people want to preserve traditions, and I agree with that too. I’m not suggesting that everybody should suddenly become like one global unit. Um, but for me, citizenship is less important

00:43:52.560 - 00:44:07.560

because I could easily move from different places to different places, but from what I’ve, I’ve been to many places in the world, and I do love being here. Almost the most…

00:44:07.560 - 00:44:23.500

So how much do you think you understand American culture? Um… Can you expand your question a little bit? Um, because you’ve travelled a lot in the U.S. giving concerts and in so many states, and um, well,

00:44:23.500 - 00:44:34.230

probably you’ve had host families, too. American host families. And probably you took some American history courses. You might like to read

00:44:34.520 - 00:44:49.830

news on America on domestic affairs. So, how far do you think you understand ? I think I understand it pretty well. I mean, like you mentioned, I actually pretty

00:44:50.320 - 00:45:01.480

much only read American newspapers. I read American versions of international newspaper like CNN.

00:45:02.550 - 00:45:16.380

International editions, but they’re still American based. Um, and I have lived with host families all across America from every different type of family and background.

00:45:17.960 - 00:45:32.590

And it’s fascinating to see, every time I’ll meet someone who’s completely different. I see. You’re talking about American host families, right? I mean, that’s just a good example.

00:45:32.830 - 00:45:46.450

Do you think that the reason you read American newspaper, I mean, news is that they’re related to your life, I mean everyday life? Yes. Um, so how do you introduce yourself to people you’ve

00:45:46.450 - 00:45:54.400

just met because you have such a unique background? I’m sure there’s a lot to tell. Hi, I’m Chris McKiggan. Nice to meet you .

00:45:54.480 - 00:46:05.870

What about I ask ‘Where are you from?’ Um, well, I usually go around tangent about my background, where I’ve lived and everything. I don’t usually specify that I am British or anything.

00:46:07.770 - 00:46:20.510

Actually, I’ve just realized they never actually ask me eventually what citizen I am, usually, occasionally they will, but usually I’ll say ‘I was born here, did this, went here, lived here most of my life, did that, and came there.

00:46:20.940 - 00:46:32.050

And they eventually go, ‘Oh, that’s fascinating! It’s so amazing. And they don’t usually ask me, ‘Oh, what citizen do you consider yourself?’ I’ve been asked that maybe three or four times.

00:46:32.050 - 00:46:42.670

That’s all? Yeah, and like it’s very rare. But I mean, it’s good that you have a lot to tell because for me, I just say I’m from Korea and lived in Malaysia, but that’s…

00:46:42.830 - 00:46:54.090

But that’s interesting. That’s interesting, but you know there’s so many people from my country who can, who just don’t have much to say about themselves. That’s true, but Americans don’t know that.

00:46:54.450 - 00:47:07.760

Um, yeah . At least the people who you’ll be talking to might not know that. But anyway, that’s beside the point. So going back to holidays, I know you used to celebrate, was it Songkran? Songkran, the water

00:47:07.760 - 00:47:19.380

festival, and Chinese New Year, you said, right? Do you celebrate holidays in the U.S.? Um… Thanksgiving? I take the days off .

00:47:19.490 - 00:47:30.290

Actually, I was just kidding. I do, I do it everywhere. I usually do some sort of thanksgiving dinner, even if, either at family’s house or to go out to eat, or I stay at home

00:47:30.930 - 00:47:43.390

with close friends, usually do the whole turkey and cranberry dressing, stuffing, and everything. I love it. It’s great. Um, I celebrate Christmas, um

00:47:43.490 - 00:47:58.120

for myself, usually . And I celebrate the New Years, and um, yeah, but I usually take part in any holiday, if I can. Usually, being a musician, there isn’t much

00:47:58.300 - 00:48:09.530

time; I usually am stuck in the practice room. But whenever I can, yeah, I definitely take part in. And even during Chinese New Year, you’d call your parents, right? I call the parents, but I don’t celebrate it here.

00:48:09.740 - 00:48:24.910

I see. So what traditions or customs have you made an effort to preserve? For example, you know things that you used to do and you still want to do in America because you want to preserve identity.

00:48:27.740 - 00:48:42.370

Well, there’s a lot of things that I want to do, not necessarily that I got to do. Like I mentioned, this is one thing I miss from Kansas City that I don’t get to do here in Houston is I used to have a weekly sit ‐

00:48:42.370 - 00:48:57.410

down with my Thai friends and that kind of reminded me of my home. Um, and other traditions are practically impossible, any traditions which might have involved a temple is practically impossible.

00:48:58.060 - 00:49:13.130

And like I mentioned, Houston, unlike you know small places like Kansas City, where you can just drive a few minutes and meet somebody, here it's so spread out that you have to drive; you actually have to plan out

00:49:13.210 - 00:49:24.170

to actually go meet someone. You can’t just call somebody and ‘Hey, let’s go meet.’ So sadly, I don’t, I’d love to preserve some more customs here, but I don’t get the chance

00:49:25.190 - 00:49:44.010

to. One interesting thing from your bio was that you recorded a few albums for the Asian ‐American Thai composer, Narong, your friend, right? Was that also an effort,

00:49:44.590 - 00:49:54.970

whether it was conscious or unconscious, of yours to preserve your identity? I think it was at first. And still now.

00:49:54.990 - 00:50:12.250

Um, because it was probably the first Thai classical composer to have an international release. And being, consider myself as like a part-Thai myself, I wanted to be part of

00:50:12.250 - 00:50:28.060

that. He offered me to record it, so I did, and I’m so glad because it has led to so many more projects which I have thought about, which I wouldn’t have thought about from this, and they’re usually multicultured, and again my whole multicultural background, the multicultured,

00:50:28.060 - 00:50:39.750

trying to get composers from different countries to do to mix them all together and yeah. Definitely. So the albums were marketed towards Thais or Americans?

00:50:41.770 - 00:50:55.660

Global. Global. Nice. Um, so do you think, just your personal opinion, it’s important to keep cultural identity? As in like, you associate yourself, well, not just that, not by

00:50:55.770 - 00:51:10.300

citizenship, but um, having a cultural identity. For example, I’m from Korea, but I lived in Malaysia, but I sort of understand. I think it’s very important to preserve the cultural values and traditions,

00:51:10.850 - 00:51:22.000

if only to keep something of the old, especially in this radically globalized environment that we all live in now. That’s very important to keep these values and traditions.

00:51:22.000 - 00:51:39.290

And I, you know, eventually, after I’m done with everything here, I probably will dedicate myself more to doing things like that. To promote… To promote cultural things. Like I mentioned earlier, if I eventually can, I’ll try and do some sort of

00:51:39.290 - 00:51:59.660

like Thai group society here in Houston. I see. Maybe there already is one which I don’t really know about, but that’s something I’d love to do, and I think it’s very important as a whole. So it was a fascinating story about Kansas City in the

00:51:59.720 - 00:52:08.710

Thai community. So why did you decide to move to Houston? When did you move to Houston? Well, I moved to Houston three years ago. Three years ago? Three years ago, yes.

00:52:09.170 - 00:52:21.320

I moved here because of Rice. Oh, just because of Rice. Well, first reason was because of Rice. When I first saw the city, I was a little not so sure at

00:52:21.320 - 00:52:35.440

first. Um, but Rice was so fantastic that I wound up turning my two top choices, schools, down because I wanted to come here. Um, and eventually I grew to love Houston because of it.

00:52:35.440 - 00:52:46.770

And they, at Rice another reason why they gave me so much money to come here. And I just couldn’t turn the offer down. I see.

00:52:46.770 - 00:53:00.140

Do you mind telling us a little bit about the school choices you had? The options you had when, um, did you do your Masters? Yes, it was Masters, and currently Doctorate. Other choices I had were Yale and Juilliard.

00:53:00.440 - 00:53:18.210

Yale and Juilliard. So they were all on the East coast, right? Yes. So wasn’t it a big attraction for you to go to New York City or nearby areas as a classical musician

00:53:18.450 - 00:53:37.170

because they have Carnegie Hall, New York Phil, a lot of rich classical music scene. Um, that’s very true. And it was one of the most difficult choices. Yale, I just didn’t, you know,

00:53:37.170 - 00:53:51.200

sometimes you just don’t have—you’d feel like you don’t have a connection with the place. I see. That was me and Yale. Nothing against it. It seemed fantastic, but I just didn’t feel any connection there. As for Juilliard, it was cost versus benefit type of situation

00:53:52.430 - 00:54:08.160

with the benefits being in New York override the cost that it was gonna be in New York. Uh, and eventually, I felt like ‘no.’ If I can go to nowadays, flying is easy, you can, I can go to New York whenever I want to, if I really

00:54:08.160 - 00:54:18.650

needed to. See, and the cost of flying to New York is probably cheaper than staying there. Yeah, New York City is really expensive.

00:54:18.710 - 00:54:36.010

So, and the other question that tends to come up is ‘Oh, but don’t you get more performing opportunities while you are there?’ Okay, the chances are, yes, but there are more people there too. Here is an example is that, the

00:54:36.630 - 00:54:49.480

head of the composition at Juilliard, I’ve performed his Asian concerto, he asked me to perform, sorry, let me rephrase. He asked me to perform the Asian premiere of his piano concerto in Beijing.

00:54:50.380 - 00:55:00.440

And he teaches at Juilliard. But I wound up getting the gig, and it wasn’t because I was better, it wasn’t because of anything, it was because opportunities and I talked to him.

00:55:01.020 - 00:55:14.900

But I wasn’t even in New York. So it just goes to show that sometimes being away from it all, you can kind of have a bigger, you can see things in a bigger picture instead of having to be

00:55:15.070 - 00:55:27.780

in the middle of it, sometimes it’s very difficult to see. And you wind up actually getting; the opportunities might not be thrown at you as often, but the ones which are thrown at you are probably gonna be a better one.

00:55:27.870 - 00:55:37.340

Better ones. Well, not better than theirs, it’s a good— Yeah, I understood what you’re saying. So I guess because of Houston is like kinda in the middle,

00:55:37.710 - 00:55:52.130

you can fly to California and to New York as well, I mean to the East Coast, it’s three hours, three hours, right? So I guess the location of Houston is really attractive too. And I just read an article long time ago

00:55:52.470 - 00:56:06.610

about these Asian parents who really are dying to send their children to um schools of really high ranking; all they seem to care about, I mean, for some Asian parents, name-value of the school.

00:56:07.090 - 00:56:20.970

And I don’t know about music schools that much, I mean if it’s Yale or Juilliard, I think it could’ve been like… I don’t think I would’ve hesitated that much to choose Yale.

00:56:20.970 - 00:56:35.170

Because if I tell people that I go to Yale, like at least in Asia, then they’ll be like, ‘Oh my god. It’s a really, really fantastic school, and I’d feel like they’d respect me more, and it must’ve been a really hard decision for you too, not

00:56:35.230 - 00:56:49.980

just because of the financial reasons, but because of all the recognition side of it. And did your parents, your mom is also Thai, and your relatives are also Asians, was there any such thing,

00:56:50.620 - 00:57:05.190

stereotype? Yes, I mean, it was even more difficult because Yale offered me more money than Rice. Uh, it was, all my relatives probably wanted to kill me .

00:57:05.560 - 00:57:15.760

Figuratively speaking. They knew Yale, right? They knew. And even my mom and dad were slightly disappointed at first. Eventually, they realized

00:57:15.760 - 00:57:29.500

that I made the right choice for me. Um, would I have probably had better, instant recognition in Asia if I wanted to impress people on the street?

00:57:29.610 - 00:57:41.540

Hell, yes, of course, I would’ve had more. Um, did it matter to me as much? No, because what mattered to me more was the education. And Rice is a, especially the music

00:57:41.540 - 00:57:52.880

program, is relatively new to the other places. Oh, I didn’t know that. Well, not. Well, the music program at Rice has only been here for, what, like thirty something years.

00:57:53.450 - 00:58:03.570

And the new building has only been here like for twenty years. So, yeah. So you saw a potential in the school. Yeah, that’s really great.

00:58:04.010 - 00:58:17.500

So the primary reason for you to move to Houston was Rice, but would you still consider settling down in the city? Definitely. Definitely.

00:58:17.650 - 00:58:31.740

Um, I’d actually love to set this place as a base, you know, for everything because I think it’s such a rich community both culturally and financially.

00:58:35.360 - 00:58:48.260

It’s, I feel like, there’s so much you can set up in terms of classical music here in the future like being able to set up a lot of concert series and everything. I really believe that there’s a market for it.

00:58:48.310 - 00:58:59.070

It’s cheap to live. It’s easy to move about. You can still set up and do things around the country easily. Um, food, definitely.

00:58:59.070 - 00:59:08.400

I mean there’s a lot of different food, but, it’s not expensive. Uh-huh. Compared to… Compared to like New York and everything. I see.

00:59:09.370 - 00:59:18.910

I agree with food the most. Houston has amazing food. Um, so in Houston what activities have you participated?

00:59:18.910 - 00:59:34.780

It could be anything not related to music or related to music. Uh, I mean again, I’m mostly focusing on music for the time being. Uh, aside from Rice, one of the main things that I participated in was the Young Artist Program of the De Camera of

00:59:34.780 - 00:59:47.960

Houston which is a music group based here which they promote classical music to the community. Uh-huh. I see. So I know that you played a lot of concerts in the

00:59:48.020 - 00:59:56.440

U.S. How do you usually find concert opportunities? It’s all random, really. Sometimes you have to contact people.

00:59:56.950 - 01:00:11.570

Oh, like directly? Directly, you know, you just contact them; they might say yes. Sometimes they’ll contact you out of recommendation; sometimes they’ll be at a concert you just played; sometimes you’ve won a competition and you get offered concerts; it’s very random.

01:00:11.640 - 01:00:24.630

Very unpredictable. It’s not like you apply for job and get regular concerts. It’s not like any other field. No, it’s not like any other field.

01:00:25.270 - 01:00:35.930

I mean the entertainment industry tends to be like that. I see. Did Rice help you in any way to find you some concerts? Um, yes, they have. They have. That’s great. So are there many Asians in your field?

01:00:36.050 - 01:00:51.930

Definitely. In the music field? Definitely. Um, lots of Koreans and Chinese, especially. They’re actually dominating the market right now. Um, especially in the piano market.

01:00:54.510 - 01:01:07.920

Dominating the market as in like… Both outnumbering and succeeding. They’re doing well in the competitions, um, their technical ability is way beyond everything else.

01:01:08.480 - 01:01:22.020

Um, they’re doing incredibly well. Interesting. Um, so there is a theory called model minority myth. Have you heard about it? No.

01:01:22.660 - 01:01:38.080

It’s a myth where members of certain minority usually are perceived to achieve higher level of success. For example, uh, Mexican immigrants could,

01:01:39.130 - 01:01:54.880

they see Chinese kind of like stereotype them as hard-working people and overachieving people, and I’m sure it could apply to the music scene.

01:01:54.880 - 01:02:07.210

Just like you said, you said that the Asians are doing incredibly well, especially with technical ability. So did you have to kind of, did you experience any of that?

01:02:07.530 - 01:02:21.350

Because you’re half Asian, some people might’ve said that, ‘Wow, you’ll have…’ I mean, they’ll assume that you’d have technical ability or something like that. You’re under pressure to perform, well, because of

01:02:22.740 - 01:02:33.670

you being half-Asian. I mean. Not really actually. For me, for myself, that didn’t impact me. But that’s also because I grew

01:02:33.770 - 01:02:44.250

up in Thailand. I didn’t grow up in Korea or China. Had I been half-Korean or half-Chinese, I think that might’ve affected me more. And I felt pressure mainly for musicians around

01:02:44.250 - 01:02:56.100

me, not so much from just the Asian community. Am I in awe or inspired by the amount of Koreans and Chinese who’re doing incredibly well in the competition?

01:02:56.100 - 01:03:09.910

Yes, I am. Does it give me like stress or like does it feel like try and make me feel like I have to do well to being seen as like them; no, it doesn’t make me

01:03:09.910 - 01:03:25.610

feel like that at all. I guess it’s because you’re competing at an international level. It’s not really, um, how do I put it, racial problem. It’s because you have to compete with people from all over the world.

01:03:26.160 - 01:03:34.180

It’s not just one ethnicity. I guess. I don’t know… I know that you have rather short history in the U.S.

01:03:34.180 - 01:03:48.910

But were there major events in the recent U.S. history that impacted you the most? Well, um, I mean the difference in the amount of money which I was offered for my undergrad and

01:03:48.930 - 01:04:02.080

my Masters is quite a big difference. I don’t really know what the economy situation was like back in 2006 because I didn’t study much about it at the time. But I was offered a lot of money for my undergrad.

01:04:03.650 - 01:04:21.290

For my Masters, it was right at the peak of the recession. And schools were suffering from money loss, and even though I had a full scholarship, I practically had

01:04:21.860 - 01:04:35.390

no stipend. Um, and that was a big blow, especially coming from Thailand, because they don’t, we don’t earn that much money. My parents don’t

01:04:35.490 - 01:04:46.550

earn nearly enough, but it’s changed now. Again, since it’s gotten better, my doctorate, they offered me a lot of money, and… Wow, it’s great that you get to study things, music

01:04:48.360 - 01:05:02.600

in school. I mean, without worrying about cost. I mean, it’s very helpful. Well, thank you so much for your time. I’ve learned a lot about your interesting background, your life

01:05:02.640 - 01:05:14.190

in general, and classical music scene, because I love classical music. It was really interesting for me to know about classical music scene in different cities.

01:05:15.280 - 01:05:27.090

Well, I appreciate your time, and good luck with your studies! Let me know if there’s any opportunity for me to go watch your concerts. I’ll do. Thank you so much.

01:05:27.240 - 01:05:30.090

It was a pleasure talking to you. Thank you.