Composed for the 80th Composer Conference - Avaloch Farm Music Institute

Conducted and Performed by:
Vimbayi Kaziboni (Conductor) 
Barry Crawford, flute
Sarrah Bushara, oboe
Benjamin Fingland, clarinet
Adrian Morejon, bassoon
Sam Jones, trumpet
Daniel Linden, trombone
Steve Beck, piano
Adda Kridler, violin
Marina Kifferstein, violin
Liuh-Wen Ting, viola
Chris Gross, violoncello
Greg Chudzik, contrabass

Programme notes:
Recantation explores sonic gestures, timbres, and a collection of folk melodies that evoke a sense of withdrawal. Throughout the piece, these elements undergo transformations that suggest a retraction or reversal of previously established themes and textures. But eventually, these musical ideas gradually lose their energy - illustrating the inevitable decline and become unable to sustain their original form.

Recantation for Twelve Instruments (2024)

Thanakarn Schofield is a Thai composer based in New York. His work explores the fusion of sonic ritual and drama, seeking an amalgamation of multicultural influences, with particular emphasis on geographical sonic elements, historical connotations, and political contexts.

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Thanakarn’s compositions have been performed in more than 20 countries across Asia, Europe, and America. His works have been featured in several new music festivals, including Darmstadt New Music (Germany), 80th Composers Conference (USA), Fête de la Musique Berlin, ReMusik – St. Petersburg Contemporary Music Festival (Russia), Festival Dag in de Branding (Netherlands), Dutch Harp Festival (Netherlands), Simpósio Internacional de Música Nova (Brazil), OutHear New Music Week (Greece), Synesthesia Lab (Russia), Summer Sound Festival (Finland), CIEL Festival (France), HAAS Fest (Armenia), Sounding Tomorrow (Hong Kong), China-ASEAN Music Festival (China), IntAct Festival (Thailand), Thailand International Composition Festival (Thailand), 26th Young Composers Meeting (Netherlands), Dias de Música Electroacústica (Portugal), and the British Council’s “UK-Southeast Asia Connections Through Culture” (UK/Thailand).

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He also collaborated and worked with several established ensembles and orchestras, including Hezarfen Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Klangforum Wien, Kluster 5, Ensemble Linea, Mivos Quartet, Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, Orkest de Ereprijs, Tacet(i) Ensemble, TAK Ensemble, Spaceship Ensemble, PinkNoise, False Relationships, New European Ensemble, Residentie Orkest, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, Athens State Orchestra, and the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music Youth Orchestra, among others.

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Thanakarn holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London and a Master’s degree in Composition from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies in composition at the Graduate Center, CUNY. His major teachers include Jason Eckardt, Peter Adriaansz, Cornelis de Bondt, Mayke Nas, Silvia Borzelli, and Rubens Askenar. In 2022, he was awarded the Graduate Center Teaching Fellowship and currently teaches at the City College of New York.

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He is the recipient of national and international accolades, including the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Prize – Grand Prize of the Young Thai Artist Award (2017), the “St. Frank van der Wal Fonds” Prize from Orkest de Ereprijs (2020), a Fromm Foundation Composer Fellowship (2024), and awards from the Yokohama International Composition Call for Score (2016), the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble Call for Score (2021), and the Princess Galyani Vadhana Youth Orchestra Composition Competition (2021). He also received an Honorable Mention from the 10th Matan Givol International Composers Competition.