Thanks to the generous Artist Grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation (SKR) and the support of my home institution HKUST, I am taking this academic year off from teaching to concentrate on music.
And it will be quite a year, with two trips to Australia, another two to the US, and one to Finland. I’m looking forward to working with students of the Australian National Academy of Music at the ANAM Chamber Music Festival; a premiere at Vanderbilt University with the Zohn Collective and conductor Tim Weiss; performing as pianist in my trio Names of Snow at the HKUST 35th Anniversary Music Festival; as well as performing some of my older improvisation-based stage works with an ensemble of Western and Indian musicians and dancers in New York; the Asian premiere of O Frabjous Day with the Hong Kong Philharmonic conducted by Nathanaël Iselin; and a bunch more. As much as I’ll miss my students, I’m deeply grateful to have this opportunity. Callooh! Callay!
Ilari Kaila, composer 