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Gia Đình (2021, rev. 2022)



Selected for the American Composers Orchestra’s 2023 EarShot Readings in New York

Selected for the Society of Composers’ 2023 Region VIII Conference

Winner of the 2023 New England Philharmonic Call for Scores

Finalist for the 2024 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards

written for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
symphony orchestra
2(II=pic).2(II=ca).2(II=bcl).2(II=cbsn) - 4.2.3.1 - timp.perc(3) - pno(cel) - harp - strings

Duration: c. 13-14 minutes

art by ‘Apikale Fouch

Reviews:

This work would be well served by repeated hearings ... and orchestral music is in good hands in the late-Millennial cohort. For all our present-day anxiety over audience-building, über-talented young creators and performers abound.
— KDHX
This was the symphony orchestra as, not only world music, but planetary music, as in all of the planet was singing...
— The St. Louis American

Movements:

I. Cha nào con ny
II. Không có gì bng cơm vi cá, không có gì bng má vi con
III. Blood is thicker than water

Performances:

  • Premiere by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stephanie Childress, Powell Hall, St. Louis, MO, February 16, 2022

  • University of Puget Sound Orchestra, conducted by Anna Wittstruck, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, February 25, 2023.

  • St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stephanie Childress, Powell Hall, St. Louis, MO, March 3 and 4, 2023 (2 performances)

  • American Composers Orchestra, conducted by Tito Muñoz, The New School - Tishman Auditorium, New York City, NY, June 1-2, 2023

  • New England Philharmonic, conducted by Tian Hui Ng, New England Conservatory, Boston, MA, October 22, 2023

  • Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Kyle Dickson, Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN, February 27-29, 2024 (6 performances)

  • Louisville Orchestra, conducted by Kalena Bovell, at the Kentucky Performing Arts Center, Louisville, KY, on October 3-5, 2024 (3 performances)

  • Oregon Symphony, conducted by Deanna Tham, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR, February 1-3, 2025 (3 performances)



Program Note:

Gia Đình, meaning “family” in Vietnamese, is an exploration of intergenerational trauma, cultural inheritance, and what is lost between eras. Specifically, I am focusing on the greater Vietnamese diaspora and the Vietnamese boat people, who traveled across the ocean in makeshift boats in search of a future for their families. Many of my own family members were a part of this generation, and only within recent years have they chosen to share their stories with me. Each movement acts as a musical portrait of the various aspects and roots of intergenerational trauma and is titled with a Vietnamese proverb that describes the value of family and the perceived relationship between parent and child in Vietnamese culture.

The opening movement, "Cha nào con ny," (Like father, like child) observes heritage, tradition, and culture as trauma. Conflicting generational values often create rifts between parent and child, particularly in Western countries. What should we pass down and teach? And at what cost? Borrowing thematic material from the Vietnamese folk song Lý Kéo Chài, I present fragments of the song without ever presenting the melody in its entirety. These musical splinters are introduced clearly, but quickly disintegrate into the orchestral texture.

The second movement,"Không có gì bng cơm vi cá, không có gì bng má vi con," (There is nothing like rice with fish, there is nothing like mother with child) considers colonization and war as a source of trauma. Vietnam was colonized by the French in the mid-1800s, which played a large part in the spread of Catholicism among Vietnamese people. Shortly after Vietnam gained independence from France, the Vietnam War broke out, which ultimately led to the mass exodus from the country. A unique aspect of Vietnamese Catholic practice is the tradition of đọc kinh, in which all prayers and responses are sung or chanted. I directly quote Kinh Thú Nhn (Penitential Act), which is preceded by a fragmented theme that slowly builds into the chant.

The final movement, "Blood is thicker than water," (Mt git máu đào hơn ao nước lã) examines migration, displacement, and assimilation as forms of trauma. In addition to what is passed on to the next generation, this movement also explores what is lost. Language, culture, and history can all be lost within a single generation as a result of displacement. This is represented musically by two extremely contrasting themes: a slow, lyrical melody inspired by Vietnamese folk melodies and a fractured, unrelenting section that cycles through the entire orchestra. I bounce between the two themes until the music melts into a coda that recalls the first movement.