Inspired by the temple sounds of small and large bells, vibrating through the air, merging with the peaceful Rattanatri chanting (the Buddhist chant of The Three Jewels, encompassing Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), the composer has transformed the quintet into a sonic projector of Buddhist temples. The piano, representing the bells, plays in the low, middle, and high registers while the strings convey the buddhist chant, alternating with the piano, with the ASEAN theme mingled amidst the chant and the bells.

Gala or Kirtimukha is one of the Hindu Gods created by Shiva. Traditionally, the face of Gala is inscribed over the entrance of Hindu temples. Legend tells the story of his birth, emerging from Shiva’s anger, having the body of a giant with a lion’s face. Gala destroyed everything in his path, creating chaos everywhere. Shiva, seeking to avoid oblivion, commanded Gala to eat himself, which he obeyed. Only his cruel face without the lower lip was left. In sympathy for his sacrifice, Shiva placed him at the entrance of his temple.

The movement is constructed in a ternary form, in which the first section depicts the face of Gala.

To represent Shiva, the destroyer-god, the chord of the spheres, invented and used by the composer in his 2003 composition, “Symphony of the Spheres,” is applied. This chord is derived from intervals reflecting the distance of the planets to the sun, arranged from the closest to the farthest. Hence the serial number of a half step interval produces the number sequence 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8, resulting in the pitches of C, Db, Eb, F#, and B.

The middle section is a modification of the Khamen kruan melody, set as the theme of this section, played by the strings. Piano provides dissonant chords scattered in several registers to depict gong sounds of the ASEAN. The return of the first section, this time enhanced with retrograde technique to represent that “Gala” finally has to devour himself.

The popular Rattanokosin story ‘I-nao,’ a work written by King Rama II, was believed to originate from Javanese folktale. The movement, is inspired by the two main characters, I-nao and Bussaba, in the scene where Inao is hidden behind the Buddha to see Bussaba. Falling in love with Bussaba, I-nao tried to chase the bats to blow out the candles so that he could conceal himself in the dark to touch Bussaba. The form of the movement, then, is designed to interact with the story.

The first section, introduces two themes. The first represents I-nao, a handsome young prince but also a womanizer and the second depicts Bussaba, a stunning beautiful princess. The scene of bat chasing is depicted in the second section, occupied with the dissonant clusters from striking the strings of the piano. The bats, likewise, are represented by a theme of Thai traditional melody Kang-kao kin kloey or Ling tok kra-dor suea through string instruments. The two themes return in the finale section, displaying I-nao and Bussaba in a love scene.

The movement portrays the heavenly beauty of the Inle lake, located in Shan state of Myanmar. Burmese scales and their transposition are utilized as pitch material in this movement. In comparison to the western scale, seven compatible pitches, C B A G F Eb and D, are chosen to function as a set in this movement. The set is transposed to another set including A G# F# E D C and B. These two sets are established as a foundation for melodic and harmonic constructions. The cello introduces the main theme, which further transfers to the Piano and Viola respectively. To blend in as a thread to the foundation pitch-set, the ASEAN theme, in the middle of the movement, is modified to synchronize with the themes of the movement.

This movement is inspired by the Kakula, a folk instrument circulated in the group of islands in the Southern region of Philippines and the Sulawesi Island of Indonesia. Kakula resembles Kulintang, comprised of 5-9 gongs laid in a wooden frame and played with 2 wooden mallets. The ensemble of Kakula consists of few instruments including a hanging gong and a drum. 3 Melodically, Kakula is characterized by a variation of a melodic ostinato drawn from the five notes of Kakula temperament and applied as a Pitch class set, comprised of B, D, Eb, G, and A. The set is further developed through transposition, resulting in two more sets: D# E G# A# C and D F Gb Ab C. These three sets sometimes stand alone and other times are amalgamated with others.

The movement is constructed in a Mosaic form, a form comprised of several melodic fragments similar to a picture created by several mosaic tiles. The ASEAN theme returns by its first four-note motif. At the conclusion of the movement, the tempo is accelerated with a rapid force, bringing the ending to an astonishing moment.

Described by the Chicago Tribune as “an ensemble that invites you — ears, mind, and spirit — into its music,” the Avalon String Quartet has established itself as one of the country’s leading chamber music ensembles. The Avalon has performed in major venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd St Y, Merkin Hall, and Bargemusic in New York; the Library of Congress and National Gallery of Art in Washington DC; Wigmore Hall in London; and Herculessaal in Munich. Other performances include appearances at the Bath International Music Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Caramoor, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, NPR’s St. Paul Sunday, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Dame Myra Hess Concerts, Los Angeles Music Guild, and the Ravinia Festival. In previous seasons the quartet performed an annual concert series in Ganz Hall, Chicago, and at historic Fullerton Hall at the Art Institute of Chicago, where it has presented the complete quartet cycles of Beethoven, Bartok, and Brahms.

The Avalon is quartet-in-residence at the Northern Illinois University School of Music. Additional teaching activities have included the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Institute, Interlochen Advanced Quartet Program, Madeline Island Music Camp, and the Britten-Pears School in England, as well as masterclasses at universities and conservatories throughout the United States. Additionally, they have given numerous performances and presentations to young audiences in under-resourced schools and communities.

The quartet has recorded for many labels including Naxos, Cedille, Bridge, Albany and Channel Classics. Their recording of “Aqua” by Harold Meltzer for Bridge Records received a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Compendium. The quartet’s live performances and conversations are frequently featured on Chicago fine arts radio station WFMT. They have also been heard on New York’s WQXR and WNYC, National Public Radio’s Performance Today, Canada’s CBC, Australia’s ABC, the ARD of Germany, and France Musique.

The Avalon captured the top prize at the ARD Competition in Munich (2000) and First Prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York City (1999). In its early years, the ensemble trained intensively with the Juilliard Quartet at The Juilliard School, the Emerson Quartet at the Hartt School of Music, and the Vermeer Quartet at Northern Illinois University.

Canadian pianist Winston Choi is Associate Professor of Piano and the Head of the Piano Program at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. His professional career was launched when he was named Laureate of the 2003 Honens Piano Competition and winner of France’s Concours International de Piano 20e siècle d’Orléans in 2002. An inquisitive performer, his fresh approach to standard repertory, and masterful understanding, performance and commitment to works by living composers, make him one of today’s most dynamic young concert artists.

Choi maintains an active international performing schedule. In demand as a concerto soloist, orchestras he has appeared with include the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the CBC Radio Orchestra, the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the East Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Iowa, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Iowa, the New Philharmonic, the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, La Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, the Symphony Orchestra of Oak Park and River Forest, l’Orchestre Symphony d’Orléans, l’Orchestre National de Lille, the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and the Victoria Symphony Orchestra.

Known for his colorful approach to programming and insightful commentary from the stage, Choi has recently appeared in recital at the National Arts Centre of Canada, the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, New York’s Carnegie-Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Recital Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., the Kravis Center in Florida, and the “Cicle Grans Solistes” in Spain. Choi performs extensively in France, having played venues such as the Salle Cortot, Lille’s Festival Rencontre Robert Casadesus, the Messiaen Festival, and the Strasbourg Festival. Frequently in demand throughout his native Canada, his numerous performances can often be heard on CBC radio broadcasts. Recently, he toured Eastern Ontario and Quebec under the auspices of Jeunesses Musicales and embarked on a 10-city Prairie Debut tour of the Canadian Prairie provinces. An accomplished chamber musician, he has performed with the Aeolus, Avalon, Philomusica and Spektral string quartets He also tours regularly with the Civitas Ensemble, and as a part of Duo Diorama (with his wife, violinist MingHuan Xu). As Duo Diorama, they are the Artistic Directors of the Unity Chamber Music Series held at the Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL.

As a dedicated champion of contemporary music, Choi has premiered and commissioned over 100 works by young composers as well as established masters. A composer himself, being involved with the creative process is an integral part of his artistry. He was the first pianist to perform Pierre Boulez’s last version of Incises in North America and made the South American premiere of Luciano Berio‘s Sonata for pianoforte solo. He also regularly appears in concert at IRCAM, the world’s most renowned institution for contemporary music. Composers he has collaborated with include William Bolcom, Elliott Carter, John Corigliano, Brian Ferneyhough, Jacques Lenot, George Lewis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Bright Sheng, Christian Wolff, Chen Yi and John Zorn. He is also a core member of Ensemble Dal Niente. A frequent performer on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW Series, Choi has also performed with Contempo and the Fulcrum Point New Music Project.

A prolific recording artist, Choi’s debut CD, the complete piano works of Elliott Carter (l’Empreinte Digitale in France) was given 5 stars by BBC Music Magazine. He has also recorded the complete piano music of Jacques Lenot for the Intrada label, having won the Grand Prix du Disque from l’Académie Charles Cros for Volume I. His recording of the piano works of Thomas Adès was recently released on the 5 Buisonne label. Other labels he can be heard on include Aeolian Classics, Albany, Arktos, BIS, Cedille, Crystal Records, Naxos, New World Records and QuadroFrame.

Choi obtained his Bachelor and Master of Music from Indiana University, and his DM from Northwestern University. His studies were with Vivienne Bailey, James Tweedie, Menahem Pressler and Ursula Oppens. An accomplished teacher, Choi is also in demand as a master class clinician and lecturer on a variety of pedagogical topics. Two of his presentations: “Towards a More Organic Approach to Phrasing at the Piano” and “Symmetrical Inversion: A Pianist’s Journey Towards Ambidexterity” have been presented nationally and internationally at conferences. Prior to his position at Roosevelt University, he was on the faculties of Bowling Green State University and the Oberlin Conservatory. He has been a guest professor at Indiana University, and he also currently teaches at the Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago as well as the New Music School in Chicago.