Artist's Biography

Much of the music that I am a part of comes from a place of being in-between, or being nothing at all. Raised by a professional jazz pianist and a choral director, being in-between types of music is extremely familiar. As an Asian-Canadian in Canada, navigating different cultures is part of my every day, and finding ways to try and connect equally and fairly to both ends of my heritage is an eternal puzzle. Now, being an anglophone from Vancouver living and studying in francophone Montreal, holding on to two ideas of home is the new everyday. The music I write reflects the idea of somehow always being in the middle, be it starting choral pieces with Bill Evans voicings, or writing for chamber jazz with a directional approach inspired by Louis Andriessen. As a composer, I try to write pieces that don’t need to categorize themselves and exist in the ears and minds of the listener as just “music”, nothing more and nothing less. I try to show the possibility of cross-pollination of genres and styles in the music that I play and write. As far as I can tell, music serves to make the lives of those listening better, and my ultimate goal as a musician is to have my music make the world and people around me a little better. To be an example and reminder of the beauty of sound, the natural world, and creativity with others is all I can hope my music to be.