I have time for a very brief update tonight, as we returned to our hotel a bit later from dinner in Bangkok. Mahidol University is not actually in the city, but is located in a suburb called Salaya. It takes about 45 minutes or so in a cab each way to get to the city. We began the day with a very nice breakfast at the hotel, followed by some individual practice time. After lunch we had a our first trio rehearsal since arriving in Thailand, which gave us a chance to dust off some of the cobwebs from our recital program. We will rehearse again on Monday to put the finishing touches on things before Tuesday’s concert. The highlight of the afternoon was a performance by the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra , performing the world premiere of a cello concerto by Swiss composer Fabian Müller, and the Symphony No. 1 of Brahms. The premiere was to commemorate 80 years of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Thailand, and a number of dignitaries from both nations were present at the performance (the cover of the program is shown below).

I was very impressed by the orchestra’s performance on both works; they are really building a tremendous program here! Though the orchestra is only in its seventh season, the ensemble is of a very high quality. Special congratulations should go to Mahidol horn professor Daren Robbins and the rest of the TPO horn section, who sounded especially good on the Brahms. Tomorrow will be a big sight-seeing day, as we will be taking a water taxi to the Grand Palace, and visiting several other notable locations in the area. More pictures and updates to come!