Author name: Ky Nam

A Vietnamese Mother’s Letter to Nixon for Mezzo Soprano, Chamber Ensemble, and Live Electronics

To many people, he is a hero. Others label him a plane hijacker. But to his family and friends, he is forever a fervent advocate of peace who died for his cause. His name is Nguyễn Thái Bình, which means “Peace.” The day he was born, Vietnam was still in war, so his parents named

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A Branch of Plum Blossoms for Mezzo-Soprano, Flute, and Piano

https://youtu.be/y2fUg9aj0Vo?si=R5mdXpXZQf1DxKJI November 18, 2018: Senior Composition Recital, performed by musicians at North Park University: Olga Lebedeva (mezzo-soprano), Rebekah Harvey (flute), and Michael Ronnett (piano). A previous performance by the same musicians took place on November 13, 2017. While Mãn Giác (滿覺, 1052–96), a revered Vietnamese Zen master and Buddhist monk, was facing the imminent departure from

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Song of Separation (Tống Biệt Hành) (2017) for Baritone, Cello, and Piano

The lyrics of this song is the poem “Tống Biệt Hành” (Song of Separation), written by Thâm Tâm in 1940. The poem encapsulates the sentiments of many young Vietnamese people who were facing the oppressive grip of French colonial rule on their homeland. As the nation had enduring nearly a century of silent resignation and

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The Boat and the Sea for Alto Saxophone, Percussion, and Live Electronics

https://youtu.be/utD3OfdgfFo?si=piw4hA50a84vaW8y Recorded by the Popebama Duo at Florida State University (FSU) in 2023. Elected final selection of SCI Super Regional Summer Mixtape 2023. I composed The Boat and the Sea as a celebration of my first love. This piece is inspired by a poem by Xuân Quỳnh (1942–88), one of the most well-known female poets

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Fragments of Memories for Solo Alto Saxophone

With Fragments of Memories, I explore the saxophone’s rich and versatile sounds and techniques, such as the so-called “colorful bisbigliando” in which the soloist seamlessly improvise with different fingerings, multiphonics, overtones, and subtones to create a sound that constantly changes its “color” in free, unmetered rhythm. These sounds and techniques depict the fragments of sounds

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The Nine Dragons for Vietnamese Zither (Đàn Tranh) or Fixed Media and Orchestra

I composed The Nine Dragons as an homage to the Mekong River and other all suffering rivers of our time. The Mekong River flows through Tibet, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and reaches the sea through the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. In the Delta, the river is separated into nine estuaries, which the Vietnamese reverently refer

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