Nophachai Cholthitchanta, clarinet

About the Artists

Nophachai Cholthitchanta

Nophachai Cholthitchanta is professor of clarinet at the University of Arkansas.Recent recording reviews of the Lyrique Quintette have praised his playing as “superb and masterful clarinet playing” (The Clarinet) and “virtuosic clarinet playing” (The Double Reed). He has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer at major music festivals and concert halls throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe, including the Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonie, and Vienna Konzerthaus. An avid reed maker, Nophachai is also an active researcher specializing in reed cane (Arundo donax L.). His research project, Study and Quality Development of Native Reed Cane in Thailand, was funded by the National Research Council of Thailand. He has also redesigned the clarinet reed-making process and integrated this work into his single-reed-making curriculum. In addition to modern clarinet performance, Nophachai is a dedicated researcher and collector of historical clarinets, owning both original instruments and historically informed reproductions from the 18th and 19th centuries. His recent research article, coauthored with Albert R. Rice and Jean Jeltsch, titled “Clarinet Innovation and Invention: The Concealed Speaker-Key Mechanism by Jacques-François Simiot and His Followers, 1800–1873,” dedicated to Sir Nicholas Shackleton, was published in The Galpin Society Journal Volume LXXVII (2024).

Hyun Kim

Before joining the University of Oklahoma as assistant professor, Dr. Hyun Kim held faculty appointments at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and the University of Arkansas. Internationally recognized as a performer, educator, and scholar, she currently serves on the summer faculty of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and has been a visiting professor at Brazil’s Federal University of Santa Catarina and the University of Campinas. She is actively engaged in international scholarly organizations and serves on the board of the Sintonize Produtora Cultural–International Music Festival in Brazil.  Her research projects include The Doors of Perception: Song and Proverbs of William Blake by Benjamin Britten and Metrics, Rhythmic, and Poetic Relationships in Schubert’s Ballads, which she has presented through lectures and performances at CMS and NATS conferences. Expanding her artistic and scholarly activities beyond the traditional recital stage, Kim has collaborated with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Philbrook Museum of Art, and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art on interdisciplinary projects that connect music with visual art and contemporary performance practice. Her performances and interviews have been featured on KVOD-FM Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and NGT São Paulo.

Back to Program