Saturday, 07 June 2025, 7:00pm
Venue: Phuket School of Music Recital Studio

Programme:

Dmitry Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8
Ursula Mamlok: String Quartet No. 2
Denny Euprasert: Jazz Portraits for String Quartet

Graeme Norris, violin
Omporn Kowintha, violin
Miti Wisuthumporn, viola
Jonathan Weigle, cello

Ticket: 800 Baht 
For inquiries, Text Line ID: phuket-music 
WhatsApp: +66931019051 
Email: info@mav-festival.com

Artist Profile:

Graeme Norris

Graeme Norris is Managing Director of Master Music Consulting & The Pattaya Violin Centre. In Thailand since 2022, Graeme is in high demand as a performer and teacher, regularly providing expert guidance at music camps and performing around Thailand with Om & Friends. He has conducted advanced violin masterclasses and orchestral coaching for the Thailand Association for Talent Development, directs the Advanced Violin Program at the Suzuki Institute of Indonesia, and coached individuals and chamber music groups at Music Camps by OMRI Music Studio.

A seasoned orchestral leader, Graeme Norris most recently held a position in the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, performing in the Concertmaster positions from 2015 – 2021 and as Guest Concertmaster during 2014. From 2006 to 2010 Graeme was Associate Concertmaster of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and from 2010 to 2015, Sub-Principal 2nd Violin with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also performed as a Guest Principal with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

Graeme has lectured at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (Edith Cowan University), the UWA Conservatorium of Music (University of Western Australia), Elder Conservatorium of Music (University of Adelaide), and as a faculty member of the Adelaide, West Australian and Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestras.

In addition, Graeme was instrumental in transforming the string section of the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and advised in artistic planning and training structures.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Graeme graduated with a Bachelor of Music Performance from the Victorian College of the Arts and spent two years on full scholarship at the Australian National Academy of Music. His principal teachers were Alice Waten and Julian Quirit.

As a soloist and chamber musician, Graeme has performed in Australia, New Zealand and throughout much of Asia. He has directed ensembles in the Melbourne and Adelaide International Festivals and appeared as a soloist with the Melbourne, Adelaide, and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, the Malaysian Philharmonic Chamber Players, Melbourne and Adelaide Youth Orchestras and Orchestra Victoria.

Omporn Kowintha

Omporn Kowintha is one of the most sought-after violin instructors in Thailand, with her expertise highly coveted by aspiring musicians. She is Director of the esteemed “Omri Music Studio” and holds a distinguished position as one of the founding board members and the founding Chairperson of the Thailand Association for Talent Education. Established in 2017, the Thailand Association forTalent Education is dedicated to promoting the renowned Suzuki Method, a pioneering approach to music education within Thailand.

Among Omporn’s notable endeavours is the “Om and Friends” concert series which she initiated in 2018 as a means to share her passion for classical music through performances alongside her esteemed colleagues. With this series, Omporn and her fellow musicians aim to create a wealth of performance opportunities for classical musicians in Thailand, inspiring the next generation of artists and audiences alike, broadening the local audience’s exposure to the captivating live performances of classical music. Omporn’s versatility as a violinist and violist has left an indelible mark on the musical landscape of Thailand, working with prestigious chamber music ensembles and orchestras, including the renowned Bangkok String Quartet, the Artist Ensemble of Bangkok, Pro Musica, and the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, where she served as the Principal Second Violin for many years.

Omporn Kowintha began violin study with Prof. Choochart Pitaksakorn at the age of thirteen. She participated in the Thai Youth Orchestra and served as its Concertmaster from 1994-1996 and received her Bachelor’s Degree with Honors in Music Education from Chulalongkorn University in 1997. She was granted a scholarship from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 1998-1999 which enabled her to study with Michael Ma. In 2000, Omporn went to the U.S.A., and studied violin with Kathyrn Lucktenberg and Fritz Gearhart at the University of Oregon. She also studied Suzuki violin pedagogy with Shelley Rich and was a violin instructor at the Suzuki Program of the University of Oregon’s Community Music Institute during the time she was there. Omporn received her master’s degree in violin performance and pedagogy in 2003.

Miti Wisuthumporn

Miti Wisuthumporn has established himself as one of the leading Thai violists of his generation, performing on international concert stages, commissioning and recording new works, and mentoring young musicians. Currently the principal violist of the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, Miti has received praise from critics, including a review from the Bangkok Post, which noted, “Miti played the central section’s exposed solo with admirable nerve and control.”

As a soloist, he has performed with the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, Pro Musica, and the Chulalongkorn University String Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with members of Pro Musica, the Bangkok String Quartet, Om and Friends, as well as renowned artists such as Andrés Cárdenes, Thomas Hampson, Clive Greensmith, Roeland Hendrikx, and many others.

Dedicated to introducing classical music to a broader audience in Thailand, Miti co-founded the JEEB Ensemble with five fellow musicians. The ensemble presents core classical repertoire in innovative and engaging ways, making it accessible to a wider audience. Their approach has proven highly popular—JEEB held sold-out music festivals in 2013 and 2017, embarked on a China tour in 2018, and launched Thailand’s first digitally streamed classical music album, distributed by Universal Music, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miti began his musical studies on the violin at 14 before switching to the viola at 15, training under Asst. Prof. Col. Choochart Pitaksakorn. He pursued his studies at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, Carnegie Mellon University in the U.S., and the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz in Austria. His mentors included distinguished violists such as Jiri Heger, Toby Appel, and Matthias Maurer, former viola soloist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

He currently teaches viola at the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music, Kasetsart University, Chulalongkorn University, and Omri Music Studio.

Jonathan Weigle

Jonathan Weigle is equally successful as a soloist, chamber and orchestra musician on international stages.

He has been principal cellist of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra since 2015 and regularly plays at the same position at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London and the Orchester de Chambre de Paris. He has also made guest appearances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

He has always placed an artistic focus on playing chamber music. Parallel to his cello studies with Josef Schwab and Troels Svane at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, he completed chamber music studies with Ralf Gothoni at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid.

He is a valued chamber music partner of musicians such as Antje Weithaas, Christian Ihle Hadland and the Armida Quartet and also plays in permanent formations such as the SOTA Piano Trio and the Aperto Piano Quartet.

In 2010 he received an award in the cello-piano duo category at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition and in 2013 at the Hanns Eisler Prize for composition and interpretation of contemporary music.

He has performed as a soloist at the Hundisburg Castle Summer Music Academy with Brahms’ Double Concerto and with the Echo Ensemble for New Music.

Jonathan Weigle grew up in a family of musicians in Berlin and has been playing the cello since he was five. As a teenager, he was already a member and soloist with the Junge Philharmonie Brandenburg – an experience that significantly shaped his decision to pursue a professional career.

Today, on the other hand, he is committed to promoting the music of children and young people. In 2019 and 2020, master classes and workshops were held at schools as part of the SOTA Music Festival in India and Shenzhen/China.

In 2021 Jonathan Weigle was teaching international cello students as part of the Orchestra Academy of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

During the global pandemic, Weigle organized numerous concerts as far as possible, including a live stream concert in cooperation with Dreamstage.live from the chamber music hall of the Beethoven Haus Bonn.

With pianist Ben Cruchley he played the five sonatas for piano and cello by Ludwig van Beethoven for a virtual audience.