Young and Gifted, Meet the rebel Thai composer taking music to unheard heights

- CNN News Worlds Report, Karla Cripps

Originally from Bangkok, Piyawat Louilarpprasert is a Thai composer, multimedia performer, and curator who works with the interweave of music composition, visual art, and sound installation. Piyawat’s music explores possibilities of creating the amalgamation of sonic and visual arts, including integrating multimedia and music, deconstructing instruments’ s mechanism and physicality with sound production method, and involving Thai traditional music elements in new compositions.

With performances spanning over 30 countries across Asia, Europe, and United States, Piyawat has received commissions and awards, including the Fromm Foundation Commission, Harvard (USA), the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung Commission (DE), British Council Grant Prize (UK), Musicanova—Helsinki Philharmonic (Finland), 100th year commission of Donaueschinger Musiktage (DE), KulturKontakt Residency by the Austrian Federal Chancellery (Austria), Best Music Award International Computer Music Conference (Shenzhen), Impuls Composer Commission (Graz), Artist in residence of Südwestrundfunk (SWR) Experimental Studio (Freiburg). Recently, Piyawat and his ensemble Tacet(i) are the recipient of the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Ensemble Prize in Munich. In 2026, Piyawat is commissioned by Münchener Biennale 2026, for a new stage work and a song cycle with voices and orchestra with Münchener Kammerorchester. He has collaborated with ensembles and orchestras such as Tacet(i), Arditti Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, Berlin Philharmonic Horn Section, American Composers Orchestra, Aguascalientes Symphony Orchestra, Elbland Philharmonie Sachsen, Klangforum Wien, International Contemporary Ensemble, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Yarn/Wire, Wet Ink, Lucerne Alumni Ensemble, Orkest Ereprijs, Oerknal!, [Switch~ Ensemble], Royal Northern Sinfonia, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others.

His major teachers were Dai Fujikura, Gilbert Nuono and Marianthi Papalexandri Alexandri, he holds a DMA in composition from Cornell University, M.M. in composition at Royal College of Music, London. Piyawat is the Artistic Curator of IntAct Festival (Thailand) and currently serves as Dean of the College of Music, Mahidol University.