Bangkok Happy Bowl marks decade-long tradition of hosting Aspen Music Festival students

Summer seems to be speeding by, but it’s not too late to catch one of the season’s biggest highlights, Aspen Music Festival and School’s (AMFS) student musicians performing around town.

AMFS’s 75th anniversary season theme is “Becoming Who You Are,” which especially resonates with the festival’s nearly 450 students who come to Aspen to perform in the orchestra’s various disciplines, including, singing, composing, and conducting.

An important annual tradition of the festival is the “Hire a Musician” program, which allows individuals and businesses to hire student performers for private events and free public performances in various locations around town, such as Paradise Bakery and the Aspen Saturday Market.

Aspen’s Bangkok Happy Bowl and PhattPho n’ Sushi have proudly participated in the program for a decade. This summer, they are featuring a rotating roster of student musicians every week to perform from 6-8 p.m. every Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, and some Saturdays through Aug. 18 on the combined garden patios of both restaurants.

“For the 10th summer in a row, Bangkok Happy Bowl and Phat Pho n’ Sushi are thrilled to host Aspen Music Festival and School students on our patio. Supporting Aspen Music Festival and School students fosters the growth of young musical talent and enriches the culture of our small town,” said Kirk Coult, owner of Bangkok Happy Bowl and Phatt Pho n’ Sushi.

Audiences can expect a variety of musical styles, primarily classical, with occasional pop or contemporary arrangements reminiscent of the “Bridgerton” soundtrack. Ensembles will vary from soloists to duos, trios, and quartets, featuring primarily string instruments like violins, violas, cellos, and double basses, with occasional wind instruments such as oboes, clarinets, and flutes.

On Saturday, Bangkok Bowl and Phat Pho’ Sushi will host a string quartet of violinists Yu Ning Foo and Audrey Sun, Ezra Shcolnik on viola, and cellist Ewan Manalo.

Yue Ning completed her bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance as a Dean’s List student at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. She will continue her master’s degree studies at Indiana University this fall. She was also an orchestral fellowship recipient at the 2023 edition of the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Sun began playing violin at three at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, where she studied Magdalena Richter until graduating in 2023. She has played in masterclasses for Donald Weilerstein, Miriam Fried, and Ian Swensen. Her past festival experience includes the Online Solo Strings Intensive, Aspen Music Festival, and Greenwood Music Camp.

Shcolnik received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Colburn Conservatory as a student of Robert Lipsett. This summer in Aspen, Ezra is a Center for Orchestral Leadership Fellow. He also regularly attends the Perlman Music Program. In the fall, he will begin working toward his Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School as a student of Catherine Cho.

Manalo was 4 years old when he started playing on a 1/8 size cello borrowed from his first teacher. He quickly fell in love with the instrument and dove into learning solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire. He is studying cello performance at the University of Michigan with Richard Aaron.

Sunday’s performance features a String Trio consisting of Violinists Mabelle Young-Eun Park and Nahyun Lee, joined by viola player Judy Huang.

Mabelle Young-Eun Park is from South Korea and was born in Germany. Currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London with So-Ock Kim as a full scholarship student, Mabelle performed in many leading venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Drapers’ Hall, Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Moscow Music Center, and Carnegie Hall.

Nahyun Lee pursued her Master of Music in Violin at the Hochschule für Musik Saar, with a focus on Chamber Music added in 2020. Joining the Saarländisches Staatstheater Orchester as a temporary 2nd Violinist in September 2024, she previously interned with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie from September 2019 to August 2020 and performed with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra from June to August 2019.

Judy Huang was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She is currently a recipient of the Artist Excellent Award scholarship and studying at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University under Choong-Jin Chang, the Principal Viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Yu-Ting was awarded first prize in the American Protege Music Competition and will perform at Carnegie Hall.

“We are deeply grateful for the live music, the invaluable partnership, and the opportunity to share these talented students’ passion for music with the community,” said Coult.

Information: bangkokhappybowl.com

Sarah Girgis is the Arts and Entertainment Editor for The Aspen Times. She can be reached at 970-429-9151 or sgirgis@aspentimes.com.