Khai Pung adds enthusiasm to orchestra
By Jonas Shellhammer
Khai Pung, Earlham’s new orchestra director, began his professional journey into music in Beijing, where he received his bachelor’s degree in orchestral conducting at the Central Conservatory of Music.
While he is only filling in for the on-sabbatical director Forrest Tobey, he still hopes to make his own particular mark on Earlham’s orchestra — in his own words in an e-mail interview, Pung said he wants to create an atmosphere in which “knowing the composers well, how the sound should be” is more important than what he terms “merely technical stuff.”
“I wish when they walked out of rehearsals and after the concerts, the students could talk about their understanding of the music we’ve worked on, and how the composers’ works should sound like even if it was in my perspective,” said Pung.
Pung, originally from Malaysia, heard about Earlham’s open position when a member of his faculty at the College- Conservatory of Music (University of Cincinnati) told him about Forrest Tobey’s short leave. He jumped at the chance to take the position, and applied.
Once here, Pung applied his style, and reactions have been appreciative. Senior Sami Hamed, international relations major, thinks that his novel approach is great.
Hamed said, “It’s great to get a new perspective — as a percussionist, I sometimes don’t get much work, but he’s got me working hard to get every detail down perfect.”
Another student, freshman Sarah Crane, also described her experience with Pung as positive.
“I’m really enjoying how Khai is bringing his own personal touch to the Earlham orchestra . He has an amazing level of enthusiasm and energy,” she said. “He sets high expectations, but through his energy and his own passion for the music he has an amazing way of making us feel that we can achieve it.”
Crane also commented that part of Pung’s approach is to keep students involved, saying, “He treats us like colleagues, asking our opinion on how he wants to set up the concert and whether the repertoire he chose was right for the orchestra.”
Pung’s initial venture into music started long before he attended music school in Beijing. When he was 5, he started piano lessons; violin lessons at 7, and voice lessons at 8 years of age. When he was 10, his parents allowed him to take lessons on the erhu, a Chinese form of the violin, and moved him on to the dulcimer when he was 13.
When he was 10 years old he was appointed conductor of the band in his school. In high school, he was elected to be the conductor of both the orchestra and choir.
It was not until he was 20 years old, however, that his parents allowed him to pursue a career in music.
Pung is happy that his career has taken him to Earlham College. When asked about what he hopes to achieve while here at Earlham, he maintains that “as a director of an orchestra consisting of music and non-music majors, I would work on bringing out the character of the music we are playing.” From the opinions of his students, it appears that he is off to a good start.
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