SOUNDS FROM THE THAI HILLS

WILL CANNON Start Date: May 21, 2024 - End Date: Sep 17, 2024
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Professional Development
  • Chiang Mai, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai, Thailand

My Travel Story

by: WILL CANNON Start Date: May 21, 2024 - End Date: Sep 17, 2024
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Professional Development
Hi.
My name is Will Cannon. I am 18 and a young composer, studying at
Chetham's Music School in Manchester, England. I hope to go on to one of the major conservatoires in 2025.

This July during school holidays, I am travelling to Chiang Mai, Thailand to explore the northern hills, recording the sounds and songs of the Hill Tribe peoples.

I am also disabled and a wheelchair user. My mantra is adversity drives creativity and determination.So, along my journey I want to demonstrate that adventure travel and study in far away places is always possible.
 
My heritage is mixed. I was born in Jakarta, Indonesia. My mother is from Java and my dad is British. Asian sounds are in my DNA.
 
At the end of my journey, I plan to compose a new piece; electronic and orchestral – a Hill Tribe or Chiang Mai Suite.

The hills of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces in northern Thailand are home to many tribes. Over hundreds of years they have migrated south from the Himalayas and China. They speak many dialects and for the most part are farmers. They are Animists, Buddhists and Christian. Their traditional tribal clothes are beautiful and famous. Recently new tribal communities have arrived in NW Thailand fleeing ethnic conflict in Myanmar. Their status in Thailand is uncertain. 
 
This July 2024, over a 10-day journey I hope to travel to Chiang Mai to record songs and sounds from - the Karen, the Lisu, Mien, Lahu, Akha and Hmong.
 
Music has always played a part in hill tribe life. Their music and religions are linked to the cycle of life, agriculture, courtship, joy and sadness. Music is the door to the spirit world, the language the spirits understand. I am told their traditional cultures are changing fast with new roads and smartphones. Their unique cultures are fading fast as young people head to the cities to find work. 
 
My first goal is to record and preserve their music, the melodies and rhythms; the field and street chatter, the sounds of the forests.  My other goal, of course, is to show that adventure travel and remote Thailand is open to wheelchair travellers like me.
 
My dad, Peter, is my support crew. He is a photographer, film-maker and bag carrier. With our guide Hommeang Mongkron aka Pat, we will head up into the hills in a 4-wheel drive. Pat, photographer and musician, is the founder of Thailand Hilltribe Holidays.
 
We will be ‘off road’ for 10 days. Sometimes we will ‘homestay’ with local families, trying their homegrown produce and spicy recipes.  In Chiang Mai I hope to catch up on the vibrant jazz scene with local players.
 
The project will conclude with the composition of a new piece electronic and orchestral – the Chiang Mai or Hill Tribe Suite.




 

 
 

  • Chiang Mai, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai, Thailand

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