On the surface, Bao Phi’s A Different Pond, illustrated by Thi Bui, is a story of a boy going fishing with his father. During this particular trip, the father reminisces on a similar pond in his homeland of Vietnam. Within the subtext, themes of family, class, race, and generations are revealed. For me, I find the core of this book to revolve around labor; specifically, the reasons for which we labor and how we learn to value labor. Divided into three sections, I utilize fragments of various Vietnamese work songs - music representing the daily lives of people - as music for each section of the piece: a digging song, a fishing song, and a harvest song. These fragments are initially obfuscated, hidden within the texture. As the piece progresses, these musical quotes become more apparent, eventually becoming the pillar of the work in the form of a melodic ostinato. 

I am indebted to Bao and Thi, whose individual work I have admired greatly for years, for allowing me to use their poignant collaboration as a vehicle for my music. Thank you for your stories, your generosity, and for what you represent. 

In Vietnamese, the word Tiếng means both “language” and “sound” in Vietnamese. It is the interplay of those two ideas that are at the core of this work. I grew up speaking Vietnamese (inherited from my parents) and English (learned from watching television), and the role of translator was an everyday occurrence for me as a child, from parent-teacher conferences to reading court documents for family members. Moving in between those two disparate worlds, translation would often fail me in conversation, just as much as I failed the languages that were passed down to me. This work navigates that tension of language and translation, and observes both as tools of violence, forms of grief, and points of empathy. While I recognize this is a myopic view of what are complex linguistic histories, this piece places English as a language of violence and Vietnamese as a language of grief. Interconnected by music, literature, and art, Tiếng attempts to reconcile the two languages while searching for what it means to speak a language of empathy.

Each movement of Tiếng is based on one of the six tones of the modern Vietnamese language: ngang, huyền, sắc, hỏi, ngã, and nặng. Every tone is represented by a diacritic that uniquely transforms the pronunciation of words and syllables. From these tones, I derive shape, gesture, and character, which are then used as material for the piece. Lines of poetry that explore violence, grief, and empathy—from poets Li-Young Lee, Nam Le, Ocean Vuong, and Cathy Linh Che—are paired with each of the tones, which inspired the emotional content of the music. Art inspired by the six Vietnamese tones (illustrated by longtime friend and collaborator ‘Apikale Fouch) are projected during each movement. 

The poems quoted are:

• "Have You Prayed?” by Li-Young Lee

• "To My Father / To My Future Son?” by Ocean Vuong

• "[15. Dire critical]” by Nam Le

• "Go Forget Your Father” by Cathy Linh Che

Oswald Huỳnh’s Vietnamese heritage has been a crucial source of inspiration for his work and artistic viewpoint. So, when he arrived in Louisville, he envisioned an event that could engage our city’s Vietnamese and Asian communities more broadly. On February 8, in partnership with Asia Institue Crane House, the Louisville Orchestra hosted a Lunar New Year celebration at the Americana World Community Center that featured performances by LO musicians, the Saw Peep Pan-Asian Ensemble, River Lotus Lion Dancers, and the Japan-America Society of Kentucky’s Yasakoi dancers. Audience members also enjoyed lantern-making, food from Mak-mak’s Barbecue, and drinks from DaLat’s Café. 

Listen to Oswald's interview on 90.5 WUOL with Kiana Del 

• Thursday, October 3, 2024 | Music Without Borders: Across the Divide | The Jeffersonian | Gia Đình
• Friday, October 4, 2024 | Music Without Borders: Across the Divide | The Jeffersonian | Gia Đình
• Saturday, October 5, 2024 | Music Without Borders: Across the Divide | The Jeffersonian | Gia Đình
• Friday, November 15, 2024 | Coffee: Ray Chen Plays Barber | Whitney Hall | I Ask My Mother to Sing
• Saturday, November 16, 2024 | Classics: Ray Chen Plays Barber | Whitney Hall | I Ask My Mother to Sing
• Wednesday, March 12, 2025 | MakingMUSIC | Whitney Hall | A Different Pond
• Thursday, March 13, 2025 | MakingMUSIC | Whitney Hall | A Different Pond
• Friday, March 14, 2025 | MakingMUSIC | Whitney Hall | A Different Pond
• Friday, May 9, 2025 | Coffee: Creators Fest | Whitney Hall | Tiếng
• Saturday, May 9, 2025 | Coffee: Creators Fest | Whitney Hall | Tiếng
• Thursday, July 3, 2025 | Play America | America Place | new work
• Saturday, July 5, 2025 | ROARchestra | Louisville Zoo | new work
• Tuesday, July 8, 2025 | In Harmony Tour | Glasgow Town Square (Glasgow, KY) | new work
• Wednesday, July 9, 2025 | In Harmony Tour | Elizabethtown, KY | new work
• Thursday, July 10, 2025 | In Harmony Tour | Muhlenberg, KY | new work
• Sunday, July 13, 2025 | In Harmony Tour | The Stephen Foster Story (Bardstown, KY) | new work