Dr Tarin Supprakorn (Thailand)
Associate Professor
Dr. Tarin Supprakorn is active as a solo pianist, accompanist, chamber musician, and piano educator. He has won top prizes in numerous competitions in his native Thailand and has played with orchestras in the United States, Asia, and Europe. Soon after beginning graduate studies, Supprakorn won first prize in the Eastman School of Music’s [Rochester, New York] annual Piano Concerto Competition. As a result of that award, he performed Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO). In addition to the RPO, Supprakorn has appeared as soloist with the Mahidol University Symphony Orchestra, Piyabhand Sanitwongse Foundation Orchestra, International Orchestra of Italy, National Orchestra of Indonesia, Lithuanian Symphonic Orchestra, International Youth Symphony Orchestra of Thailand, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Bangkok Silpakorn Wind Orchestra, and Thai Youth Orchestra.
Supprakorn has won first prize in most of Thailand’s piano competitions, including the Sixth Bangkok Chopin Piano Competition, the Seventh National Studio Piano Competition, the First National Piano Concerto Competition organized by Mahidol University, and the Fifth Piyabhand Sanitwongse National Piano Competition. He also won top and special prizes in the Fifth and Eighth International Chopin Piano Competitions in Asia (Japan), the Seventh International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists (Lithuania), the First ASEAN International Concerto Competition (Indonesia), the Fifth International Stasys Vainiunas Piano and Chamber Ensemble Competition (Lithuania), the Second ASEAN International Chopin Piano Competition (Malaysia), and First Music Teachers National Association Stecher and Horowitz Two Piano Competition (USA).
Supprakorn received the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in Piano Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Dr. Nelita True. He received his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore, where he studied with Dr. Thomas Hecht. In Thailand, he studied with Dr. Indhuon Srikaranonda-Balakauskas. He was also a recipient of Fund for Classical Music Promotion under the Patronage of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana and M. L. Puangroy Apaiwongse Scholarship Fund.
Currently, Supprakorn serves as a full-time faculty member at Western Music Department, Faculty of Humanities, Kasetsart University, and a piano instructor at Peterson Institute, Horwang Music Academy, Kawai Music School Chonburi, and SOONER The Classical Music School. In addition to teaching, he also serves as the Head of Academic at Kawai Music School Thailand. In 2022, he joins Joyeux Music International as a competition juror and associate professor.
Besides, Ernest So is a technical consultant on piano manufacture and restoration techniques, working for various piano builders and restorers. He is currently the Chief Technical Consultant for Asia Piano Japan. He has long been associated with Fazioli pianos, performing and recording on many of their instruments.
The Ernest So Piano Library was opened in 2017 in Hong Kong, making two thousand rare piano scores, LPs, books and other musical materials available to the public for the first time. Besides musical endeavors, Ernest is dedicated to charity work in China, involving in building projects of over 30 school buildings, scholarship and aids for children from poverty stricken rural China. In 2020, Ernest So is invited to revisit Singapore, to serve as Associate Professor and jury member at the JMI Competition for Pianists.