Speaker: Dr. Tretip Kamolsiri

Organization: College of Music, Mahidol University

A graduate (Summa cum Laude with gold medal) from the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Dr. Tretip Kamolsiri received a full-scholarship and a teaching assistantship from West Virginia University for her Master’s in Piano Pedagogy and Doctoral of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. Prior returning to Thailand, she was appointed as an Adjunct Instructor at West Virginia University taught aural music skills, applied piano lessons, group piano classes for non-piano majors, and piano literature class for music major. During her school years, she was a member of West Virginia University’s MTNA student chapter organizing music activities for community. Her article was selected to be published in MTNA (Music Teacher National Association) journal. Her dissertation on “Even a Small Star Shines in the Darkness: Overcoming Challenges Faced by Pianists with Small Hands” has been requested from pianists both local and abroad. Her mentors including Nat Yontararak, Professor Dr.Natchar Pancharoen,  Professor Dr. James Miltenberger, Professor Wei Zhou and M.R. Vilaikanya Wichaidist. She studied piano pedagogy with Professor Dr. Connie Arrau Sturm and Dr. Tinka Knopf de Esteban.

Throughout her thirty years of experience in music career, she performed with the Chulalongkorn Unversity Symphony Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra and Thai Youth Symphony Orchestra. Tretip has been teaching students at all levels both in universities and privately. She had been teaching as a part-time instructor at the College of Music, Mahidol University for six years and is now teaching as a part-time instructor at Silpakorn University and Rangsit University. Her students are successfully winning competition locally and internationally. They are working in the field of music in universities as well as in other professional careers.

Apart from her performing and teaching, she had been invited as a guest speaker and lecturer for different organizarions such as Thonburi Rotary Club, National Science Museum, Office of the Civil Service Commission and National Museum Volunteers. Tretip also regularly hosts classical music radio program, ‘Dontreetip’ for the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University (every Sunday mornings 7:30 am, Chulalongkorn University Radio Station FM 101.5 MHz). In 2009, She had been in the committee of the Western Music Dictionary of The Royal Institute. Occasionally, she writes on music for the Bangkok Post.

Since 2011, Tretip became a disciple of Professor Dr. Natchar Pancharoen, founder of the Piano Solo School of Traditional Thai Music studying traditional Thai music on piano. Together with her mentor and other disciples, she performs traditional Thai music for piano in many occasions in Thailand, Italy, the United States and Japan. She is a member of “Tipnaree,” a traditional Thai stringed ensemble and piano. The ensemble performs regularly in many occasions. Recently in February 2018, they had been invited by the Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo to perform at the ambassador’s residence.