Ask Miti Wisuthumporn (’08, Viola) what his view on the future in the music industry holds, and he responds, “I have no idea, but I also have no fear.”
These may sound like naïve or reckless words, but they resonate with a career that exemplifies resilience, adaptability and creativity. Miti candidly shares, “After YST, I got a full Master’s scholarship from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music. I then spent one more year in the United States auditioning for orchestra jobs but was not successful. I was invited by a viola teacher from Austria to continue my studies at the Kunstuniversität Graz – life there as a student was absolutely wonderful, but the professional reality was difficult and I witnessed extremely talented musician friends, even those at the top of their class, who were frustrated with auditions.”
Even with these challenges, it was important to keep moving. After years of searching for a career abroad, Miti began to look back to his home country Thailand – and there he found a fresh slate to realise his aspirations. He recalls, “At the time, classical music had a relatively small presence in the local arts scene. I saw it as an opportunity to create something meaningful.”
Upon returning home in 2013, he worked with two fellow YST alumni, Maskulrat Ekachai (’09, Cello) and Nuttaphon Lerswanuswong (’14, Double Bass) along with five other fellow musicians to form the JEEB Ensemble (the Thai word ‘jeeb’ means to flirt). Inspired by the work of Singapore’s T’ang Quartet, the ensemble sought to present core classical music repertoire in funky ways that reached a wider audience. It proved to be popular – the JEEB Ensemble held sold-out music festivals in 2013 and 2017, had a China tour in 2018, launched Thailand’s first digitally-streamed classical music album distributed by Universal Music amidst COVID-19, and will soon launch its second album.
Outside of his work with JEEB Ensemble, Miti wears numerous other hats. He is Principal Violist of the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra (playing alongside numerous other YST alumni), teaches privately, and is a viola lecturer at the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts and Faculty of Music Education in Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Humanities in Kasetsart University, and the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music. He says, “I enjoy the variety of my work very much. Each of my roles is a commitment, but never an obligation – of course, it can get exhausting and confusing, but I gain motivation from all my pursuits across orchestral playing, practice, creating new projects, and teaching.”
Asked how he keeps going amidst ups and downs, his reply proves to be refreshing. “‘You are not that good; you are not that bad either. You are not that important, but you’re definitely not worthless either. Everything you do will have all these qualities in different quantities. Whatever you do, it’s okay.’ Oddly, remembering this thought always makes me feel free to start working on anything and keep doing better.” As for his advice on facing the future, he has this to say: “I think the key to keeping pace with the future of our industry is being very observant, keeping an unfaltering interest in music, and being open to the answers that reveal themselves in the journey.”
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