Researching traditional and popular melodies from pre-, mid-, and post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia to 

compose a four-hand piano composition

PROJECT DESCRIPTION 
 
Background 
My colleague Ambrose Soehn and I worked for several years at USC Shoah Foundation, studying 
video testimonies of genocide survivors. We composed a four-hand piano piece -- “Melodies of 
Auschwitz” -- based on music performed in, listened to, and composed in the Nazi concentration 
camp. In January 2015, we performed the composition for camp survivors, international 
dignitaries, and others at the 70th-anniversary commemoration of Auschwitz’s liberation in 
Krakow, Poland. 
 
For the last eight months, Ambrose and I have researched Cambodian history, culture, and music to 
write a four-hand piano composition based on traditional Cambodian melody and popular music 
from the 1960s and 1970s. 
 
Aims 
We seek to preserve the voices of Cambodian musicians whom the Khmer Rouge not only silenced, 
but targeted specifically because of their creative output. When Cambodians listen to our 
composition, we hope to connect them with their past in the melodies to which we have paid tribute 
while providing a different musical context to this music. Though the composition will consist 
primarily of piano, we will include traditional Cambodian voice and instruments (e.g. khloy). 
 
We have confirmed musical collaborations with renowned Cambodian musicians and survivors, 
Hong Samley and So Savoeun. We are also in discussions to involve Sinn Sethakol, grandson of Sinn 
Sisamouth, and Arn Chorn-Pond’s Cambodian Living Arts. 
 
We are planning an event around our composition in Phnom Penh on January 7, 2019 to 
commemorate 40 years of liberation from the Khmer Rouge. This event will include performances 
of traditional Cambodian music and contemporary rock & roll featuring Hong Samley and So 
Savoeun, as well as a panel discussion with survivors and musicians to discuss the importance of 
music and memory. We are in discussions with Cambodian Minister of Culture Phoeurng Sackona to 
host the event at Chaktomuk. 
 
Methodology 
We have read books and scholarly articles, watched films and video testimony of survivors, and 
listened to catalogues of Cambodian music to learn and inspire our creative process. We have 
consulted with experts on Cambodian music, history, and culture to broaden our perspective and 
achieve logistical success on this project. These experts include Rotanak Oudom, founder of the 
Cambodian Vintage Music Archive, and Fatily Sa, renowned Cambodian filmmaker. 
 
Expected Outcomes and Significance 
We want to share our voice and perspective with Cambodians, to learn from their experiences, and 
find common ground through music, the one universal language. It is important to us that we share 
our work with the Cambodian people to preserve the memory and stories of their ancestors so their 
lives and contributions may never be forgotten.