The Asia America New Music Institute to Present ECHOES OF HOME at Sierra Madre Playhouse

Sierra Madre Playhouse will showcase the Asia America New Music Institute (AANMI), which presents Echoes of Home, a program of new works exploring the places, people, and memories that shape our sense of belonging, on Sunday, August 30, 2026, 4:00 PM, at the historic 99-seat venue.

Highlights include two world premieres – the first by AANMI founder Chad Cannon, whose extensive film, TV and concert credits include the Obama-produced, Oscar-winning documentary American Factory, and the other a work for solo piano by Chinese composer Weijun Chen, noted for bridging the worlds of concert and media music – as well as the West Coast premiere of Monologue II for solo piano by SunYoung Park, who has served as the South Korea Director of AANMI since 2013.

Additionally, the concert spotlights three works for string quartet and harp – Niall Taro's Mikan no omoide (Incomplete Memories), which, the composer says, “explores three memories that are each associated with a specific location in Little Tokyo, and a particular time of year”; Sea of Light by Alex Williams, a Los Angeles-based composer, cellist and music copyist for film, television, video games and concert stage; and Ari Sol's Strum!, an innovative harp concerto and love-letter to the instrument.

Also presented are two works for string quartet: Kian Ravaei's Family Photos, a musical collage of personally significant places from his childhood, and Nichagarn Chiracharasporn's Lilac, inspired by the distinctive purple flower that symbolizes “first love.”

Smelly Dumpings, a work for solo voice by Emily Chiu, a composer for film, theater and audio storytelling, completes the program. The AANMI ensemble features violinists Kyle Gilner and Chad Cannon; Rita Andrade, viola; Niall Taro, cello; Ari Sol, harp; Coco Ma, piano; and Miko Shudo, vocals.

While the Echoes of Home project began as an invitation for Asian American composers to reflect on growing up within Los Angeles' vibrant Asian American communities, it soon expanded into a broader meditation on home in all its forms—whether rooted in Los Angeles, carried across continents, or found in the people and traditions we hold close.

For AANMI, the concert at the Sierra Madre Playhouse marks something of a homecoming. Though AANMI has cultivated artistic communities across the East Coast, Utah, and throughout Asia, this program represents a growing commitment to Los Angeles—the city where AANMI's founder and many of its artists live, have lived, and continue to create. As AANMI deepens its LA roots, Echoes of Home celebrates not only the places from which we come, but also the communities we choose to build together.

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