Mahakit Lerdcheewanan

A Thai-born violinist, Mahakit Lerdcheewanan began his musical journey at the age of twelve. He got his bachelor’s and master’s degree in violin performance from the College of Music, Mahidol University studying with Prof. Sittichai Pengcharoen and Prof. Inga Causa. He obtained his doctorate in violin performance at Louisiana State University under the guidance of Prof. Espen Lilleslåtten. During his doctorate study, he received Ora May Welch Scholarship, held a graduate assistantship position, and worked as a research assistant for a musicologist professor, Dr. Brett Boutwell. He performed with several orchestras in the USA, such as Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, and Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra. In Thailand, He performed mostly with Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra and Siam Sinfonietta and toured in numerous countries in Europe and Asia.

He won second prize in Beethoven Thailand National String Competition in 2012. Later in 2014, he won first prize in the Princess Galyani Vadhana International Ensemble Competition serving as a concertmaster of the ensemble and won the third prize in a piano trio category in the same competition.

Mahakit has a lot of passion for contemporary music. He premiered several works for solo violin and chamber music by composers from Thailand, the USA, China, Greece, Iran, etc. In 2019, a rising star Thai composer, Anantasit Na-Gnam dedicated a violin concerto to Mahakit. He gave a successful world premiere performance of the concerto in the same year. During his study in the USA, he was a member of Constantinides New Music String Quartet which was solely dedicated to contemporary music performance. The ensemble performed regularly in Baton Rouge, USA.

Currently, he is a faculty at the College of Music, Mahidol University, and also holds an administrative position as a coordinator of the Career Development Center of the college.