Varis sirisook (est. 2002)

Varis Sirisook was born in Bangkok, Thailand. He started playing the violin and piano at the age of 3. He studied at Shrewsbury International School Riverside Bangkok between 2008 and 2020, during which he received a music scholarship from the school since 2015. He learned the violin under Tatiana Surgeenko while at school and later had lessons with Rhys Watkins, former member of the London Symphony Orchestra, Iona Brown, principal of the Royal Northern Sinfonia, and Omiros Yavroumis, concertmaster of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2012, he started composition lessons under Professor Dr Narongrit Dhamabutra and subsequently was taught by Dr Piyawat Louilarpprasert, and Dr Narong Prangcharoen, Dean of the College of Music, Mahidol University. 'All the World's a Stage' was composed when he was 15 and was premiered in 2018 with the Sunrise String Orchestra at Chulalongkorn University, where he also conducted.

He enrolled at Durham University in 2020 where he read a BA in Music, graduating in 2023 with a First Class (Honours). He studied composition under Dr James Weeks, Dr Eric Egan, and Professor Richard Rijnvos. He was also a member of several musical societies, including Orchestral Society, Palatinate Orchestra, Classical Ensemble, and played in pit bands in Light Opera Group, and Durham Opera Ensemble. He had several compositions premiered by several ensembles. 'An Orient Overture' was a Neo-Classical piece performed by the Classical Ensemble in 2022. He composed the original soundtrack to the short thriller-comedy film 'The Morning After'. He also won the Durham University Brass Band Composition Competition in 2022 with 'Zinc & Copper Jubilee' and had its premier by the Tredegar Town Band.

He completed a Master of Studies in Music (Composition) at St Hilda's College, University of Oxford, studying under Professor Martyn Harry and Professor Jennifer Walshe. He composed a piece for Baritone and Piano as part of the Oxford International Song Festival, as well as for Ensemble ISIS, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Oxford Millennium Orchestra.