Yangon Connection has a very specific inspiration: during the summer of 2018 I traveled to Yangon, Myanmar and, completely unexpectedly, formed a Celtic band which became my way to meet and connect with people while I was there.

I visited Yangon for two months to see my sister and her husband who were living there at the time. I was excited to be exploring a new place and wanted to find some other musicians to play with while I was there, so my sister suggested I post a message to a Facebook group called ‘Yangon Connection’, which is where my title comes from. It was an online community, with hundreds of thousands of members, that aimed to connect people in Yangon. The description of the group from the page says it all:

“This group is for visitors and local Burmese to communicate and help each other with the challenges and opportunities in Myanmar, exchange ideas, tips and also socialise.”

Two visiting UK musicians responded to my post, a mandolin player named Louie and a percussionist named Richard, who both played Celtic music. We had some jam sessions and very quickly decided to start a band. As a violinist, I have played various styles of folk music over the years, and, as a person with Scotch-Irish heritage, I already knew a fair number of Celtic fiddle tunes. I learned many more with the band and even wrote a few for us to play.

We performed 25 shows in and around Yangon. We were featured in the national newspaper, The Myanmar Times, and made some recordings, including a video of our group playing on the Yangon peripheral train that went viral and was seen by more than a million people!

Needless to say, joining a Celtic band during my visit to Myanmar was completely unexpected. But my experience with the band ended up being central to my time there.

Playing with the group connected me to all sorts of people: other visitors, locals, artists, musicians, local owners of cafes, art galleries, and venues. We communicated, helped each other, exchanged ideas, tips, and socialized. I made many great friendships with people, many of whom I am still in touch with. It truly was my ‘Yangon Connection’.

It was a great feeling to connect with so many people by sharing my violin playing and music, and to have it received openly, with excitement. I was also incredibly excited to explore a completely new place, to be surrounded by new sights and sounds, and the hustle and bustle of a new city with a different way of doing things. In a big way, my piece Yangon Connection is about these feelings of openness, excitement, exploration. and connection that I felt while I was there.

On a more somber note, I composed the piece between January and April 2021, during which time there was a military coup in Myanmar (February 2021). Tragically, the coup crushed much of the political and cultural life of the people of Myanmar and continues to do so to this day.

When I was composing the piece, it felt strange and difficult to write about the positive experience I had had in Myanmar when the country had since been so horrifically impacted by the coup. There is an intense moment within the first two minutes of my piece that I feel came about because of my reflection on this tragedy.

Ultimately, Yangon Connection weaves together several sounds and moods that you can expect to hear:

1. The Celtic influence from my band, including quotes of some of the fiddle tunes we played (Arran Boat Song, Drowsy

   Maggie, Kid on the Mountain, and a new tune I’m calling As the Crow Flies that I composed especially for this work).

2. Environmental sounds I heard in Yangon including bike bells, the cawing of crows and chirping of sparrows (which were everywhere), the sounds of the wind, chimes, and gongs that I heard at the Buddhist temples, and the rhythmical chugging of the Yangon train on its tracks.

3. The sound and instrumental colours of the Western classical orchestra.

4. The feelings of openness, excitement, exploration, and connection I felt as a result of my unique Myanmar experience, as well as the unease and intensity coming from a tragic political event that took place three years after I left.

I am grateful to have had the amazing experience I had in Yangon, Myanmar. I am struck by the ephemerality of a moment that would now be impossible to recreate.

My sister works in the international development sector. She has since left Myanmar, but reminds me that the political situation there is ongoing, as are repercussions stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, and that the best way to help from afar is to donate to reputable aid agencies. She has directed me to a reputable website that collects many fundraising and relief efforts in one place. Please consider donating to help the people of Myanmar by visiting www.isupportmyanmar.com.

Matthias McIntire, May 2022