IN THE JOYOUS LIGHT

Bosba is a Western-educated Cambodian composer. Influenced by French expressionism, European sacred music, and American minimalism, her music primarily explores the theme of loss and memory. Her experience as a Cambodian folk singer and classical performance singer informs the lyricism of her music.

A recipient of the Fondation Bay Music Studentship and Cambridge Trust European Scholarship, Bosba holds an MPhil in Composition from the University of Cambridge, having sung with the King's Voices at King's College Chapel. She wrote her Masters's thesis on Khmer Agency in Western Art Music and was awarded First Prize by Judith Weir DBE at the Minerva Composition Competition. She is also a graduate of the Walnut Hill School for the Arts (2015) and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA (2019), where she conducted a history minor on the commodification of trauma in arts in post-genocide Cambodian society. Previously, she attended the Lycée Français René Descartes of Phnom Penh. She is a former athlete of the Cambodian National Judo Team.

Prior to composition, Bosba began her career in Cambodia as a traditional folk singer at the age of 7. Her parents managed her vocal career. Their collaboration with Cambodian artists led to performances at venues such as Angkor Wat, the 13th-century UNESCO heritage site of temples, a performance praised as "one of Cambodia's most spectacular music events" (Asia Life Magazine, 2011). Her life projects aim to contribute to the development of music education in Southeast Asia and to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of Khmer musical identity. Bosba comes from a traditional family of artists and is the niece of award-winning filmmaker Rithy Panh, a nominee for the 2014 Academy Awards and several times awardee of the Cannes Film Festival.

Bosba’s TMF commission “i see others like me” was generously sponsored by Noah Minkoff as the centerpiece of their Mitzvah project.