George Lam is the assistant director of Nevada Humanities, headquartered in Reno. He is also an accomplished composer who has worked in the U.S. and abroad. His current project focuses on the written word - Reno's annual Literary Crawl, coming up in October (2024).
As for the music, there are many examples of music composed by George Lam - from orchestral pieces, to solos and duets. For Lam, crafting original musical works is a passion, and it's personal. “For me the magic of it is to work with people I know. So, it's really to think about what are the types of music that they would enjoy playing.”
George Lam has created and taught music in various parts of the U.S. and in his native country.
”I was actually, born in Hong Kong and I came over to the United States - I grew up in Boston.”
George was just 12 then and already in love with music and interested in becoming a composer. He got his bachelor's degree at Boston University and then “I got my master's degree from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and then a PhD at Duke University on music composition.”
This and Lam's many other accomplishments (such as working for non-profits and creating one with fellow musicians) got the attention of Nevada Humanities executive director Christina Barr. “We did a national search to fill the position of assistant director for Nevada Humanities and George just rose to the top.”
By definition, Humanities are the studies of humans and our cultural expression through language, arts, history and philosophy. For George, "the Humanities is everything that allows us to develop empathy for everyone. I think of the humanities as a way for us to connect.”
Just a few months into his new role, Lam is organizing the upcoming Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl. “The written word, the spoken word, also all the cultures and stories around storytelling.”
The well-loved, annual, literary crawl has been happening since 2014. George says he loves being in Reno, and the great stories northern Nevadans are sharing with him.
“As someone who is interested in the intersection of that (storytelling) and music, I really am grateful to work here.”
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The Literary Crawl is Saturday, October 12th in Downtown Reno.
There will be panel discussions, book signings, workshops, and family-friendly activities. It is free and open to all ages.
For more information on the festival - https://www.nevadahumanities.org/literarycrawl
Nevada Humanities, click here – https://www.nevadahumanities.org/
George Tsz-Kwan Lam - https://www.gtlam.com/
