News

Teresa Um has been announced as the winner of the 2026 Fundamental Freedoms Commission by the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers (ISJAC).

This prestigious international commission is awarded annually to an outstanding female or non-binary jazz composer. As the 2026 recipient, Teresa will compose a new original work to be premiered at an upcoming ISJAC Symposium event in 2027.

Read the official announcement here.

Teresa’s original composition, "Phonophobia," is featured as the first track on the One O'Clock Lab Band’s latest album, Lab 2025. Directed by Alan Baylock, the album showcases the premier ensemble of the UNT Jazz Studies program.

This studio recording captures the dynamic energy of the piece and is now available on all major streaming platforms.

Honored by the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM), Teresa's composition "Phonophobia" has won the 2025 Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble Prize. The award celebrates exceptional new works for jazz ensembles.

Read the official announcement here.

Teresa's composition, "Wheel of Chronicles", music for classical string quartet and jazz quartet, was chosen as a winning piece in the 2025 Bridges Composition Competition. The work was premiered at the Ravinia Institute on June 10, 2025.

Learn more about the program here.

Teresa received a 2025 DownBeat Student Music Awards in recognition of her outstanding arrangement of the Wayne Shorter classic, "Aung San Suu Kyi".

As part of the Music on Canvas project, Teresa performed a live, improvised solo guitar piece. Her performance, presented at River City Bangkok in September 2023, was a direct musical interpretation of a painting by artist Sikarej Siripaibulya.

Teresa won the 2023 Thailand International Jazz Conference Solo Competition, receiving the "Best Soloist" award for her exceptional performance on guitar.

Teresa's original composition, "The Alchemist", was performed on the main stage of the 2023 Thailand International Jazz Conference by the Mahidol Jazz Orchestra, featuring special guest Pekka Pylkkänen.