Chase Mekdara

He/him/his

Chase Mekdara is a second generation Laotian American. He grew up in a small town in rural South Carolina with a fairly decent sized Laotian American community. Since the age of 9, he has been studying the viola/violin and this year marks his fifteenth year of practicing and performing. He graduated from Furman University in 2019 with degrees in Viola Performance and Asian Studies. During this time and still to this day, the support of his family, friends, and peers in his cohort while embarking in his music studies is what he considers to be his community and family. He is excited to be participating in DAT 2021 to continue to build his skills to better build capacity and power for SEAA's and especially for the Laotian American community who remains invisible and underrepresented.

Sweet or Savory?: Savory

Hype Song?: Dog Days Are Over - Florence & The Machine