drifting across a high fence.
Sethisak now lives in Phnom Penh and is seeking funding for further study overseas.
and won one of Russia's highest awards for vocalists.
Penh were he practices for up to 4 hours each day.
tall, he leaves little doubt that his voice could fill a concert hall.
diet of Russian potatoes.
he began to sing, performing traditional Khmer songs on radio and TV.
Khoun Sethisak receives third place in prestigious Russian competition 'Bella Voce', 1996.
and teachers to Cambodia. For a brief time, Sethisak says, the music scene flourished.
study piano and music theory at the Moscow Conservatory of Music.
For a young Khmer to arrive at the elite Russian school was an extraordinary accomplishment.
Soviet Union during the 1980s for subjects such as engineering and architecture.
four years, only two others joined the Conservatory.
He managed to negotiate support for his fees and accommodation but had no income.
Sethisak studied music in Russia for eight years. "On the piano, I couldn't compete with the Russians ... but the voice is like a mystery. It's something from nature," he says.
"All I ate was potatoes," he says. "For breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Even today, the mention of French fries brings a sickened look to his face.
And the demands of his training were no less grueling.
celebrate the end of his diploma.
His teacher was so impressed she asked him to audition for the school's singing program.
when he was 26 years old.
where you have to start so young," he says.
in the same competition.
and they have played since such a young age, but the voice is like a mystery,"
he says. "It's something from nature."
the admirer persuaded some wealthy American friends to sponsor the young Cambodian.
no longer support him in the US. He was forced to return to Cambodia again.
and limits his performance opportunities.
what you know," he says. "The whole country is corrupted."
live in Cambodia and share his knowledge with his country.
"I want to be in Cambodia because I want to bring the opera culture to the country,"
he says. "We don't have any education or singers here."
is keen to revive the traditional musical style, as well as combine the two art forms.
world, not just yourself."
Cambodia Living Arts, an NGO that supports Khmer culture.
changing," he says.
is not just food and medicine. We have to keep the living arts alive."
want to take Khmer music to the world and [music] from the world to Cambodia."
But Sethisak is determined.
going to make it," he says.