AUGUST 29, 2008
At Kad Suan Kaeow, Chiang Mai

AUGUST 30, 2008
At the Gateway Hotel, Puttan Ballroom, in Phayao

M L Usni Pramoj is a Thai National Artist as well as recipient of the ASEAN Award for the Performing Arts. He helped to pioneer western classical music in Thailand as the co-founder of a chamber orchestra which subsequently metamorphosed into the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. Today, M L Usni Pramoj continues to be active as a conductor, violinist, violist, and composer.

For several years, a major venture of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has been to enhance and preserve the musical heritage of Thailand.

This is achieved through state-of-the-art CDs and other recordings of compositions by His Majesty the King and many other Thai classics, including “Khamen-Sai-Yoke” and “Bua Kao”. One of the Orchestra’s recent and most important projects has been the performance and recording of two new works, the “Mahajanaka Symphony” and “The Story of Mahajanaka”, based on the Buddhist story told in the “Mahajanaka”. The music for both works was composed by and is performed in honour of His Majesty.

According to ML Usni Pramoj, royal compositions are noted for their exceptional melody, whether the music is pop or jazz. This explains why musical compositions by His Majesty the King have won tremendous popular appeal across a broad range of audiences. However, it's the classical music that truly brings out musical beauty. Most perceive royal music to be jazz. However, His Majesty the King trained in classical music in his childhood days. It is thus inevitable that some subtle nuances and elements of classical music are reflected in musical compositions by His Majesty the King. Symphonic jazz is a blend of jazz and orchestral performance.

M L Usni Pramoj and the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra will be presenting a musical tribute in honour of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Chiang Mai on August 29, 2008 and in Phayao on August 30.

THE BANGKOK SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Bangkok Symphony Orchestra operates under the auspices of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra Foundation and is privileged to enjoy the Royal Patronage of the Crown Prince of Thailand, His Royal Highness Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. The BSO is a non-profit making organisation, and is one of the very few symphony orchestras in the world which receives no public funding of any sort, relying entirely on ticket sales and the generosity of sponsors, donors, endowments and other commercial activity for its funding.

Each season, the Orchestra performs a broad repertoire of classical music, as well as concerts of more popular music from the Broadway stage, from films and television. Concert programmes also feature Thai classical and contemporary music. The BSO is committed to music education for listeners of all ages. Special concerts are given in schools, university campuses and in major downtown city parks during the cooler winter season.

The 70 professional Thai musicians of the BSO have expanded and enhanced their repertoire and artistry over the years through study with some of the leading teachers in Thailand and abroad. The Orchestra has performed under the baton of many internationally-renowned guest conductors including Loris Tjeknavorian, Takuo Yuasa, Massimo Paris, Paul Nadler and Zheng Xiaoying, alongside guest soloists such as Peter Donohoe, Anthony Camden and Dang Thai Son.

Veeraphan Vawklang was a member of the founding committee of the BSO, and was its first Music Director. Other leading conductors to have led the BSO have been Vladimir Kin, Timm Tzschaschel and John Georgiadis.

The Orchestra’s present Artistic Adviser is Professor Anthony Camden, Dean of Music at Hong Kong’s Academy for Performing Arts and a former Chairman and Principal Oboe of the London Symphony Orchestra. The BSO is especially pleased to have developed a close relationship in recent years with Paris-based Japanese conductor, Hikotaro Yazaki, for whom the post of Honorary Guest Conductor has been created.

The BSO’s position as the nation’s premier symphony orchestra was marked in December 1998 when it was invited to perform at the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok.

The BSO is also recognised throughout the country as the Thailand’s finest “cultural ambassador”, as was evident when the Orchestra was invited to perform in the excellent new Concert Hall in Kuala Lumpur’s Twin Towers complex during 1999.

Web site: http://www.bangkoksymphony.net/