MUSIC
Thai youth orchestra shines in Los Angeles
The Nation

LOS ANGELES: -- The Siam Sinfonietta, the three-year-old youth orchestra founded by Somtow Sucharitkul, received a Gold Award and a standing ovation last night in the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Disney Hall, the new state-of-the-art architectural marvel designed by Frank Gehry and considered one of the world's top acoustical spaces.

Invited to perform in Los Angeles after winning first prize at the Summa Cum Laude international festival at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, the Sinfonietta is currently on tour in Southern California.

They opened with an informal "mini-concert" at Disneyland and followed up with their impressive Disney Hall debut at the Los Angeles International Music Festival.

The festival showcased ensembles from India, Singapore and Hawaii as well as many mainland US musicians.

During their concert, the Siam Sinfonietta performed Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kije" Suite and gave a sneak preview of excerpts from Somtow's forthcoming ballet "Suriyothai", under the baton of Thailand's leading young conductor Trisdee na Patalung, whom Somtow introduced to the audience as "even younger than Gustavo Dudamel" - the famously youthful music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Trisdee was recently listed as one of the world's 10 "conductors under 30 to watch" by the Italian press.

Somtow himself conducted the Prokofiev after talking about the music's savage humour and irony. He then entertained the audience with the moving tale of Queen Suriyothai before Trisdee took the podium.

The audience was so enthusiastic that they broke classical music convention by applauding energetically after every movement. At the end of the final movement, the "Burmese March", the audience immediately rose to its feet in a spontaneous outburst of applause.

"To get a standing ovation in Disney Hall ... it gave me goosebumps," said Chaimongkol Wiriyasatjaporn, the Sinfonietta's administrative assistant.

The feeling was echoed by most of the group's young musicians. Only two years earlier, 18-year-old Tanayut Jansirivorkul had heard renowned violinist Hillary Hahn play in the very same hall.

"It was amazing to stand in the exact same spot and play my solo," he said of his performance of the "Deserted City" movement from the Suriyothai Suite.

The Festival Committee presented three Gold Awards and two Silver.

In addition to the Siam Sinfonietta, the other Gold winners were a symphonic band from Singapore and a fusion ensemble from California that performs music based on South Indian traditions.

The Siam Sinfonietta was founded as a "back to basics" youth orchestra for young musicians 12-24 who plan a professional classical music career.

This week they perform two more concerts in California, one in San Diego and one in Irvine, before heading back to Thailand. On July 29 they will present the world premiere of the completed "Suriyothai Suite" in Berlin at the Young Euro Classic Festival, a prestigious event that brings together the very best of the world's youth orchestras.


-- The Nation 2013-06-21

Congatulations ! Any you tube links ? Would love to see a snippet.

Go the kids

So much for those who are always crying down everything Thai.

This country has its fair share of fantasticly talented young people, if only they are given the chance, if only, if only.

Excellent.... This is exactly the kind of good news we need. Well done all concerned.

Great wee story. Nice to get some happy news for a change. Well done the young ones.

Congatulations ! Any you tube links ? Would love to see a snippet.

Not from this particular event mentioned, but here's them playing Brahms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=223tQeQrpY8

and here's them at Disneyland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2SMfnryJfo

Congatulations ! Any you tube links ? Would love to see a snippet.

Yes Congratulations.

Excellent.... This is exactly the kind of good news we need. Well done all concerned.

What? Instead of the Shinawatra sound bytes that we are all used to? Congratulations to the Kids. Good on them.

Congatulations ! Any you tube links ? Would love to see a snippet.

Not from this particular event mentioned, but here's them playing Brahms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=223tQeQrpY8

and here's them at Disneyland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2SMfnryJfo

Thanks for the link, Suradit…. just curious and I hope you don't mind me asking, are you Thai ?

Try this link also:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151637421068070

Go to YouTube and search Somtow.

Fantastic news. Congratulations to all concerned. Thailand needs this kind of effort.

Go the kids

So much for those who are always crying down everything Thai.

This country has its fair share of fantasticly talented young people, if only they are given the chance, if only, if only.

Not everything Thai is as you say, posters in general air their view to try to say improvement is a must. Don't read them all as just Bashers

But this is great for the country when young can show what we have here, brilliant KIDS if you were mine I would be over the moon. More genuine stories like this please .

Great start ... now refine it ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=223tQeQrpY8

compare

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAMxkietiik

... and work it out. Maybe for the most talented a scholarship at

... Yehudi Menuhin

music school

http://holidaymusiccourses.com/

for those who are not familiar with Yehudi Menuhin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G11hBjd9eME

Vanessa Mae has some Thai blood, but as a free spirit she will not be able to support any of these programs and instead is preparing for the winter Olympic to start skiing for Thailand - no kidding

Congrats to the students, and Somtow for promoting them on the world stage.

FYI...The worlds only "Thai Town" is just down the street from where they performed. LA is home to the largest Thai diaspora in the world outside of Thailand. A lot of popular Thai bands come to LA to play like "Body Slam"--usually playing to a Thai crowd.

I wonder how much of the audience was farang or was the Thai diaspora supporting the performance.

Wow. Just watched a clip of them playing, they are awesome!

Perhaps an addition to the almost endless list of talented classical musicians from this part of the World.