Feel the Joy of Classical Music with Pro Musica!
Yesterday, the Siam Society was hosting the concert of Pro Musica, the string orchestra of the Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Music, appropriately titled: ‘A Little Night Music’. It was directed by Tasana Nagavajara, a founding member of the Faculty, and currently the Artistic Director of the Pro Musica Orchestra. The first half of the concert was dedicated to the classical pieces by Vivaldi, Mozart, Haydn, and more, as prof. Nagavajara introduced each piece with a little anecdotal story making the listeners more connected to the music. The second part of the concert was a special treat – fusion of classical/bossa nova and classical blues, as two former students joined the orchestra: Pakpoom Watwiengkam, a well-known Thai percussionist, a member of Exotic Percussion Thailand, and Puree C. Muadmuang, a former Bangkok Symphony Orchestra violinist, who turned harmonica blues musician and front men of the blues band Jukes. They performed Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ‘Girl From Ipanema and Ray Charles’ classic ‘Hit the Road Jack!’. This fusion had a special appeal to the audience, as it was followed by a 3-minute standing ovation. For the finale, the orchestra performed a several pieces written by King Rama IX, and the concert ended with an encore that involved the participation of the audience. The whole event was very relaxed, yet energizing and uplifting, and we are definitely looking forward for some more similar musical adventures in the future.
The Pro Musica program includes many more interesting events to come, and I warmly recommend you to check out some of their upcoming events at their website.
About PRO MUSICA
In 1958, Pro Musica came into being as a string quartet and subsequently grew into a small chamber orchestra. M. L. Usni Pramoj was an original founder, violinist in the quartet, concertmaster of the orchestra, occasional conductor, and general manager. The orchestra received much support from the Goethe Institute, various cultural missions, and a few business concerns. It became Thailand’s first non-government professional orchestra with the aim of promoting classical music in Thailand. The orchestra performed regularly until 1975 when it metamorphosed into the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. Recently, it became apparent that there was still a need for a small and more mobile chamber orchestra. Thus the Pro Musica Orchestra was revived.
Image and bio source: www.promusicabkk.com