0:00:11.127,0:00:15.868 (Sound of violin) 0:01:00.658,0:01:03.972 (Applause) 0:01:05.989,0:01:07.744 Thank you. 0:01:08.098,0:01:10.854 I was born in a musical family. 0:01:10.854,0:01:15.241 Many of my forefathers had dreamt[br]of becoming musicians. 0:01:15.657,0:01:17.853 Most of them got caught up 0:01:17.853,0:01:20.774 in a mainstream profession[br]or academic career. 0:01:20.774,0:01:23.381 And actually, they did very well. 0:01:23.935,0:01:27.639 But I myself, I was determined, however,[br] 0:01:27.655,0:01:29.454 to become the musician. 0:01:29.454,0:01:33.651 And now I'm a full-time [br]professional musician. 0:01:34.960,0:01:37.674 My grandfather was an educator 0:01:37.674,0:01:44.059 and became the headmaster of many [br]leading high-schools in Bangkok. 0:01:44.059,0:01:46.604 He was also the manager of a well-known 0:01:46.604,0:01:49.320 Thai traditional music ensemble. 0:01:49.320,0:01:52.205 I think -- I mean he cannot really play -- 0:01:52.205,0:01:56.007 I think he enjoyed being close to the music [br]and to the musicians. 0:01:56.207,0:01:59.975 When my aunt returned home [br]from her study in the West, 0:01:59.975,0:02:05.576 she brought back lots of Western [br]music recordings to my house, 0:02:05.576,0:02:09.577 which had a great effect [br]on my father and my uncle, 0:02:09.577,0:02:13.805 who grew up with [br]this LP vinyl collection, 0:02:14.421,0:02:18.460 which included Rimsky Korsakov’s [br]symphonic poem Scheherazade 0:02:18.460,0:02:20.816 which I have just played for you. 0:02:20.816,0:02:24.654 I, myself, also grew up with my father's[br]huge LP collection, 0:02:24.654,0:02:27.375 mainly Western classical music. 0:02:27.375,0:02:29.793 When I was about 5 years old, 0:02:29.793,0:02:31.656 I was able to memorize 0:02:31.656,0:02:33.959 many many symphonies of Beethoven 0:02:33.959,0:02:35.790 and conducted along with them -- 0:02:35.790,0:02:38.935 I mean conducting is[br]not as difficult as this. 0:02:38.935,0:02:43.016 And the sound of this kind of music, 0:02:43.016,0:02:44.875 Western classical music [br]and the orchestra, 0:02:44.875,0:02:48.557 made a really deep impression on me. 0:02:49.896,0:02:54.303 I started music lessons [br]for the first time on Saw Duang, 0:02:54.303,0:02:58.552 which is a Thai traditional instrument [br]with two strings. 0:02:58.552,0:03:02.053 And I began to realise that [br]I had some talent in music. 0:03:02.361,0:03:06.252 A year later I took up [br]lessons on the violin. 0:03:06.252,0:03:09.236 And with the basic for the Thai fiddle, 0:03:09.236,0:03:11.655 I could somehow transfer the skills, 0:03:11.655,0:03:13.655 and adapt to the violin, 0:03:13.655,0:03:15.601 and add to my long experience 0:03:15.601,0:03:17.908 of listening to [br]classical music since birth. 0:03:17.908,0:03:20.543 I think I had a good start. 0:03:23.201,0:03:29.200 The turning point for me was [br]when the great violinist, Alberto Lysy, 0:03:29.200,0:03:32.367 visited Thailand in 1988. 0:03:32.767,0:03:37.277 I just played for him and [br]that brief moment changed my life. 0:03:37.277,0:03:40.373 Alberto Lysy suddenly [br]gave me an opportunity 0:03:40.373,0:03:42.873 to go and study in Switzerland 0:03:42.873,0:03:46.360 at one of the most prestigious [br]music institutions in Europe, 0:03:46.360,0:03:49.956 the International [br]Menuhin Music Academy. 0:03:49.956,0:03:53.706 This is a very rare chance [br]to get into such a famous place. 0:03:53.706,0:03:57.400 I went on to study music[br]in Austria and America. 0:03:57.400,0:04:00.002 I spent almost 11 years 0:04:00.002,0:04:03.636 studying and playing abroad [br]before returning home to Thailand. 0:04:03.636,0:04:05.998 Many of my friends asked me, 0:04:05.998,0:04:08.469 Why do I want to come back to Thailand? 0:04:08.469,0:04:12.718 Do I have any job or [br]any opportunity to play a concert? 0:04:12.718,0:04:15.760 And my answer is always the same. 0:04:15.760,0:04:19.323 I wanted to come back. [br]I wanted to create something special. 0:04:19.323,0:04:22.198 I think I was convinced [br]that I could be useful 0:04:22.198,0:04:24.200 to the music scene in Thailand 0:04:24.200,0:04:28.200 especially to young Thai musicians. 0:04:29.953,0:04:34.082 When I came back in 2000 --[br]the year 2000 I came back, 0:04:34.082,0:04:35.897 I started teaching right away. 0:04:35.897,0:04:37.333 Because in those days, 0:04:37.333,0:04:40.916 it's quite impossible to make a living [br]just playing concerts. 0:04:40.916,0:04:45.288 And despite my additional workload 0:04:45.288,0:04:47.321 as concert master of [br]the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra 0:04:47.336,0:04:49.046 for 10 years, 0:04:49.046,0:04:51.107 and I got a full-time teaching position 0:04:51.107,0:04:53.647 at Silpakorn University 0:04:53.647,0:04:56.359 in their brand-new Faculty of Music. 0:04:56.359,0:04:59.108 I really enjoy teaching as much as playing. 0:04:59.108,0:05:02.966 To see new faces [br]entering our school every year 0:05:02.966,0:05:05.884 and work closely with them for 4 years, 0:05:05.884,0:05:08.722 is quite a challenge. 0:05:09.276,0:05:13.690 In 2005, we began to expand 0:05:13.690,0:05:17.883 the musical training [br]beyond the confines of our university. 0:05:17.883,0:05:21.044 We started the Silpakorn [br]Summer Music School, 0:05:21.044,0:05:24.367 which I'll refer to as the SSMS. 0:05:24.906,0:05:29.447 SSMS had around 20 students playing [br]chamber music in small groups 0:05:29.447,0:05:31.126 in the first few years, 0:05:31.126,0:05:34.154 with more and more students [br]joining and participating. 0:05:34.154,0:05:36.404 Today it has become a big -- 0:05:36.404,0:05:40.237 a real symphony orchestra [br]counted with over 120 students. 0:05:42.190,0:05:45.856 We provide a unique opportunity[br]for students, 0:05:45.856,0:05:49.915 all eager to learn, [br]to come together and make music. 0:05:50.254,0:05:52.561 These students are -- 0:05:52.561,0:05:54.169 most of them are inexperienced. 0:05:54.169,0:05:57.294 They vary from the very well-trained 0:05:57.294,0:05:59.535 to those who are not at all well-trained. 0:05:59.535,0:06:02.614 But during this special week, 0:06:02.614,0:06:04.296 we try our best to create 0:06:04.296,0:06:06.265 the most ideal environment 0:06:06.265,0:06:10.100 for them to learn[br]and to work together. 0:06:10.854,0:06:13.576 During the week, we work really hard 0:06:13.576,0:06:17.734 and also have a great time together. 0:06:17.734,0:06:21.773 Last year, these students, Thai students, 0:06:21.773,0:06:28.469 really played the symphonic poem by [br]Rimsky Korsakov, Scheherazade, quite well. 0:06:28.469,0:06:33.711 And I will show you the example[br]of the previous year on Ravel's Boléro. 0:06:33.711,0:06:38.475 (Music) 0:07:56.564,0:07:58.738 (Applause) 0:07:58.738,0:08:02.052 16 years ago, no one [br]could never ever have dreamt 0:08:02.052,0:08:04.283 of something like this[br]happening in Thailand. 0:08:04.283,0:08:06.414 It's one of our most successful projects 0:08:06.414,0:08:10.657 and has a great impact [br]on Thai musical society. 0:08:10.934,0:08:15.143 The other story, our university -- 0:08:15.143,0:08:19.300 another project of our university[br]is the so-called 0:08:19.300,0:08:21.429 "music talent program". 0:08:21.537,0:08:24.121 At that time in 2007, 0:08:24.137,0:08:27.466 we had a kind of a political connection [br]with a small province 0:08:27.466,0:08:30.672 near Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai[br]called Payao. 0:08:30.672,0:08:34.613 This is a very beautiful province, [br]with lakes. It's really nice. 0:08:34.613,0:08:37.978 At that time, the governor of Payao 0:08:37.978,0:08:40.280 had the idea of turning the town into 0:08:40.280,0:08:43.263 a Vienna of the East, 0:08:43.263,0:08:45.866 as the music centre. 0:08:45.866,0:08:47.448 This became a big project 0:08:47.448,0:08:52.281 and we even brought the orchestra[br]from Bangkok to perform there. 0:08:52.281,0:08:56.947 I still remember driving[br]into the little town of Payao 0:08:56.947,0:09:01.635 and seeing a big billboard [br]of myself holding a violin. 0:09:01.866,0:09:06.033 We also started [br]the "music talent program" 0:09:06.033,0:09:08.453 in cooperation with a boarding school, 0:09:08.453,0:09:10.415 located in the mountains nearby; 0:09:10.415,0:09:12.511 a very, very nice boarding school. 0:09:12.511,0:09:16.287 And we were hoping that the whole thing 0:09:16.287,0:09:19.056 would turn Payao into [br]the mountain musical paradise, 0:09:19.056,0:09:21.174 like Aspen, Colorado, 0:09:21.174,0:09:24.285 or Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland. 0:09:24.285,0:09:26.282 And from the beginning, 0:09:26.282,0:09:29.368 this music talent program was a big hit. 0:09:29.368,0:09:32.119 It was wide-reported in the press. 0:09:32.119,0:09:35.284 It was taking the full page [br]in the Bangkok Biz News. 0:09:35.284,0:09:38.535 It was very well-known at that time. 0:09:38.535,0:09:42.738 In those days, I flew up north [br]once a month to Chiang Rai, 0:09:42.738,0:09:45.704 rented a car, drove [br]a hundred kilometers to teach, 0:09:45.704,0:09:48.014 stayed overnight,[br]drove back to Chiang Rai, 0:09:48.014,0:09:50.954 and flew back to Bangkok to work. 0:09:50.954,0:09:53.176 And actually it was fun for me. 0:09:53.176,0:09:54.814 It was like a dream. 0:09:54.814,0:09:59.183 It was a dream of [br]making a dream come true. 0:09:59.537,0:10:03.252 You may have guessed [br]the final outcome. 0:10:03.252,0:10:06.553 Vienna of the East[br]didn't last for very long. 0:10:06.553,0:10:08.729 It didn't work at all. 0:10:08.729,0:10:11.611 When the governor [br]was transferred somewhere else, 0:10:11.611,0:10:13.632 the political wind changed, 0:10:13.632,0:10:15.334 the whole project was gone. 0:10:15.334,0:10:17.250 Just like that. Just gone. 0:10:17.250,0:10:21.928 At that time we had around [br]20 high school students[br] 0:10:21.928,0:10:23.884 in our music talent program. 0:10:23.884,0:10:25.412 They were sadly abandoned. 0:10:25.412,0:10:28.493 Everything was over. 0:10:28.493,0:10:30.451 So, what did we do? 0:10:30.451,0:10:33.966 We tried our best to take care [br]of their future education, 0:10:33.966,0:10:38.143 cause we felt responsible [br]for these students' lives. 0:10:38.251,0:10:43.292 In the end, half of the students [br]went on to another music program 0:10:43.292,0:10:45.947 in a boarding school in Bangkok 0:10:45.947,0:10:48.651 and half of them came to Chiang Mai. 0:10:49.051,0:10:51.164 We founded Montfort School here, 0:10:51.164,0:10:54.476 which was already active [br]with their own string orchestra. 0:10:54.476,0:10:57.002 And our students [br]from the music talent program 0:10:57.002,0:11:00.841 have made new friendships [br]in their new home in Chiang Mai. 0:11:00.841,0:11:05.282 So at least we have [br]a happy ending with the story. 0:11:05.282,0:11:07.601 And here they are! 0:11:07.601,0:11:11.048 (Applause) 0:11:17.484,0:11:22.151 This is the combined orchestra of students[br]from Silpakorn summer music school, 0:11:22.151,0:11:26.601 the former music talent program students 0:11:26.601,0:11:29.484 and the Montfort string orchestra. 0:11:29.484,0:11:33.361 The students come from many, many [br]provinces in Thailand: 0:11:33.361,0:11:37.204 from Nan, Chiang Mai, Mae Sot, Bangkok. 0:11:37.204,0:11:42.076 So we'll play Canon in D [br]by Johann Pachelbel. 0:11:52.353,0:12:00.122 (Music) 0:16:13.575,0:16:27.464 (Applause and cheering) 0:16:39.657,0:16:40.996 Thank you very much. 0:16:40.996,0:16:45.179 I have never regretted coming home [br]and following my musical career. 0:16:45.179,0:16:49.260 Here I have a chance [br]to create something very special. 0:16:49.260,0:16:53.807 And the most enjoyable time for me is to [br]make music with these young musicians. 0:16:53.807,0:16:57.497 Thank you. Thank you very much.[br](Applause)