Of journeys and music for self and society: Tasana Nagavajara at TEDxChiangMai

Having learned to play the Saw Duang, a Thai classical instrument, Tasana Nagavajara started playing violin at the age of 9. After a full scholarship at the International Menuhin Music Academy (IMMA) in Switzerland and musical experiences all over the globe, Tasana Nagavajara became a founding member of the Faculty of Music at Silpakorn University in Thailand and has served as Deputy Dean and Director of the Silpakorn Summer Music School (SSMS) since 2005.

(Sound of violin)

(Applause)

Thank you.

I was born in a musical family.

Many of my forefathers had dreamt
of becoming musicians.

Most of them got caught up

in a mainstream profession
or academic career.

And actually, they did very well.

But I myself, I was determined, however,

to become the musician.

And now I'm a full-time
professional musician.

My grandfather was an educator

and became the headmaster of many
leading high-schools in Bangkok.

He was also the manager of a well-known

Thai traditional music ensemble.

I think -- I mean he cannot really play --

I think he enjoyed being close to the music
and to the musicians.

When my aunt returned home
from her study in the West,

she brought back lots of Western
music recordings to my house,

which had a great effect
on my father and my uncle,

who grew up with
this LP vinyl collection,

which included Rimsky Korsakov’s
symphonic poem Scheherazade

which I have just played for you.

I, myself, also grew up with my father's
huge LP collection,

mainly Western classical music.

When I was about 5 years old,

I was able to memorize

many many symphonies of Beethoven

and conducted along with them --

I mean conducting is
not as difficult as this.

And the sound of this kind of music,

Western classical music
and the orchestra,

made a really deep impression on me.

I started music lessons
for the first time on Saw Duang,

which is a Thai traditional instrument
with two strings.

And I began to realise that
I had some talent in music.

A year later I took up
lessons on the violin.

And with the basic for the Thai fiddle,

I could somehow transfer the skills,

and adapt to the violin,

and add to my long experience

of listening to
classical music since birth.

I think I had a good start.

The turning point for me was
when the great violinist, Alberto Lysy,

visited Thailand in 1988.

I just played for him and
that brief moment changed my life.

Alberto Lysy suddenly
gave me an opportunity

to go and study in Switzerland

at one of the most prestigious
music institutions in Europe,

the International
Menuhin Music Academy.

This is a very rare chance
to get into such a famous place.

I went on to study music
in Austria and America.

I spent almost 11 years

studying and playing abroad
before returning home to Thailand.

Many of my friends asked me,

Why do I want to come back to Thailand?

Do I have any job or
any opportunity to play a concert?

And my answer is always the same.

I wanted to come back.
I wanted to create something special.

I think I was convinced
that I could be useful

to the music scene in Thailand

especially to young Thai musicians.

When I came back in 2000 --
the year 2000 I came back,

I started teaching right away.

Because in those days,

it's quite impossible to make a living
just playing concerts.

And despite my additional workload

as concert master of
the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra

for 10 years,

and I got a full-time teaching position

at Silpakorn University

in their brand-new Faculty of Music.

I really enjoy teaching as much as playing.

To see new faces
entering our school every year

and work closely with them for 4 years,

is quite a challenge.

In 2005, we began to expand

the musical training
beyond the confines of our university.

We started the Silpakorn
Summer Music School,

which I'll refer to as the SSMS.

SSMS had around 20 students playing
chamber music in small groups

in the first few years,

with more and more students
joining and participating.

Today it has become a big --

a real symphony orchestra
counted with over 120 students.

We provide a unique opportunity
for students,

all eager to learn,
to come together and make music.

These students are --

most of them are inexperienced.

They vary from the very well-trained

to those who are not at all well-trained.

But during this special week,

we try our best to create

the most ideal environment

for them to learn
and to work together.

During the week, we work really hard

and also have a great time together.

Last year, these students, Thai students,

really played the symphonic poem by
Rimsky Korsakov, Scheherazade, quite well.

And I will show you the example
of the previous year on Ravel's Boléro.

(Music)

(Applause)

16 years ago, no one
could never ever have dreamt

of something like this
happening in Thailand.

It's one of our most successful projects

and has a great impact
on Thai musical society.

The other story, our university --

another project of our university
is the so-called

"music talent program".

At that time in 2007,

we had a kind of a political connection
with a small province

near Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai
called Payao.

This is a very beautiful province,
with lakes. It's really nice.

At that time, the governor of Payao

had the idea of turning the town into

a Vienna of the East,

as the music centre.

This became a big project

and we even brought the orchestra
from Bangkok to perform there.

I still remember driving
into the little town of Payao

and seeing a big billboard
of myself holding a violin.

We also started
the "music talent program"

in cooperation with a boarding school,

located in the mountains nearby;

a very, very nice boarding school.

And we were hoping that the whole thing

would turn Payao into
the mountain musical paradise,

like Aspen, Colorado,

or Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland.

And from the beginning,

this music talent program was a big hit.

It was wide-reported in the press.

It was taking the full page
in the Bangkok Biz News.

It was very well-known at that time.

In those days, I flew up north
once a month to Chiang Rai,

rented a car, drove
a hundred kilometers to teach,

stayed overnight,
drove back to Chiang Rai,

and flew back to Bangkok to work.

And actually it was fun for me.

It was like a dream.

It was a dream of
making a dream come true.

You may have guessed
the final outcome.

Vienna of the East
didn't last for very long.

It didn't work at all.

When the governor
was transferred somewhere else,

the political wind changed,

the whole project was gone.

Just like that. Just gone.

At that time we had around
20 high school students

in our music talent program.

They were sadly abandoned.

Everything was over.

So, what did we do?

We tried our best to take care
of their future education,

cause we felt responsible
for these students' lives.

In the end, half of the students
went on to another music program

in a boarding school in Bangkok

and half of them came to Chiang Mai.

We founded Montfort School here,

which was already active
with their own string orchestra.

And our students
from the music talent program

have made new friendships
in their new home in Chiang Mai.

So at least we have
a happy ending with the story.

And here they are!

(Applause)

This is the combined orchestra of students
from Silpakorn summer music school,

the former music talent program students

and the Montfort string orchestra.

The students come from many, many
provinces in Thailand:

from Nan, Chiang Mai, Mae Sot, Bangkok.

So we'll play Canon in D
by Johann Pachelbel.

(Music)

(Applause and cheering)

Thank you very much.

I have never regretted coming home
and following my musical career.

Here I have a chance
to create something very special.

And the most enjoyable time for me is to
make music with these young musicians.

Thank you. Thank you very much.
(Applause)