Asia forges solidarity in music

IT WAS A powerful show of musical solidarity as 31 musicians from the 10 Southeast Asian nations and Japan presented a rousing “One Asia Joint Concert” recently at Singapore’s Esplanade Theatre.
The theme was “Tradition and Innovation” for the One Asia Joint Concert, a culture project launched in 2013 to commemorate 40 years of Asean-Japan friendship. Since the inaugural event at Angkor Wat in Cambodia there have been concerts in Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.
The Singapore show on December 7 was the first to include musicians from all Asean member-countries thanks to the presence of the Philippines and Singapore.
The One Asia Concerts are perhaps the most ambitious musical endeavour ever undertaken in Asia, the participating musicians of diverse backgrounds spending four years together sharing cultures and traditions as they meld into a single and unique orchestra.
At the core of the project is the Aun J Classic Orchestra of eight critically acclaimed Japanese players of traditional instruments. Over the past four years its members split into smaller groups and travelled around Southeast Asia to learn about local instruments and lay the groundwork for each concert.
Aun J musical director Ryohei Inoue, his twin brother Kohei and Hide Saito worked in Thailand with two members of the fusion group Boy Thai Band – ranad ek player Paron Yuenyong and poeng mang khok specialist Arnon Suttjaridjun. Both have performed with Aun J at international festivals in Japan and Thailand.

The 31 musicians assembled for the first time at the YMCA Singapore on December 3 for a rehearsal that began with an 89-second silence in tribute to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, revered among many other attributes for his own gift as a musician and composer.
Five days of gruelling practice followed, each player setting out from his hotel in the morning and returning late in the evening, exhausted but happy and eagerly awaiting the biggest showcase of Asian instruments to date.
The 1,600 seats of the concert hall at the Esplanade were filled on the evening of the performance. The concert opened with a remarkable performance by the Aun J Orchestra, followed by musicians of host Singapore presenting their own compositions and collaborating with the Japanese.
The highlight of the evening was the “Asean Medley”, with musicians from each country performing their own traditional music and then in harmony with Aun J members, as if giving the audience a taste of local cuisine paired with fine vintage wine.
The Thai contingent selected the popular tune “Kang Kao Gin Gluay”, which began with Arnon’s rousing performance on the seven-drum poeng mang khok. Next came a breathtaking display on the ranad ek by Paron.
Then Shin Ichikawa on the koto and Hideki Onoue on the shamisen joined in, in succession, creating a unique interpretation of this well-known air. They concluded with the “Glong Yao” – the long drum song – with all the musicians singing and clapping amid cheers from an enthusiastic audience.
The second part of the show represented a true culmination of four years of effort. All 31 musicians pooled their talents as a single orchestra, managing both precision and elegance. It felt like a signal to the world that a new force in music is emerging from the East as old traditions meet new inspirations to create “music without frontiers”.