THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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In celebration of a beloved Monarch

In celebration of a beloved Monarch

Opera Siam, working in collaboration with the Culture Ministry’s Department of Cultural Promotion, has assembled a team of musical greats for an upcoming concert that pays tribute to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

“48 Forever” will be the first symphonic rendition of His Majesty’s complete songs. Among those who have agreed to participate in this performance are Khun Ploypailin Jensen, Pod ModernDog, jazz singer Athalie De Koning, American opera star Stacey Tappan, Arm Kornkan, Jonas Anderson, and popular classical band Jeeb as well as conductors Somtow Sucharitkul, Trisdee na Patalung, and Denny Euprasert. 
Both Siam Philharmonic and Siam Sinfonietta will participate as well as several choirs, for a total of more than 200 performers on stage. It will take around four hours to perform the entire oeuvre of His Majesty and there will be two performances, on May 13 and 14 starting at 4pm at the Main Hall of Thailand Cultural Centre with a one-hour dinner break.
The search for symphony orchestra versions of His Majesty’s music led Opera Siam’s artistic director Somtow and his research team to go through published records and the memories of veteran musicians. Most pathways led to the pioneering work of ML Usni Pramoj, who recently passed away. 
 “ML Usni created some of the most imaginative royal arrangements, full of interesting orchestral colour and fresh harmonies,” Somtow says. 
“In addition, we have found some delightful chamber arrangements by Trisdee, some full-scale versions for jazz trio and symphony orchestra by Denny Euprasert, and some charming jazzy versions by Athalie De Koning and the Jazziam ensemble.”  
Somtow’s own arrangement of “Falling Rain” was first performed for their Majesties in the 1970s when the Philadelphia Boys Choir toured Asia and has since been played in Carnegie Hall as well as the Konzerthaus in Berlin. 
There will be a wide and extensive variety of musical styles as the concert will feature almost every variation on the idea of classical music from jazz-influenced to symphony-pop to musical theatre to opera, from string quartet to full blown orchestra with a hundred-voice choir. 
“Our late King was a consummate tunesmith whose melodies are living things that will survive through the ages, as artists continue to interpret these songs and be inspired by them,” Somtow says
 Profits from the performances go to Ramathibodi Foundation for Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute.
For details and tickets, call (02) 231 5273 or visit www.BangkokOpera.com.
 

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