A TURNING POINT OR A CUL-DE-SAC?

A TURNING POINT OR A CUL-DE-SAC?

Chetana Nagavajara

The SSMS final concert at Mahisorn Hall on April 10, 2015, was an unqualified success. 20 years ago it would have been inconceivable that a Thai youth orchestra could tackle such a demanding programme. We owed it to the teachers of these young instrumentalists, who had imparted the necessary basics to their pupils so that they could play a symphonic repertoire of such sophistication. Of course, certain sections of the orchestra did benefit from the leadership of professional musicians, both Thai and foreign. Two guest tutors from Europe made the cello and viola sections sound very distinguished. The woodwind and brass sections could rely on themselves, and when the principal clarinet player could enter into that exquisite dialogue with the principal cellist, a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, in the Third Movement of the Massanet Suite No.7, I realized that we were entering a new era, unknown to my generation. The orchestral playing we heard today was superior to most orchestral concerts hitherto given in this country.

The talents are there, but where can we find a conductor of the calibre of Hikotaro Yazaki with his professionalism and, above all, selfless dedication? After the concert tonight, the youngsters would go their own different ways and will most probably assemble again 12 months from now. Silpakorn is a small institution with meagre resources, both human and material. That it has been able to seek support from various quarters to organize the Summer School at all is difficult enough. What it has achieved in a decade of SSMS is already beyond its own expectations, and it is in no position to provide continuity between 2 summer schools.

I can’t help thinking of Acharn Saisuree Chutikul, former Secretary-General of the Thailand National Youth Commission, who called into being the Thai Natiional Youth Orchestra some 30 years ago, out of which most of our professional musicians grew up. We sorely need somebody like her to enliven the classical music circle in Thailand.Am I confused myself? Are we experiencing a turning point in musical terms, while in terms of management we are caught in a cul-de-sac?