The National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (NTSO) International Youth Orchestra Camp traveled to Thailand to stage the Taiwan-Thailand Exchange Concert at the Taiwan Association of Thailand and Silpakorn University on Aug. 25 and 26. This marked NTSO’s return to Thailand after four-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The concerts were conducted by award-winning Taiwanese conductor Brian Liao (廖元宏), who led the orchestra in performing Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia Overture” and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor. The performances also featured cellist Cheng Nan-chen (陳南呈) in Dvořák’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor. The program included popular Taiwanese and Thai folk songs from the 1970s.
The concerts featured 11 students from Silpakorn University and Mahidol University, led by oboist Damrih Banawitayaki. Founded in 1933 in Bangkok, Silpakorn University became Thailand’s first public arts university in 1943. Mahidol University, established in 1890, is the country’s oldest and one of its most renowned universities.