On December 9, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music hosted a group of 12 musicians and dancers from the Thai Music Division of the Fine Arts Department of Bangkok for an evening of traditional Thai music and masked dancing. Over 500 attendees joined us in Schoenberg Hall for the event, including special guests from eleven different foreign consulates in Los Angeles.
It proved a night to remember.
The Flower Dance from northern Thailand
The concert was preceded by workshops for students, faculty, and members of the community. Conducted by royal musicians and dancers from Thailand, these workshops featured dances and music from the four regions of Thailand. Thai perfromers were joined by musicians and dancers from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Bakersfield, and Arizona, as well as students from the music of Thailand ensemble classes at UCLA. The workshops and concert helped celebrate the 190th anniversary of Thailand-U.S. diplomatic relations
Organized by Supeena Insee Adler, adjunct associate professor of ethnomusicology, Khon: Thai Masked Dance and Music brought together an international community in Schoenberg Hall. The event was sponsored by The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Department of Ethnomusicology, the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the Royal Thai Consulate General, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Wat Thai Los Angeles, and many generous individual donors and volunteers, as well as Los Angeles area Thai restaurants.
