Renowned musician Prasit Thavorn dies

Respected teacher, played for royalty National artist Prasit Thavorn, a highly respected teacher of Thai music, passed away on Friday. He was 82. Remembered as the best ranad ek (xylophone) player of his time, Prasit acquired his skill at a very young age. He was the last student of a great maestro, Luang Pradit Pairoh (1881-1954). Prasit's death is a great loss to Thai music circles. A native of Ayutthaya, Prasit was one of the very first teachers who joined and helped shape the College of Dramatic Arts under the Fine Arts Department. His strenuous effort in maintaining the standard of classical Thai music was unquestionable. He took great pride in introducing the orchestral style to Thai music, known as maha duriyang, which was inspired by his late teacher Luang Pradit Pairoh. The first maha duriyang performance, involving about 200 classical musicians, took place in 1972 in a ceremony to honour HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn on the occasion of being bestowed the royal title. Another performance was given in 1977 on the occasion that HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was granted the royal title. (next page)

Teacher! You can never die from my heart