EKACHAI JEARAKUL was born in 1987, in Ubonratchathani Province. Ekachai Jearakul started his first classical guitar lessons at the age of 13 in the Yamaha Music School. His first guitar teacher was Thai musician Ajan Kiatipong. In 2003 he continued his studies at the Music College of Mahidol University, where he gained new experiences in performing techniques and also in international repertoires. He learned music from Thai recognised teachers such as Ajarn Worakarn Sangsomboon, Ajarn Nalim Komentrakan and Ajarn Suwit Klinsmith.

His artistic career in Thailand is recognised by the press in Bangkok and several countries, where he was acclaimed for his talent and performing style to play and to arrange special music for the classical guitar.

As an international artist Ekachai Jearakul gave concerts in China, Korea, Japan Russia, Greece, Italy, Germany and the USA. He also performed as soloist with the Dr Sax Chamber Orchestra in Italy, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Korea, and Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ekachai Jearakul is the winner of first prizes in more than 12 International Guitar Competitions, such as: in Berlin (2008), Singapore (2008), Russia (2007), Thailand (2003), Greece (2007), Ohio, USA (2007), Italy (2008), France (2006-2009), etc.

Ekachai Jearakul’s love and taste for the classical guitar was inspired by the music of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927-).

"H.M. The King of Thailand Suite" (1927)

• Falling Rain
• Friday Night Rag
• I never Dream
• Magic Beams
• Never Dawn
• Candlelight Blues
• OH I say

composed by H.M. King Shumibol Adulyadel

"Thai Traditional Music"

• Lao Suay Ruay arr. by Worakran Saengsomboon
• Ayuthaya Suite arr. by Richard Harvey
• Nok Kao Kamae arr. by Woratep Rattana-umpawan

INTERVAL

• "Un Sueno en la Floresta", by Agustin Barrios (1884-1944), Paraguay
• "3rd Movement from Sonata Op 61", by Joaquin Turina (1882-1949), Spain
• "Jongo", by Paulo Bellinati (b. 1950), Brasil

"H.M. The King of Thailand Suite"

• Love in Spring
• Love at Sundown
• Lullaby
• Never Mind the hungry Men’s Blue
• Dream Island
• HM Blues

For the first time the British audience will be delighted to listen to a concert of musical Revelations by a young and gifted Thai classical guitarist, and the audience will be impressed by an artistic personality performing traditional pieces from Thailand, in a unique combined repertoire with colourful pieces from Paraguay, Brazil and Spain.

LACCS and the Royal Thai Embassy in London are proud to introduce to the British audience Ekachai Jearakul, representing a new generation of Talented classical guitarists from South East Asia. The virtuosity of Ekachai Jearakul is recognised by the critics in Thailand, Europe and Asia.

A memorable occasion to remember and to commemorate, with traditional Thai music and "The Music of His Majesty the King of Thailand".

For the first time in London and in a live concert a young Thai classical guitarist dedicates his performance to honour and to praise the music of His Majesty The King of Thailand and to bring together Thailand millennium sounds with contemporary notes by European and Latin American composers. Undoubtedly, that tonight’s concert is a unique musical event in London, to be remembered as part of the history of classical guitar in United Kingdom and in Thailand too.

Music from Candlelight Blues-The Music of His Majesty The King of Thailand performed by Hucky Eichelmann

MUSIC CLIP - "Falling Rain"

MUSIC CLIP - "I Never Dream"

MUSIC CLIP - "Magic Beams"

MUSIC CLIP - "Love at Sundown"

MUSIC CLIP - "Candlelight Blues"

Music by Ekachai Jearakul

MUSIC CLIP - "Russian Song"

MUSIC CLIP - "Kase No Oka"

MUSIC CLIP - "Love Theme" by Ennio Morricone. From Cinema Paradiso and arranged by Ekachai Jearakul.

MUSIC CLIP - "Lao Suay Ruay"

MUSIC CLIP - "Concerto in D major" Antonio Vivaldi. Arranged by Capt. Prateep Suphanrojn, MA BA LRSM - Allegro -

Roberto McCausland-Dieppa is a Colombian Born pianist with exceptional talent. Praised by the New York Times for his brilliant keyboard mastery combined with an intense sensitivity.

McCausland-Dieppa holds a PhD in Liszt studies, with credits from the Eastman School of Music in USA. During his course of study, he received numerous awards, including The Alice B. Warden Prize, and the Beaux Arts Prize. Upon receiving the “Merril Lynch Prize” in both teaching and performance. McCausland-Dieppa concluded his Post graduated studies at Faculty of School of Fine Arts in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

As a soloist and collaborative pianist, he has performed with conductors such as Jamie Leon, Ottavio Grieffenstein and Eduardo Mata, amongst others.

He has toured extensively, including the United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan, India, United Kingdom, Australia, etc. His recent concert at Carnegie Hall in New York was a great artistic success.

Roberto McCausland is versatile pianist, playing classical, European and Latin music with his own arrangements. His repertoire include composers such as Liszt, Chopin, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, etc. He has released several compact discs, including, “Beethoven for Kids and Teens” and “Beethoven for Kids”. He is now preparing a a crossover album which include Latin Music of The 21st century.

Last year he received the Award Pro-Arte Patria for his performance of the music of Ferenc Liszt and Bela Bartok by the Hungarian Ministry of Culture. The Award ceremony took place at the Columbia University in New York and a later performance at the United Nations.

THE CONCERT AT THE PURCELL ROOM

Tonight’s concert is dedicated to celebrate the Republic of Colombia 200 Years of independence (1810-2010) and pianist Roberto McCausland, selected a especial repertoire by Colombian Caribbean composers.

Tonight’s Roberto McCausland will perform, his own arrangements rooted in the culture of the Colombian Caribbean, and the Antillean, lovely pieces with the rhythms of “Guaguanco”, “Cumbia”, “Ballenato”, or “Guajiras”, will delights the British audience at the South Bank. A unique concert of Latin music Perform by a classical pianist to honour Colombian 200 Years of Independence.

Some of his pieces Include” Joe Arroyo (b.1955), popular singer and composer from Baranquilla, “Sondeo-Mambo”, W. Manyoma (b.1951), “Cumbia”, popular Colombian dance, “La Piragua”, by Jose Barros, (b.1915), which is part of the national folklore, and Jorge Villamil (b.1929), “Espumas”.

By Ernesto Fruko, the U.K. Premier of “El Preso”, An original piano version, playing in style of “Guaracha/Salsa, a new sound modelled in New York in the 1970’s. In summary an original Programme of Latin and Colombian piano music, a cross-over repertoire most widely recognized and loved songs.

A SUMMARY PROGRAMME TO BE PERFORMED

• Ernesto Fruko Estrada: EL PRESO
• Arturo Cuellar (1961): LA PIRAGUA
• Jorge Villamil (b.1929): ESPUMAS
• Joe Arroyo (b.1955): SONDEO-MAMBO
• J.M. Estrada(b.1951): EL AVISO
• W. Manyoma (b.1951): CUMBIA
• Consuelo Velasquez (Mexico,1915-2005): BESAME MUCHO (Bolero)
• Antonio Carlos Jobim(1927-1994): INSENSATEZ YO SE QUE VOY TE AMAR

Syrian-German Violinist Ashraf Kateb was born in Aleppo/Syria 1969. He studied Violin in Conservatories of Aleppo, Moscow, Berlin and Cracow.

In 1979 he won the prize in Syrian National Competition for Children and 2nd Prize in Cracow International Festival for Children. He was theb Arab Nation's representative in the Philharmony of the nations, where he played for several years under Conducters such as Leonard Berstein, Sir Gorge Solti, Lord Yahudi Menuhin, Mistislav Rostropovitch, Gidon Kremer, Igor Oistrakh, Justus Franz, etc. Since 1998 he works on his project "Arabic music and the world", collection pieces of high rank written by Arab Composers, his ambition is to tour around the world introducing classical Arab music from the 20 and 21st century.

His first CD "Gestures"with the Syrian Pianist Gaswan Zerikly) was premiere in 2002 with a world success.

After a successful tour in the Middle and Far East countries and recently in USA, ASHRAF KATEB , accompany by the Lithuanian pianist RAMUNE NERIS, debut at the Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, is introducing for the first time in London a combine repertoire of Syrian/Arab classic of the 20th and 21st centuries, alongside master pieces from Europe and Latin America.

For this occasion also Ashraf Kateb will include two pieces by Frederic Chopin and Robert Schumann, to celebrate the Bicentennial of these two important European composers.

However the British audiences will enjoy the premier of Syrian/Arab music by composers of the 20th century. The music per example, by Dia Succari (1938-), "Sultane de Dama", "Au Palais du Tempes" and "Gesture" by Zayed Jabri (1975-), represents the rich musical legacy of Syria and also of the Middle Eastern countries.

The presentation per example of the pieces: " Fantasy on an Egyptian Folk-Tune" by Gamal Abdel Rahim (1924-1988), "Andalucianas" by Mustapha Aischa Rahmani (1944-2008), "Preludio e Moto Perpetuo " by Boghos Gelalian, (1927-), from Libano, and "Endearment", by Essam Aljowder (1962-), from Bahrain, are not well known Arab classical pieces in the western concert halls. But in the last years the international audience is more receptive to listen a multi-cultural repertoire. It is possible that in a near future the international audience will enjoy listen more flexible and diverse repertoires of classical music, by European, Arabs, Far Eastern, African, Asian and Latin American composers.

This is the new tendency of the contemporary classical music repertoire, gaining more enthusiasm and perfection by a new generation of musicians and general public. We can proudly say that in LACCS we are pioneer with the idea to introduce new classical repertoire by composers from Latin America and the rest of the world. Tonight concert is a confirmation of our motto: music is a useful tool to create a bridge of better cultural understanding amongst all nations.

A SUMMARY PROGRAMME TO BE PERFORMED

• Manuel de Falla (1876 -1946) Feuertanz
• Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Träumerei
• William Kroll (1901-1980) Banjo and Fiddle
• Dia Succari (1938-) Syria, Sultane de Damas* / Au Palais du Tempes
• Gamal Abdel Rahim (1924-1988) Egypt, Fantasia on an Egyption Folk-tune
• Zayed Jabri (1975- ) Syria, Gesture*
• Mustapha Aischa Rahmani (1944-2008) Morroco *Andalucianas (1,2,3)
• Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) - Pablo de Sarasate (1844 -1908) Nocturne Op. 9 Nr. 2
• Aram Chatschaturjan (1903 - 1978), Song-Poem (in Honor of Ashugs) (1929)
• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), Arabian Song from scheherazade
• Fritz Kreisler (1875 - 1962), La Gitana (a piece after an 18th century Arabo-Spanish Gypsy song)
• Boghos Gelalian (1927-) Lebanon, Preludio e Moto Perpetuo.
• Enrique Mario Francini (1916- 1978), Argentinian Tango
• Zequinha de Abreu (1880 ­ 1935), Tico Tico
• Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), Tango en La
• Essam Aljowder (1962-) Bahrain, Endearment

MUSIC BY ASHRAF KATEB, VIOLIN

MUSIC CLIP - "SULTANE DE DAMAS BY DIA SUCCARI (1938-)"

MUSIC CLIP - "AU PALAIS DE TEMPS BY DIA SUCCARI"

MUSIC CLIP - "GESTURE BY ZAYED JABRI (1975-)"

MUSIC CLIP - "MEDITATIONS BY AZIZ EL-SHAWAN (1916-1993)"

MUSIC CLIP - "DANCE CREPUSCULAIRE BY WALID AL HAJJAR"

MELODIANS STEEL ORCHESTRA UK

A Short History

A player in a steel orchestra performs on a pan, the world's youngest acoustic instrument, indeed the only brand new one created in the 20th century, It was born in TRINIDAD into a musical heritage derived from the cultures of its Amerindian, European, African and Indian peoples.

No-one knows the exact date of the pan's birth. In an Island where people were seeking ways of producing a unique, exciting sound, experiments were made with materials that were to hand. In the late 1930s music makers added the sound of steel in the form of biscuit tins and car hubs to the bamboo tamboo (tambours) in common use at the time. In 1945 a musician Spree Simon, realised that indentations in steel created different notes and that these incidental notes were most effective when steel was heated so "zinc became like biscuit flakes, then cooled rapidly with water.

"Necessity is the mother of the invention" and the Trinidadians were not slow to take advantages of the fuel containers abandoned by the American forces at the end of the Second World War. These oil drums were perfect material for shaping notes which process has become increasingly sophisticated.

The first pans were hung around the next. Now they are mounted on frames, They are still hand made by craftsmen called tuners. A full set of pans can produce the same range of notes as a traditional symphony orchestra.

NOTES ON MELODIANS

Formed in September 1987 by Terry Noel, the Award Winning Melodians Steel Orchestra, has provided opportunities for young people from varied social and racial backgrounds to develop musical skills, techniques and a wide repertoire that includes classical, modern, calypso, pop and jazz compositions.

The orchestra is well known internationally through links with the British Council Cultural Departments, around the world, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Over the years the orchestra have taken their distinctive sound to several countries including: Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malta, Turkey, France, Dubai, Russia, Morocco, Belgium, Ireland, Jersey, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, North Korea, Beirut, etc. They can truly say that they are the most travelled Steel Orchestra in the world.

MUSIC BY MELODIANS STEEL ORCHESTRA

MUSIC CLIP - "Humming Bird by Robert Thompson, arranger Richard Murphy"

MUSIC CLIP - "The Power of Love by Rough/Mende, arranger Tom Chatburn"

MUSIC CLIP - "Guitar Pan by Kitchener, arranger Matthew Atkinson"

MUSIC CLIP - "I Believe I Can Fly by R Kelly, arranger Robert London"

MUSIC CLIP - "Rasputin by Boney M, arranger Paul Dowle"