Held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.Tuesday in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building, the Music of Thailand concert kicked off the 2026 World Music Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n The concert celebrated Songkran, Thailand\u2019s traditional New Year\u2019s festival. In the lobby outside the concert hall Thai tea, water and Thai food were available for people to sample.<\/span><\/p>\n The ensemble performed a program of Thai classical and folk music, using rhythms, unique instruments and centuries-old traditions. The concert featured multiple ensembles, each highlighting a different style of Thai music and regional influence.<\/span><\/p>\n The program opened with pieces such as \u201c\u0e40\u0e02\u0e21\u0e23\u0e44\u0e17\u0e23\u0e42\u0e22\u0e04 (Kamen Sai Yok)\u201d and \u201c\u0e04\u0e49\u0e32\u0e07\u0e04\u0e32\u0e27\u0e01\u0e34\u0e19\u0e01\u0e25\u0e49\u0e27\u0e22 (Kung Kow Kin Klauy),\u201d performed by a combination of classical guitar and the khlui, a traditional Thai bamboo flute.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A highlight of the evening was \u201c\u0e04\u0e25\u0e37\u0e48\u0e19\u0e01\u0e23\u0e30\u0e17\u0e1a\u0e1d\u0e31\u0e48\u0e07 (Klaun Kratob Fung),\u201d performed by the Mahori ensemble. Directed by Patcharita Pankaew, the piece featured instruments such as the khim (hammered dulcimer), jakhae (zither) and saw duang and saw u (Thai bowed string instruments).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The concert continued with \u201c\u0e21\u0e39\u0e25\u0e48\u0e07 (Mulung),\u201d performed by the Piphat Mai Naum ensemble, a traditional Thai orchestra centered around percussion and wind instruments. Led by Ethan Cowburn and Silas Ashby, the group featured instruments such as the ranat ek (xylophone), pi nai (reed oboe) and khawng wong yai (gong circle), producing bold, ceremonial sounds often associated with royal and religious events.<\/span><\/p>\n Another standout performance was \u201c\u0e41\u0e02\u0e01\u0e21\u0e2d\u0e0d\u0e1a\u0e32\u0e07\u0e02\u0e38\u0e19\u0e1e\u0e23\u0e2b\u0e21 (Khae-Mon-Bang-Khun-Prom),\u201d played by the Kruang Sai Pi Mon ensemble. Led by Kitti Somsuk and Anuthep Meelertsom, this piece blended Mon cultural influences with Thai instrumentation, including the pi mon and jakhae, creating a rich and resonant musical experience.<\/span><\/p>\n The program also featured \u201c\u0e44\u0e2b\u0e27\u0e49\u0e04\u0e23\u0e39\u0e21\u0e27\u0e22 (Wai Khru Muay),\u201d a traditional piece associated with Muay Thai rituals, performed by a Pi Muay ensemble. The rhythmic drumming and piercing melodies of the pi chawa captured the ceremonial energy of pre-fight traditions.<\/span><\/p>\n Closing the concert was the lively \u201c\u0e41\u0e21\u0e07\u0e20\u0e39\u0e48\u0e15\u0e2d\u0e21\u0e14\u0e2d\u0e01 (Mang Pu Tom Dok)\u201d by the Ponglang ensemble, which highlighted northeastern Thai folk music. Instruments such as the ponglang (wooden xylophone), khaen (mouth organ) and wot (pan flute) created an upbeat, festive atmosphere that left the audience energized. The audience was brought in to dance with students in the Thai language program.<\/span><\/p>\n Kanjana Thepboriruk, an associate professor of Thai language at NIU, said the concert reflected deeper cultural connections beyond the music itself, including traditional attire worn by performers.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo the clothing, we tried as best as we can to feature all four regions of Thailand,\u201d Thepboriruk said. \u201cBut it\u2019s limited by what we have in inventory. And also we tried to pick something that they would feel comfortable in, they would feel beautiful in, and also allows movement for the dance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Thepboriruk also emphasized the uniqueness of NIU\u2019s Thai program and its national significance.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe whole country, there are only eight universities that teach Thai language, and NIU is one of them,\u201d Thepboriruk said. \u201cThe whole country only has three Thai ensembles, and we are one of them\u2026 so we are a really special place for the field of Thai studies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Chamni Sripraram, an adjunct professor at NIU and director of the Thai Music Ensemble, played a central role in the performance both as a musician and educator. Known by his students as Ajarn Chamni, he has dedicated decades to teaching and promoting Thai music in the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n The ensemble included a mix of students, faculty and guest performers, reflecting both the educational and cultural mission of the program. Through their performances, they not only entertained but also preserved and shared the traditions of Thai music with a diverse audience in DeKalb.<\/span><\/p>\n The events continue with the Music of Mexico from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday in the Concert Hall, World Music Fusion from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Friday in the Recital Hall and it ends with the Global Traditions & Cultural Crossroads from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday in the Concert Hall.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source northernstar.info \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.Tuesday in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building, the Music of Thailand concert kicked off the 2026 World Music Festival. The concert celebrated Songkran, Thailand\u2019s traditional New Year\u2019s festival. In the lobby outside the concert hall Thai tea, water and Thai food were available for people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2365956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2365955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/A-Thai-New-Year-told-through-music-\u2013-Northern-Star.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2365955"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2365957,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365955\/revisions\/2365957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2365956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2365955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2365955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2365955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}