The Thai Youth Orchestra (TYO) has taken home the outstanding prize from the 11th Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival 2017 in Austria after playing musical pieces which include the late King's compositions.
TYO, an orchestra comprising 65 Thai youth members, won the prize for outstanding symphony orchestra after playing four songs including Klai Roong (Near Dawn) and Saeng Duean (Magic Beam), both composed by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, at the Musikverein, a concert hall in Vienna on Saturday.
They also performed Coriolan Overture by Ludwig van Beethoven and Tri-Sattawat by Narong Prangcharoen, according to Pimravee Watthanavarangkul, director-general of the Department of Cultural Promotion.
The musical competition was divided into several categories including choir, orchestra and special performance group. Contenders came from various countries, including the Philippines, China, Taiwan, the United States, Spain and Austria.
In the category of symphony orchestra TYO also shared the prize with the US and Spain.
An official awards ceremony will be held at Vienna's Town Hall today. TYO has also rehearsed the late King's compositions to perform at the awards ceremony.
Ms Pimravee also expressed her excitement at the band's success, saying that it was founded some three decades ago under the Patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana.
This year was the first time the band was sponsored by the Thai government, represented by the department and the Ministry of Culture.
Ms Pimravee said the latest victory proved Thai teenagers performed on a par with international standards, adding the department will encourage the band to gather more experience from other musical competitions.
Akarawat Srinarong, who conducted the band during the competition, said the band members performed whole-heartedly.
In 1964, the late King also visited the Musikverein to instruct a conductor of a Vienna orchestra, which performed his compositions at that time, he said.