After a hiatus from international touring due to the impact of the pandemic, the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra (ESO) has made a triumphant return. On Saturday, 18th May at the Thailand Cultural Centre in Bangkok, the orchestra performed its first concert abroad in several years. This exclusive event reached its maximum capacity of 1600 seats, as the orchestra shared some of the world’s most beautiful music with distinguished guests.
“The orchestra has performed more than 80 concerts in 12 countries and a total of 36 cities across Asia, Europe, America and Australia,” said the Executive Director, Ms. Demie Chung. “This is the first time the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra plays in Thailand. It gives us great honour to become the cultural ambassador, enriching the multicultural society by performing a concert with folk songs from Taiwan, Thailand, and other countries around the world. Furthermore, we invited Thai singer and actress Gam Wichayanee Pearklin, regarded as the ‘Powerful Diva’ by the media, to perform and set the stage for a breathtaking performance that resonated with the audience.”
The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra specially invited American conductor Yisrael Getzov as the guest conductor for the event. The programme started with the overture “Russlan and Ludmilla”, followed by the “Morning Mood” from Peer Gynt Suite No.1 and “The World Folk Songs”, which comprised four songs: “Loving The Year Round” from Taiwan, “Kamen Sai Yok” from Thailand, “Those Were the Days” from Russia, and “Rasa Sayang & Bengawan Solo” from Malaysia. Other music performed in the first half of the concert included “España Cañí” by Marquina, “Waves of the Danube” by Ivanovici, “Swedish Rhapsody No. 1 Midsommarvaka” by Alfven, the French chanson “Mon Coeur est un Violin”, and ending with “Danse Bacchanale From Samson et Dalila” by Saint-Saëns.
The second half began with the “Light Cavalry Overture” by Suppé. Highlights of the programme were the five popular songs sung by the Thai star vocalist Gam Wichayanee Pearklin: “Love Destiny” and “If You Love Someone” from the TV show Love Destiny, two English songs “I Will Always Love You”, “Que Sera, Sera” and the Chinese song “The Moon Represents My Heart”. The concert then concluded with the grandiose finale, the “1812 Overture”.
The orchestra played two encore pieces, the “Royal Guard March” composed by King Rama IX of Thailand, and the folk song “Ye Lai Xiang” famously covered by the legendary Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng. At the end of the programme, the selected music evoked nostalgic feelings among the audience, leaving them lingering long after the concert.
Founded and supervised by the Chang Yung-Fa Foundation, the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra is exceptional in being the only professional orchestra in Taiwan operated by the private sector. Active for more than 20 years, the orchestra has received much affirmation worldwide. This very first concert in Thailand garnered overwhelming interest and support from honoured guests and VIPs in Thailand and was fully booked. Thus, the Chang Yung-Fa Foundation noted that similar concert events will be arranged for the orchestra to play globally in the future.
