Concert 1st of June

"There's a raw energy that comes from these orchestras emerging from some of the big city slums that can't be matched even by professional musicians" These were comments made about the first slum orchestras emerging out of the slums in Caracas in Venezuela.

Bangkok might not be the first city to have a classical orchestra emerging from its poor community but for this youth orchestra it is the first real concert they will be playing outside their local community in Klong Toey.

Immanuel music school started 15 years ago as a mean to encourage and stimulate children in the local community surrounding Immanuel Lutheran Church. Some of the youths in the orchestra started playing the Violin in the small HOP community centre under the Highway when they were three years old.

The regular conductor of the orchestra, Varin Artvilai, was the first students of Immanuel music school. He has now graduated from Mahidol University and is teaching and conducting the community orchestra on volunteer basis while working as a professional violinist in Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.

In addition to the orchestra’s regular conductor, the renowned conductor Jonathan Mann, will be conducting for the first time in Asia a composition made by Stephen Maniam. Stephen is a composer, music teacher and double bassist who has helped out teaching in Immanuel Music School as a volunteer teachers since new year.

If you attend the concert at the Kukrit Institute on Sunday at 19.00 you will experience that the raw energy and musical joy that often characterizes the orchestras of El Sistema, can also spring out of a local community in Bangkok

There will be shuttle transport from MRT Lumpini Station (exit 2 Sathorn Road) before and after the concert. 
For any questions please contact Dag Johannessen Mobile +66 81 812 1779. or Chanda Saiyotha (Thai language) mobile +66 851 105805 
You can also read more about the concert and preparations on our Facebook arrangement page in English: www.facebook.com/events/284823815029411  
and in Thai: www.facebook.com/events/739318182757112

Welcome to Good Friday Meditation

Immanuel Chamber Orchestra:

Good Friday Meditation

Time: Friday 18^th April 2014 at 18.00

Place: Immanuel Lutheran Church 1869-1875 Soi Uthaifarm, Rama 4 road, Klong Toey.

(Soi Uthaifarm is walking distance from TVChannel 3, just across the Rama 4 Road, between TOT and a Seven Eleven shop. Walk into the soi about 100 meters and you will find Immanuel Lutheran Church. Parking spaces very limited outside the church, but you can park for example at Tesco Lotus Rama 4)

Program:

J.S Bach:             Air

S.F Adams:         Nearer, My God, to Thee

J.S Bach:             O Haupt von Blut und Wunden

T. Albinoni:          Adagio in SOL min.

D. Foster:            The Prayer

F. Chopin:            Nocturne in E-Minor for Piano (Op.72 no.1)

J.S Bach              Concerto for two violins in D Minor, second movement

Immanuel Chamber Orchestra consists of 9 professional and amateur musicians connected to Immanuel Lutheran Church’s Music School and string Orchestra.

Good Friday Meditation is an old European tradition  in remembrance of Jesus’ passion on the Cross and several great classical works have been written for this occasion. It is a yearly tradition in Immanuel Lutheran Church in Bangkok.

For Questions please contact: 0818121779 (Rev. Dag Johannessen)

Composer, double bassist and music teacher in Immanuel Music School!

 One day our pastor in Immanuel Church, Chanda Saiyota, came and told me he had been contacted by a person who wanted to come and help teaching in Immanuel Music School. That was good news, but I didn't believe it could be true what he told me, that the volunteer teacher was a musician and played double bass.

 But here at these pictures you can see, it was true. Even better than I could imaging, the man, whose name is Stephan Maniam, is also a composer and a music teacher. He has been cycling on his bike around the world for more than two years, and now he felt God wanted him to stay in Bangkok for a while. He is also helping out in two other organisations, but he comes to Immanuel Church three afternoons/evening a week. On the picture above you can see Kru Steve (as the children call him) teaching music theory and how the students can make their own songs and arrangements. He is also playing and helping out in our string orchestra and our small chamber group as you see on the picture below.

Now is also the opportunity to learn to play double bass in Immanuel Music School. During my 15 years here in Thailand this is the first time we have someone available who can teach how to play this instrument. In Immanuel Music School we don't have our own double bass yet, because it is very expensive to buy, but I am very happy we got the opportunity to rent an instrument for a half year.

Wow, Man had been learning to play double bass for only one lesson, and was then able to play double bass in the worship band the coming Sunday!

Facts and pictures of activities in Immanuel Music School during the year 2013

Immanuel Music School has had 108 students during 2013. 39 of the children have been learning violin and piano through Immanuel Day Nursery (kindergarten). For the older students coming to lessons after school in the afternoons and evenings, 21 of them come from the area close to Home of Praise and 48 students got their first music lessons in Immanuel Church. 19 of the students learning music after school started to play violin in Immanuel Day Nursery.

Many of the 108 students in Immanuel Music School have been very eager to come to lessons, orchestra rehearsals and helping out teaching their friends and younger children:

Immanuel Day Nursery Orchestra

16 of the students have come between 92-201 times during 2013 (2-4 times a week).

29 of the students have come between 37-86 times during 2013 (1-2 times a week).

29 of the students have come between 20-33 times during 2013.

23 of the students have come between 10-19 times (too little to make much progress)

The ones coming to lessons less than 10 times (around 30 students) are not counted as members.

Solveig and violin students at HOP

Many of the students in Immanuel Music School seems to feel like home when they come to Immanuel Church or Home of Praise so they also join other activities there like English, computer and art lessons, BB (Boys brigade), camps and Sunday school. 23 of the students in Immanuel Music School are baptised.

Drums donated by Bangkok Patana School

The age of the students in Immanuel Music School range from 3-21 years old. At the end of 2013, 8 were grownups/students, 7 were High School students, 20 were Secondary School students, 42 were Primary School students and 31 were kindergarten students.

Music lesson in kindergarten

Immanuel Music School offer individual lessons in violin, viola, cello, guitar and piano. The students can also join several ensembles depending of their age and level of playing. We have Immanuel Chamber orchestra (8 musicians), Immanuel String Orchestra (20 musicians), Immanuel Junior Orchestra (10 musicians), Immanuel Suzuki Orchestra 13 musicians), Home of Praise Junior Orchestra (8 musicians), Home of Praise Suzuki Orchestra (7 musicians), Immanuel Day Nursery Orchestra (15 musicians) and Immauel band. In addition to this, the Day Nursery children 3-6 years old also get classroom lessons containing singing, sol-fa, music theory and fine motoric skills preparing the children to play an instrument. (The children only receiving these lessons and not yet playing an instrument are not included in the 108 members of the Music School.)

Immanuel International Choir

Thai Music in Home of Praise

As projects part of the year 2013, we also have had Immanuel International Choir with performances during Easter and Christmas time, Home of Praise Children Choir, Home of Praise Thai Music Course four days during summer holiday and Thai dance at special occasions.

Reehpaw Saenthawidet (Fiw)

Immanuel Music School has had one scholarship student during 2013, Reehpaw Saenthawidet (Fiw), learning, living and working in Immanuel/Home of Praise. He gets 1-2 piano lessons a week, joins different orchestras, choir and band, learns Thai Music once a week at LST (Luther Seminary of Thailand) and gets a little bit of money so he can live here in Bangkok. In return, he helps to teach piano and cello in the Music School and plays/accompanies the piano in Immanuel Church, at LST and in Day nursery. Beside the work and music studies, he also is about to complete his high school through the non-formal Education Department. Fiw comes from a small Lahu village in Chiang Rai. His family is very poor. Fiw really wanted to learn to play piano, but he did not have any possibility to do so before he came to us.

Varin Artvilai (Ton)

Solveig Meling Johannessen is the leader of Immanuel Music School. She is the one teaching most of the individual lessons and small groups. She also organizes and takes care of the economy.

Varin Artvilai (Ton) is the conductor of Immanuel String Orchestra and he teaches individual lessons for the violinists in the orchestra about two hours per week. Ton was earlier a student in Immanuel Music School, but is now last year student at Mahidol University (Bachelor performing violin).

Dag Johannessen is the choir conductor and orchestra conductor for special occasions. Dag is also working to establish local funding for the running of the music school.

Kiattisak Boonman (Man)

Kiattisak Boonman (Man) is a youth worker at the community centre Home of Praise. He teaches guitar  and other band-instruments and was leading the Home of Praise Children Choir before Christmas.

Once a week until April we had a Korean volunteer violin teacher named Jiui Hong (Kru Lin). Ragnhild Danbolt Øygard taught for 4 weeks in October as part of her study internship and Asiratsit Wilalai (Pae) held a 4 days course in Thai music at Home of Praise in April 2013.

Even more important is the peer to peer teaching. Several of the students in Immanuel Music school help out by teaching friends and younger students.

String festival at Bangkok Patana School

For several years Immanuel Music School has cooperated with international schools in Bangkok, especially Bangkok Patana School which has also donated several instruments to the Immanuel Music School. In 2013 Immanuel Music School attended 2 orchestra-Festivals together with international School Orchestras, one at International School of Bangkok (ISB) and one at Bangkok Patana School.

Immanuel Chamber Orchestra

Immanuel Music School has arranged four concerts during the year 2013 in addition to participation in Sunday Services at Church, performances for groups visiting and other events. In April the orchestra had a rehearsal camp and performed at the Norwegian Seaman’s church in Pattaya.


Here are more pictures of activities in Immanuel Music School 2013:

To save money on the camp we made all the food by our selves 

Camp: Orchestra rehearsal

Playing at the Norwegian Seaman's Church in Pattaya

Music theory lesson at camp

Happy kindergarten child

Solveig teaching in kindergarten

Kru Lin teaching in Immanuel Church

Practising choir songs

Violins ready for kindergarten performance

Immanuel Suzuki group

Four Immanuel students at Bangkok Patana School String Festival

Immanuel players together with the conductor at ISB String Festival

After  the Summer Consert in Soi 50

Home of Praise Orchestra performing at the big Christmas Celebration in their neighborhood 

Christmas Concert in Soi 50

Christmas Celebration 15th of December

Ton's Junior Recital at Mahidol

Piano performance at our concert 2nd November in Immanuel

Good Friday music meditation

Ragnhild Danbolt Øygard teaching at HOP

From Concert 2nd November