Facts and activities in Immanuel Music School during 2014

Immanuel Music School had 124 members during 2014. To be a member you have to come to rehearsals at least 10 times.

 50 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, 23 of them come from the area close to Home of Praise and 50 students got their lessons in Immanuel Church. 20 of the students learning music after school started to play violin in Immanuel Day Nursery. In addition to offer free music lessons to children and youths in the shabby and decaying areas surrounding Immanuel Church and Home of Praise community center, Immanuel Music School also wish to expend the work to other poor areas and churches in Bangkok and other parts of Thailand. During 2014 we have had 4 violin students from Ruampraporn Church and some students from Luther Seminary Thailand (coming from different parts of the country) joined the choir.

Immanuel Music School also has one full time scholarship student. Reehpaw Saenthawidet (Fiw) comes from a small Lahoo tribe village in Chiang Rai, and has been in Immanuel Music School for two years now to learn to play piano so he can be able to pass an audition to study music at a university. While staying here he has also learned to play violin, cello, several Thai instruments and different band instruments. Now he can help out by playing in weddings and worships and help with the teaching. Once a week he travels out to Samrong Church to teach a student there.

Many of the 124 students in Immanuel Music School have been very eager to come to lessons, orchestra rehearsals and helping out teaching their friends and younger children:

15 of the students have come between 90-178 times during 2014 (2-4 times a week).

34 of the students have come between 35-83 times during 2014 (1-2 times a week).

41 of the students have come between 20-34 times during 2014.

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

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. 30 of the members in Immanuel Music School in 2014 are baptized.

 

The age of the members of Immanuel Music School in 2014 range from 3 to 46, 7 were grownups (25 and older), most of them also working as leaders in the music school, 13 were students (19-24 years old), 3 were High School students, 18 were Secondary School students, 43 were Primary School students and 40 were kindergarten students.

Immanuel Music School offers individual lessons in violin, viola, cello, guitar and piano. The students can also join several orchestras, choirs and music theory lessons depending of their age and level of playing. 

This year Immanuel Music School has arranged two big concerts, one summer

concert and one Christmas concert, and several small performances for different groups
visiting including a short concert for the Norwegian ambassador and a couple of his staff. We have also this year joined two String festivals arranged by international schools here in Bangkok, one for high school students arranged by ISB, and one for Key Stage 3 children (age 12-14) arranged by BPS.
Immanuel Music School was also invited to play at BB (Boys Brigade)’s 20 years anniversary event and ISB’s winter concert. In May we performed at a concert at Munjai Café. The younger children performed at the graduation
ceremony in Immanuel Day nursery, and also at the Christmas celebrations both there, in Home of Praise and in Immanuel Church. During the year the orchestra, and sometimes only different small groups of the music school has contributed by playing in quite a few services, mostly in Immanuel Church, but also at LST and in the Norwegian Church in Pattaya. For the first time students in the music school have been responsible for making their own string arrangements for hymns, and Fiw has also made his first compositions for choir and string orchestra. 

New in 2014 is a beginning of cooperation between Immanuel Music School and Bangkok Opera Foundation. One result of this is an opportunity for two of our best students to be trainees at Siam Sinfonietta, Bangkok Opera Foundation’s well known and high quality youth orchestra. We have also received free tickets to symphony concerts and latest Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute”.

Leaders and teachers in Immanuel Music School 2014:

Varin Artvilai (Ton), 22 is the conductor of Immanuel String Orchestra and he also has lead sessions for the violinists in the

orchestra and some few individual lessons. Ton just finished a bachelor in performing violin at Mahidol University in April 2014 and the orchestra has developed so much last year under his leading. He started to play violin in Immanuel Music School at Home of Praise when he was a kid.

Solveig Meling Johannessen is the founder of Immanuel Music School together with her husband, Dag. She is still the one teaching most individual and small groups lessons, especially for the small kids, and she also organizes and takes care of the economy.

Dag Johannessen works more in the background. He likes to look at the big picture to find a way to develop and expand the music school and is working on searching ways to get local funding for the running of the music school.

Kiattisak Boonman (Man) is the youth worker at the community center Home of Praise. He teaches

guitar, and sometimes other band-instruments and Thai music. He also leads the Home of Praise Children Choir.

Stephen Maniam, composer, music teacher and double bassist from Scotland, was a volunteer in Immanuel Music School the first half year of 2014. He both gave lessons in double bass, music theory, arranging, composition and writing music using a computer. Especially our scholarship student Fiw learned very much from him, and Stephen was the person helping and encouraging the students begin to arrange hymns and making compositions. Stephen also helped playing double bass in the orchestra.

Jonathan Mann, famous conductor from Wales, has joined several

orchestra rehearsals during the year and also both the big concerts we have had in 2014. He is especially helping and encouraging Ton, our conductor, to develop his conductor skills, but in some occasions Jonathan also has been conducting himself. This happened at Immanuel Music School’s Asia premiere of Stephen Maniam’s Suite for strings at the summer concerts, and he was the conductor of the 5 combined choir and orchestra pieces for the Christmas concert. It was a very inspirational and encouraging experience, most of all for all the choir members who got the feeling of singing in a real, good choir for the first time.

Nathapon Po-Ngam (Pol), violinist and friend of Ton from Mahidol University, joined the orchestra camp in April as a leader, and also helped out playing violin, both solo and in the orchestra at our summer concert.

A couple of the students in Immanuel Music School have also helped teaching their friends and younger students. In 2014 especially Reehpaw Saenthawidet (Fiw), 20, and Sinsupa Pantawong (Fai), 19, has helped a lot. They both want to study music to be professional musicians.

Pranee Saiyotha has helped making concert programs, flowers and many other things regarding organizing events together with the women group in Immanuel Church. She has also been leading and Phonpiya Kaewsasen (Aom), 12, been responsible for the Thai dance performances of the children during 2014.

trained the children in Immanuel Music School to lead, behave well and sing in front of the congregation in Immanuel Church, and together with

Chanda Saiyotha (A. Ant), the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, has led the worship team and band during the year 2014. With very good support and encouragement through daily problems and big events from him, the Immanuel congregation leadership committee, Immanuel Women group and all people mentioned here, Immuel Music School has managed to develop to where we are today. Thanks to God who has blessed us, and given us strengths and his love every day.

 

Support, donations and economy:

Immanuel Music School has had expenses totally of 218,929 Bath in 2014:

Salaries, also including costs of apprentice and 5 external cello lessons: 82,403 Bath

Sheet music, including copies: 12,294 Bath

Instruments, including repairing, shoulder rests, strings, bows and rosins: 51,706 Bath

Rehearsal Camp: 37,828 Bath

Inventory, including rewards: 7,692 Bath

Travelling: 2,780 Bath

Concerts: 24,226 Bath

Immanuel Music School has no fixed income and is totally dependent of generous donations, support and volunteers giving out of their time helping to teach or/and play for free or at a low price during the year.

During 2014 Immanuel Music School has got some really good help.

All together Immanuel Music School had an income of 230,775 Bath in 2014 including support of repairing instruments, our own member’s contributions and 15,000 in support of the rehearsal camp from a NMS supported project.

*Thank you very much, Stephen Maniam, who gave a big part of your half year as volunteer to us.

*Thank you very much also to Jonathan Mann, who gave us a lot of Sunday afternoons (and in December even a lot more than that), to help us, for free.

*Thank you both ISB and BPS, for inviting us to join your string festivals for free also in 2014.

*Thank you Somtow Sucharitkul and Bangkok Opera Foundation, for giving us free tickets at several concerts, and for making it possible for two of our students to join the youth orchestra Siam Sinfonietta as trainees. Thank you also for helping to get needed musicians for our Christmas Concert.

*Thank you  to musicians, Pattama Soodjai (Pat), oboe, and Ken, violin, to give of your time playing  with us both at the summer

concert and Christmas concert. Thank you to Nathapon Po-ngam (pol), violin, for joining to play and help both at rehearsal camp and at the summer concert. Thank you Phumjai Ponpeth, flute, Apiwat Suriyot, trumpet, timpani player (Sorry, I don’t know your name), Thanya Anansuksawath, bassoon, and singers joining the choir, for helping out playing and singing at the Christmas Concert.

*Thank you to Thapanin Choroensuk (Soi), cello teacher from Mahidol University who gave some free cello lessons to Fiw.  Since we still have no professional cellist in our music school this was to very much use. Fiw used what what he had learned teaching the younger children in Immanuel Music School.

*Thank you to Franke Violin, for letting Ton borrowing a very good violin and bow,  for giving us a lot of used, but good violin strings and for repairing instruments to a reduced price.

*Thank you Primary Music Department at Bangkok Patana School for choosing Immanuel Music School as your charity project also in 2014, and through this helped us restore an old violin and getting new bows to many children.

*Thank you Ben and family for giving us your violin and electric piano.

* Thank you ISB for the donation of a computer.

*Thank you for 5 new bows and two shoulder-rests from Vats Church in occasion of visit in March.

* Thanks also to Anne’s family at ISB, Egil Eide and his visiting groups, the Norwegian Church in Pattaya and all other supporters, family and friends for your generous donations. Strawberry sale and 70 years celebration gift have also been a very good help for Immanuel Music School in 2014.

*Last, but not least, a big thank you to Norwegian Mission Society (NMS) and all people supporting the organization who have made it possible for both Solveig and Dag johannessen to stay and work in Thailand for so many years. Without NMS there would have been no Music School in Immanuel.

What 2015 will bring, we do still not know. Hopefully Immanuel Music School will develop further and expand, but it all depends of what support we get. If you who is reading this, or anyone else you know want to help in any way, you are very welcome.

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