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Published on October 19, 2007

Ward Stare, one of the world's youngest and most promising conductors, will make his local debut with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra at the Thailand Cultural Centre.

Royal renditions will be featured in classical, symphonic jazz and vocal performances.

At the age of 25, Stare is a rising star in the world of classical music. Starting the 2007/2008 season, he is the Los Angeles Philharmonic's American Symphony Orchestra League Conducting Fellow.

He is likely to bring his youth and freshness to his interpretation of the Royal Compositions.

"I was struck by the diversity of His Majesty's music," he said recently.

Rehearsals with the local artists and international violinist Wolfgang David have gone smoothly, he said.

The charm of His Majesty's compositions is that they can be rearranged and adapted in all kinds of genres for a lively performance.

Stare started his musical career as a trombone player. He attended the Julliard School in New York, but left early to join the Lyric Opera of Chicago as principal trombonist at the age of 18. He also performed as a soloist in the US and Europe. Yet he realised his true ambition was to be up on the podium.

"I always wanted to be a conductor. As a trombonist, I had time to sit and watch how other orchestra players functioned and how the sound got made. I studied all the scores and listened to them through with the orchestra. I study composition, which helps. And I listen to a lot of music," he said.

Stare spent his time off during summers to study composition, musical analysis and conducting with David Zinman in France.

At 22, he made his public conducting debut, leading the Ensemble Concertante di Chicago. Since then he has never looked back. His career is at cruising speed.

Last year, Sare took the Robert J Harth Conductor Prize at the Aspen Music Festival. In August, he made his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra, renowned as one of the finest orchestras in the US, at its Blossom Music Centre.

He will be engaged by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in upcoming concerts, as well as by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Stare embraces the hard work associated with his conducting assignments and preparations with a glad heart. He has to travel a lot and work on the scores. As a conductor, he envisages how he can achieve a sound that is new and interesting to him.

"My concern is to have a musical vision and how the music is going to be communicated to the audience. It's very time-consuming, but in the end it's also very rewarding," he said.

Highlights of the Lovelight in Thais' Heart programme - part of the Great Artists of the World series to honour His Majesty's 80th birthday - include performances by Austrian violinist Wolfgang David and Thai pianist Nichapat Valaiphatchara and the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.

Well-recognised arrangers such as John Lenehan and Harvey Brough, Dr Pathorn Srikaranonda and ML Usni Pramoj have also taken part in this programme with their rearrangements of royal compositions.

Dr Denny Euprasert will lead his Denny Euprasert Quintet in the jazz genre, with back-up from the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and arrangements by Benny Gosson and Michael Rendish.

The finale will feature vocal renditions by Mint Ardhawadee Jiramaneekul, Rudklao Amratisha, Suruj Predarat and Vitoon Sila-on, with Kittikhun Sodprasert.

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation