• 
• 

Published on February 27, 2008

The nomination of the late founder of the Suntaraporn Band to Unesco will be made in March next year, to mark his 100th birthday on January 21, 2010, permanent-secretary Chaweerat Kasetsunthorn said yesterday.

A ministry panel has been set up to compile details of Eua's life, personal stories and the more than 2,000 songs he wrote. Initial details will be submitted to the Education Ministry for the nomination.

Eua composed a vast number of songs, including some written to honour Their Majesties the King and Queen and other members of the Royal Family.

His "Loy Krathong" song was world-famous. According to Atiphorn Senawong, one of Eua's granddaughters, he wrote the 53-year-old song in just 30 minutes, out by the Chao Phya River when the Suntaraporn Band was performing at a 1955 Loy Krathong party at Thammasat University. Guests had asked him for a new song.

The Suntaraporn Band performed shows for 69 years, including 16 concerts each year. The band produced hundreds of musicians and singers in Western-style Thai music and many classic Thai songs.

The Suntaraporn Band still offers scholarships to young singers and students with talent, including those aged from 10 to 25 - a policy Eua gave to band members before his death in 1981 of lung cancer.

The band wrote many songs to mark royal ceremonies including a 1949 melody written by Eua himself to mark His Majesty's return from a series of overseas trips. The band also composed songs marking the celebrations of the King's 60th and 72nd birthday and another song mourning the death of Princess Galyani Vadhana in January.

The Nation