Eighteen-year-old Keeta Vongkittipat talks about reworking some of His Majesty the King's timeless compositions

His Majesty the King’s compositions have always been close to the hearts of his subjects and now some of the beloved pieces have been reworked by an 18-year-old.
Keeta Vongkittipat was the youngest music arranger for the recently held “HM Blues” concert, which was presented by Genx Academy and Platinum Marketing and Distribution. The companies have also produced two albums – “Ruam Botpleng Phra Rajanipon Chabub Somboon” and “Rong Banleng Pleng Kong Por” – as a celebration of His Majesty’s remarkable talent for music.
Among the five songs that Keeta was appointed to arrange was the 1965 “Still on My Mind”. Professor Prasert Na Nagara translated it into the Thai version, “Nai Duang Jai Nirun”.
Keeta rearranged the melody and harmony, giving the song a pop-jazz sound.
“Actually I arranged many versions and decided that pop-jazz was the most suitable, since pop is easy to listen to and His Majesty is fond of jazz. So, I showed it to my teacher, Phromporn Snitwong Na Ayudhaya, and am really proud that they’ve agreed to produce it.”
Singer Jennifer Kim sang Keeta’s version at the concert and in the albums, which are available at major music stores.
As an only child with busy parents – her father Suppachai is a businessman and her mother Natsamon is the group general manager of the Mall Group – Keeta took to music at a very young age. Suppachai, who spends his free time playing music, bought a piano when Keeta was born. The young prodigy started taking music lessons at the tender age of four.
Since then Keeta, whose name means “music”, has never missed an opportunity to practice after school except when she’s had to travel. Today she is a first-year student at the Faculty of Music, Chulalongkorn University.
Apart from the piano, the young musician also plays the violin, guitar, drums, harp, Thai xylophone and the Japanese stringed instrument, koto.
“I love playing the piano the most,” says Keeta. “Music is fun and reduces stress. Normally when I am at school, I like socialising with my friends, but when I’m at home, I live in my own world of music.”
Even though Keeta is an experienced performer, she says she still gets butterflies every time she goes on stage, and felt particularly nervous when performing at the “HM Blues Concert”. She practised for a whole month before the concert.
Her dream is to become a good musician and release her own album by the time she turns 19. “Ultimately, I’d love to become an international musician. To me a great artist or musician is someone who’s able to develop their own style and win the admiration of listeners,” she notes.
Aiming to attract a younger audience, the “HM Blues” concert featured pop stars such as Nuvo, T-Bone, Nop Pornchamni, Amphon Lamphoon, B5, Sobchai Kraiyoonsen, Anchalee Chongkhadeekij and Sirilak Pongchoke.