Guitar festival gears up to celebrate first 10 years

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Yoko Fujimori & Shinobu Sugawara - The Maria Duo.
Yoko Fujimori & Shinobu Sugawara – The Maria Duo.

Siam Hotels & Resorts and the Thailand Guitar Society will present the 2018 edition of the annual Pattaya Classical Guitar Festival & Competition on Sunday 28th October at the Siam Bayshore hotel in south Pattaya.

This year edition will celebrate the 10th anniversary of this popular event in Pattaya and for this special event the famous French guitar virtuoso Gerard Abiton will perform during the “Guitar Night”. Abiton will share the evening concert with the popular guitar duo from Japan ‘Maria Duo” and the Siam Guitar Quartet from Bangkok.

Chanachat Leekrajangsang - last year’s competition winner.
Chanachat Leekrajangsang – last year’s competition winner.

For the second time the festival will include a performance by the guitar orchestra, CGO (Classical Guitar Orchestra), which was founded two years ago in Bangkok by Sira Tindukasiri and is conducted by Apichai Chantanakajornfung.

The festival is the only event of its kind in Thailand, showcasing many of the world’s top guitar makers and musicians and is surely the biggest and most vibrant event for classical guitar aficionados and music lovers on the Eastern Seaboard.

The festival is open to the public, with collectors, players, music lovers, students and general enthusiasts strongly encouraged to attend.

This event will kick off with the adult and junior guitar competitions at 09.30 a.m., followed by a guitar exhibition and workshop at 3:00 p.m.

Last year’s competition winner, Chanachat Leekra­jangsang, will perform a solo recital at 5.00 p.m. and be followed by the CGO Guitar Orchestra at 6.00 p.m. (featuring soloists, Woratep Rattana-umpawan and Gerard Abiton) under the conduction of Dr. Apichai Chantana­kajornfung.

The “Guitar Night”, which begins at 7 p.m., features the expert strumming of Pongpat Pongpradit, the Siam Quartet, the Maria Duo and Gerard Abiton, and will be the highlight of the event. This will be followed by the announcement of competition winner and the award ceremony.

A festival pass (inclusive of coffee breaks) is Baht 400 for adults and Baht 200 for students (with valid I.D.). Tickets are on sale at the Siam Bayshore Pattaya. Call 038-428-678 for details or visit https://thailandguitarsociety.weebly.com/.