September 12 and 13, 2003:-

“The Joy of Zen” brought musical joy to more than a thousand people in the Penang Chinese Town Hall and The Prince Songkla University, Thailand on 12th and 13th Sept 2003 respectively. Featuring prominent musicians like Ansaya. yanupatam (Li Yang) renown “gu-sheng’ artiste and teacher to the Thai Princess Chula Pon , Bejing music conductor and ‘er-hu’ artiste, Li Hui and Malaysian artiste Lai Ah Lai, the musicians gave a mesmerizing performance which cannot be easily forgotten. The acclaimed musicians performed with accompaniment from the Fei Tian Orchestra, consisting of 18 aspiring young musicians.

Among the songs performed in both venues were famous Chinese musicals, Thailand folk’s songs as well as ancient Buddhist songs. The songs include Loy Krathong, Ta Mong Ta, Flying Dragon and Jumping Tiger, Mukala-Mukala (theme song from an Indian movie) and other various exotic tunes.

The first stirrings of melody from the ‘gu-sheng’ by Li Yang captivated the audience with its flawless presentation and soothing tunes. The audience was similarly spellbound by the beautiful rendition of the ‘er-hu’ played expertly by Li Hui. Lai Ah Lai, a Malaysian musician, also gave a wonderful flute performance which provided an ‘uplifting’ tune to the atmosphere.

Distinguished guest, Dato’ Dr. Teng Hock Nan, was also present to witness the performance in the Chinese Town Hall, Penang. For the concert performance at the Prince Songkla University, Thailand, present to watch the show was the Governor of Songkla District, Umnoay Rong-ngen. Various ‘VIP’ guests including General Pisan and Pravit Pongprapat (Thailand THF chairman) were also present to lend their support to the concert in Hatyai. The concerts, which began at 8:00pm, were a rousing success as shouts of ‘encore’ could be heard after the musicians gave their sterling performance. Tokens of appreciation were presented to the musicians for their invaluable contribution to the orchestra’s success.

These Chinese Orchestra concerts are part of the fund-raising activities by ‘ The Joy of Zen’ in aid of the International Buddhist University (IBU) Fund.

‘The Joy of Zen” Orchestra Performances are supported by various business organizations. Among the main sponsors are Actions Industries (M) Sdn.Bhd, Practical Printers Sdn. Bhd, and Equator Academy of Art. The sub-sponsors include Kwong Wah Jit Poh, Zhong Yi Chinese Musical Centre and Yi Siang Centre. We would like to thank all the sponsors for their support in helping to make the event a success.