On November 9, 2003 the extraordinary UBS Verbier Festival Youth Orchestra will perform a Celebration Concert to commemorate H.R.H. Princess Galyani Vadhana’s 80th Birthday at the National Theatre, Bangkok, marking not only its debut in Thailand but also in Asia. Made up of 110 musicians from 35 countries, the Orchestra will be directed by renowned international conductor, harles Dutoit. The program for the evening consists of Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 35 with soloist Sayaka Shoji, the 1991 winner of the prestigious Paganini Competition, and Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47. Net proceeds from the evening will go towards UNICEF’s youth development activities in Thailand, and H.R.H. Princess Galyani Vadhana’s Music Education Fund for Young Musicians.

The UBS Verbier Festival Youth Orchestra (www.verbierorchestra.com) was founded in 2000 with the support of the UBS, a global financial services company headquartered in Switzerland. Each year, the Orchestra is resident at the 17-day Verbier Festival in the Swiss Alps near Geneva and gives concerts under its Music Director James Levine, Artistic Director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera and Music Director Designate of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A remarkable roster of conductors has also worked with this unique orchestra including Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovich, Kurt Masur, Yuri Temirkanov and Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Before its concerts in Asia, the Orchestra has completed a five-city tour of Europe with James Levine which includes the conductor’s debut in Moscow and performances in Munich, Paris, Lucerne and Basel.

As players from the UBS Verbier Youth Orchestra are successfully invited and appointed to orchestras around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic, new members are appointed. Each year, the Orchestra selects new talent into its ranks holding auditions in a number of key cities around the world. This leads the Orchestra to constantly being an exciting combination of new recruits and musicians who are returning to play another season. 2003 saw a record number of applications – over 1,350 musicians applied for 51 places.

For more information on the Y4Y Music Festival, please visit www.3kingdomspark.com or contact Please contact Khun Kanittha Nindang at 0-2662-0801

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