Chulalongkorn University has always been supporting cultural preservation for over 50 years as part of the university policies. This reflected in establishing Office of Art and Culture to specifically undertake the operations on cultural preservation. Academic majors focusing on the Thai culture are offered in the undergraduate and graduate levels in Faculties of Education, Fine and Applied Arts, Arts, and Architecture, including Master of Arts program in Cultural Management offered by Graduate School. Required, elective and general education classes are also offered by Faculty of Communication Arts and the university. Numerous scholarships in generous amounts have been awarded to students of all levels whose academic majors, theses, or dissertations are related to cultures, especially the Thai culture. As for graduate levels, five scholarships for full tuition waiver and stipend in a total budget of US$28,500 per an academic year are offered since 2017. Other grants are considered upon requests. The university also sponsors students’ cultural activities through student clubs under the Office of Student Affairs.
Cultural activities to fulfill the university’s missions include Thai traditional music and dance performances, Western classical music concerts, and theatrical plays. During 2023-2024 fiscal year, over sixty performances took place on and off campus inside and outside Bangkok. (See gallery of performance posters.) A considerable number of performances were organized in collaboration with public and private sectors, and university’s international networks. Some of the performances are listed as follow:
Thai Traditional Music and Dance Performances
1) Piphat Dukdamban, a high-art Thai traditional music and dance, fused with Western big band ensemble, performs once yearly with Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn joining in as an honorary musician and presides over other part of the performance program. The first performance of this kind was in 1987 and has been ongoing for more than 30 years.
2) Sai Yai Chamchuri, a Thai traditional music ensemble comprising Chulalongkorn University alumni, faculty members, and staff, with HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn as head of ensemble, performs once yearly for over 20 years with the Princess always performs part of the ensemble. Sai Yai Chambchuri performs music with texts composed by the Princess and set to music by Sirichaicharn Fakchumroon, National Artist of Thai Classical Music (2014). The theme of performances differs from year to year, and usually incorporates Western or other ensemble in unique ways, establishing the ensemble as an important tool of the development Thai traditional music.
3) Music at Chula concert series on first Friday of every month, presenting 12 concerts a year, has been ongoing for over 30 years. The performances in the concerts are by:
- Thai traditional music ensembles of varied levels from students to renowned master musicians. Not only to sustain and continue the heritage of Thai traditional music, but also to be a venue for students to gain more experiences on stage.
- Applied Thai traditional music ensemble, or generally called ‘contemporary Thai traditional ensemble’ in Thailand, in which Western music instruments are incorporated in the Thai traditional ensemble, with new musical concepts and works. This is part of a movement in Thai traditional music to keep it relevant in the modern world.
4) Dissemination of Thai traditional music and dance to other countries takes place once or twice yearly. This 2023-2024 fiscal year, The Office of Arts and Culture, in collaboration with the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, organized a performance of students and faculty members to perform Thai traditional music and dance in celebration of the 267th anniversary of the Mangkunagaran Dynasty, held in the city of Solo (Surakarta), Indonesia, at the invitation of King Mangkoenagoro (Sri Paduka Mangkoenagoro X). Additionally, the Chulalongkorn University Choir was invited to participate in the China Qiandongnan International Folk Song Festival performing choral arrangement of Thai folk and traditional music, and the Chulalongkorn University Chamber Ensemble traveled to perform a joint concert with Beijing Foreign Studies University in the People’s Republic of China, with the aim of fostering relations and promoting Thai arts and culture.
5) Ceremonial piphat ensemble plays in Wai Kru ceremony, in which living and late music masters are remembered, to preserve and continue the traditional and an important aspect of Thai musical culture.
6) Music performances by ensembles of student clubs are offered regularly. These clubs represent student bodies from every region in Thailand. Thai Music Club, Lanna Music Club, Isaan Music club, and Southern Music Club are clubs of students from the Central, Northern, Northeastern, and Southern regions of Thailand respectively. Ensembles from these club performs folk music and dance cultures from their respective regions.
Western Music Performances
Under Chulalongkorn University Symphony Orchestra, various musical performances have been offered to the public, all free of charge, throughout the years, for instance, two symphony orchestra concerts, two choral concerts, two viola ensemble concerts, and concerts by Wind, Brass, String, and Percussion Ensembles, Chula Chamber, and Senior Alumni Choirs.
There are also multiple concerts yearly given as part of other initiatives of Office of Art and Culture—Chulalongkorn University Choral Festival and Thailand Youth Choral Camp.
Student music clubs also carry out their performances regularly. These clubs are a big band club—CU Band, and a choir club—CU Chorus, performing jazz classics, Thai, Western and compositions by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Theatrical Play
Three faculties at Chulalongkorn University present theatrical plays at least one play yearly. Faculties of Communication Arts and Architecture present the plays as students’ activity, while Faculty of Arts, by Department of Dramatic Arts presents the plays as part of its curriculum, and more regularly than the first two faculties.
The Department of Dramatic Arts, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, regularly organizes theatrical productions to enhance students’ comprehensive experience in all aspects of theater production. In the current fiscal year, the department, in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Center (KCC), presented The Little Tiger for Korea (Korea Tour Version) as part of the World Performance @ Chula program. Furthermore, the department staged Ballad of Life, a play that combined the original three parts into one, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Chao Phraya Thammasak Montri’s life and legacy.
