Bridging Cultures Through Music: Chula’s Thai Music Ensemble Performed in Japan 

On May 30, 2025, Chulalongkorn University presented a special performance by the university’s Thai Music Ensemble at the Hall of Iwamizawa City and Culture Center (Manamiru), Japan. 

The concert program features a selection of both traditional and modern pieces, including Homrong Athit Uthai, composed by Professor Dr. Bussakorn Binson, former Dean of the Faculty; a Japanese-language rendition of the beloved folk song Sakura; Fang Nathi, an original composition by a fourth-year student; and solo works that showcased the depth and artistry of Thai musical traditions. 

To strengthen the bonds of friendship and foster academic collaboration in arts and culture between Thailand and Japan, the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at Chulalongkorn University, in partnership with the Office of Arts and Culture, organized a cultural exchange program from May 28 to June 3, 2025. As part of the initiative, Chula students and the Thai Music Ensemble performed at Hokkaido University of Education, with the highlight concert on May 30 at the Iwamizawa City and Culture Center. 

Beyond the concert, the program included meaningful academic and cultural exchange activities with Japanese students and faculty, promoting mutual understanding and cross-cultural learning. As part of the program, students participated in hands-on workshops exploring the Tonkori and Mukuri, traditional instruments of the Ainu people. These instruments, whose histories span Hokkaido, Sakhalin Island, and the Kuril Islands, are now the focus of preservation efforts that offer a compelling model of cultural sustainability for the next generation of cultural stewards. 

This event reflected the deep and long-standing partnership between Chulalongkorn University and Hokkaido University of Education. Formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2018 and set to be renewed in 2025, this collaboration underscores both institutions’ commitment to advancing sustainable academic and cultural ties. 

Over the past decade, the two universities have engaged in various exchanges involving students, faculty, and research. The relationship began in 2012 with the arrival of Japanese exchange students to study Thai traditional arts. A milestone moment came in 2018, when Chula students performed in Japan and debuted Tanoshii Hokkaido – Happy Hokkaido, a new composition by Associate Professor Dr. Pattara Komkam, Head of the Department of Music, celebrating the warm friendship between the two institutions. 

In 2023, the collaboration expanded to include ethnographic research on the traditional music of the Ainu, an Indigenous group native to Hokkaido. Supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Professor Dr. Kumkom Pornprasit, Dean of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, led a research team that published a Scopus Q1 journal article titled The Development of Sustainability for Tonkori Performance of Ainu People in Northern Japan. Dr. Kumkom also co-authored another academic article—Sustainability of Arts and Culture by Overcoming Challenges: From the Perspective of Transculturation—with Prof. Dr. Takako Iwasawa and Prof. Dr. Ryusuke Ito of Hokkaido University of Education, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phatra Khamkhom of Chulalongkorn University. The article will be published in Journal of Hokkaido University of Education (Basic Research), Volume 77 in late 2025.  

In 2024, the two universities co-hosted an international academic conference titled Sustainability of Arts and Culture, expanding the scope of their collaboration and reinforcing its international relevance. 

This growing partnership—encompassing student exchange, cultural performance, joint research, and academic publication—has become a model of sustainable and impactful academic cooperation. The Thai music concert is more than a performance; it represented a living expression of these shared efforts, providing students with valuable international experience while showcasing Thai culture to global audiences. 

This cultural exchange is made possible through the support of the Office of Arts and Culture and the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at Chulalongkorn University. The delegation includes Asst. Prof. Dr. Vitchatalum Laovanich, Assistant to the President for Arts and Culture Engagement; Mr. Kunchit Jitratan, Director of the Office of Arts and Culture Administration; and Professor Dr. Kumkom Pornprasit, Dean of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts. They are joined by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pornprapit Phoasavadi, Deputy Dean for International Affairs; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phatra Khamkhom, Head of the Department of Music; and 13 talented students committed to sharing Thai arts and culture on the international stage. 

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