A guitar recital usually means one performer under a spotlight. The Royal Bangkok Symphony Music School's latest Sounds Of Wireless chamber-music session flipped that idea, putting six accomplished classical guitarists on one programme at the school's venue on Wireless Road in central Bangkok.
Titled "Classical Guitar Conversations: From Solo To Sextet", the concert was curated and organised by Jetjaroen Jumnongprgnotr, who chairs the Classical Guitar Department at the College of Music, Mahidol University and also teaches at the RBS Music School. The line-up mixed generations and reputations: veteran teachers like Bupaphan Theeravanvilai and Ekachai Jearakul shared the bill with younger players, including 13-year-old Kantita Imkambu — evidence of how deep Thailand's classical guitar bench now runs.
The programming did the talking. It opened with a solo set before building through duets and quartets to a full six-guitar arrangement of the Beatles' "Medley" — the crowd-pleasing finale folded "Lady Madonna", "The Long And Winding Road", "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and "Day Tripper" into one seamless sequence. In between, the repertoire ranged from a Bach lute suite to contemporary Latin American composers, Leo Brouwer's Cuban landscapes, and Taro Hakase's "In Memoria" — a tribute to Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu that leaned on restraint and silence rather than volume.
Highlights came from contrasts. Kantita brought startling confidence to pieces by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Roland Dyens, with the King's "Sweet Words" showing a lyrical touch well beyond her years. Ittirok Lunjunprugnotr gave a quietly mesmerising reading of Brouwer's tribute to Takemitsu, letting fading phrases and deliberate pauses carry the weight. Duets by Walaisene Yamna with Norachai Taweepornwong, and Clarice Assad's vibrant Brazilian "Ses Y Solos", added rhythmic colour, while Leo Brouwer's "Landscape With Rain" closed the quartet section with shimmering, rain-soaked textures.
What makes this worth a traveller's attention is the setting itself. The monthly Sounds Of Wireless series runs at 140 Wireless Road, a short walk from Ploenchit and the city's main hotel districts, and it regularly pairs established artists with emerging Thai musicians. Tickets sit far below the price of most Western classical tours, the room is intimate, and the audience skews to an engaged local crowd — a genuine slice of Bangkok's cultural life that most visitors never hear about. If your trip coincides with a session, it's an easy, low-cost evening (or afternoon) that doubles as a masterclass in Thailand's fast-rising classical talent. More details and upcoming dates are published by the Royal Bangkok Symphony Music School.
From one voice to six, this afternoon made the case that the guitar's real strength is collective as much as solo — and that Bangkok has a community worth listening to.
