BANGKOK -- An orchestra consisting of boys and girls from a slum in Thailand will begin a tour in Japan on Sunday to play violin and other concertos. Finding hope in music despite their poverty-stricken lives, members voiced a willingness to offer the best possible performance during their first visit to Japan.
About 10 students were conducting final practices for their upcoming concerts in Hokkaido, Tokyo and Kumamoto in a small church within a multi-tenant building on a narrow alley in Khlong Toei, a slum community 3 km south of Bangkok's central section, when Nikkei Asia visited in early October. They played music in all seriousness while attentively listening to advice from the conductor.
