Dnu Huntrakul

Born 26 March, 1950 in Bangkok, Dnu entered the music world at a very young age by trying his hand on various musical instruments as well as taking part in the school choir. But it was at the University of Oregon, U.S.A., that he received his first formal training in music theory and composition among other subjects. After 5 years of study in the States as a composition major, Dnu switched to a European training on the same subjects at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague, the Netherlands. He spent two full years learning the art of music with Holland's leading composers, Peter Schat and Louis Andriesen.

Upon returning to Bangkok subsequently, Dnu formed "The Temple Of Dawn Consort", a small ensemble of unconventional combination of instruments, with which he presented to the public the novelties in music of the modern age. The advent found sympathetic chords not only in Thailand but also abroad which resulted in concert tours and workshops in Taipei, Manila, Seoul, and Calcutta. Meanwhile in Bangkok, he, together with his musician friends, founded the Butterfly Music Company within which he became involved in music productions for film, theatre, TV commercials, and music for other usages. His music path led him to founding a private music school called St. Cecilia Academy of Music, and, not much later, the Mai Thai Orchestra whose sound has become widely known and loved by the Thai musical ear, young and old alike.

Dnu's musical output has been said to belong to an upper strata in comparison to the popular mainstreams. Overseas, his music has been given repeated performances on stage as well as on air in Germany and The Netherlands. To the Thai audience, his well known work is in the Mai Thai series which seeks to present the delicate sound of the Western orchestra in the modern arrangements for the Thai classical tunes. His other works involve fresh elements of experimentation in form, subject, and in combination with poetry reading and story telling. His latest big number,The Light of Asia, formed the finale to the worldwide-televised closing ceremony of the Bangkok Asian Games 1998. As if his music were not sophisticated enough for the general audience, his current work in progress under the title "Chao Phraya Suite for Orchestra" is aiming even higher in the attempt to reach, in his rapport with the public, a new depth in the musical expression. All said and done, it is rather ironic to note that his nationwide greatest success has been a number in the Luk Tung genre (country music) called "Ai Num Pom Yao" or "A Long-Haired Lad"