La Compagnie BosbaPANH: News

I have started to learn Violin last year, because Samnang our first violin in the band plays so well violin.
I think he is the best in town, he feels the music and practices a lot to be good at what he does.

Last Winter, I improved my techniques with a Chinese violin teacher who spent a month only to make sure I move my forearm and the bow properly. We played only one tiny section of a melody. I kept doing and redoing the same movements. I was so afraid of her, Chinese teachers are so strict. But I think I am better at that now. I will play violin during our December Concert at Chaktomuk : Champa Battambang by SIN Sisamouth. Guitar will remain my main instrument but playing well violin can make people cry.

I was on the news tonight on Voice of America (VOA), presented by madame Sarita. It was a really nice feature of about 15 mn, talking about the family, tonton Rithy, my brothers Sibxy and Panhlauv and how come we are so many to become artists. My father talked a lot, we can hear me saying a few words but the best section of the news was the singing ! Phnom Penh, Reatrey Choub Pheak and of course Blowin' in the Wind. I stayed late for the interview and then to listen to the program, because I still have to go to school the next morning. I was really excited to talk to madame Sarita, Papa told me that she likes the arts and tries to promote many Cambodian artists ... so we have a new friend there!

Panhlauv is just seven. I often say that he is born to bother me. We always fight when we play music together. He does staccato or rumba when we are supposed to play another tempo.
But he is a maestro in flute, his hearing is superior to me or Sibxy.
He learnt at the age of 6 with Master Yang, from Sichuan. He is one of the best flutists in China and certainly the best in Sichuan. If you go to Chengdu, everybody is afraid of master Yang because he is a very strict and demanding teacher.
He is giving lessons to only the very best students. The first day we arrive, a 10 year old boy was blowing in his flute and crying at the same time. His mother was trembling with Yang laoshi (master) scolding her son for not having practiced hard enough. Panhlauv disappeared like a mouse. Panhlauv played "Phnom Penh" to show his skills. Yang laoshi accepted to teach Panhlauv and he immediately called his flute supplier who brought a funny flute: it is an adult flute but the end is like an U that shorten the flute to enable small children to play. In three weeks, Panhlauv could blow steadily and could play some songs. This was in summer 2006 after our trip to Tibet.
Yang laoshi was seconded by Hou laoshi, who would come home one hour a day to practice.
Then on Saturdays / Sundays, Panhlauv would go to show his progress to Yang laoshi. At the end of the Summer, Yang laoshi told us that Panhlauv is a really gifted flutist, that he has had hundreds of students, but Panhlauv is one of the best, especially starting at that age. He said if we left Panhlauv in China, he will be a real musician, or even a conductor. Yang laoshi is also a conductor.
Panhlauv went back in February 2007 for more training. Yang laoshi advised us to send Panhlauv to the Conservatoire de Paris. He also gave Panhlauv the disc of James Galway, they say he is one of the best flutists in the world and to become as good as him, Panhlauv should play all the time, at least 2 hours a day, in front of a wall to keep a good position. Gosh, Panhlauv is like a worm, he can't keep moving. Only with Dad's presence that he can stay still for 30 mn.
Yang laoshi and Hou laoshi are our friends from China. One day we will open a music school here in Phnom Penh and we hope that Yang laoshi and Hou laoshi will come to also teach other Cambodian children how to play flute.

On Saturday 15 September, we (my younger brother Panhlauv, teacher Kiry and me) participated to a tribute to Bob Dylan. It was at Art + Foundation - Art Cafe in Phnom Penh.


I played and sang "Blowin' in the Wind" both in Khmer and in English. This was such a coincidence. It is a song that have just prepared for the second album and I would never imagine that in Phnom Penh somebody else than us would be interested in this song written almost half a century ago.


My father was listening to this and I liked the melody and decided to sing. When I first looked at the lyrics, I did not fully understood them. "How many times must a man turn his head, pretending he just does not see? ..." There are many questions in the song, and no answers. Indeed, there is an answer "the answer my friend is blowin' in the wind". Dylan is saying we should listen to the wind to find an answer. My father explained to me the lyrics. It is like a prayer in fact. It tells us there is injustice in the world and we don't want to see them. We just need to listen to our heart and do something about it. I think that "Blowin' in the Wind" is still a modern song as there are many unfair things around us. I enjoyed playing at the Art + Foundation - Art Cafe, I always like to play live with a public.

My brother is a classical Khmer dancer. It is a big day for him on 24-25 August 2007, he is performing for the first time in Phnom Penh and has been bestowed the "thway kru" ceremony which marks officially that he is now a real dancer. He is beautiful in his sacred costume, it transforms it totally from the brother I love to a frightening Yeak, I can't take my eyes off him when he dances. Below is his story.


The birth of a Khmer Classical Dancer, Sibxy na PANH



Phnom Penh, 20 August 2007. Sibxy Na PANH, a classical Khmer dancer, aged 16, goes on stage for the first time in Phnom Penh. He demonstrates a natural gift for the combat. Feline in his motion, Sibxy na PANH captures the imagination and leaves the public gazing with emotion at his movements. The war in the Ramayana between between the evil Yeak and the Preah Ream and Preak Leak princes demands the best from Sibxy na PANH. He will be performing on 24-25 August 2007 at 7:00 pm at the Sovannaphum Theater among 21 dancers in an episode of the Khmer Ramayana choregraphed by Thong Kim An, known as “Preap”, and Thong Kim Leng, master dancers of the Classical Ballet Troup of the Royal Palace. A traditional orchestra and two singers accompany them.

Dancing since the age of five, Sibxy na PANH is from a family of Khmer intellectuals and artists, among whom BosbaPANH, young coloratura soprano and Rithy PANH, film maker. At the age of seven, he was introduced to Surat Jondga, a master dancer from the College of Dramatic Art in Bangkok. Already showing a gift, Sibxy na PANH is immediately adopted by Master Surat, with whom he evolved quickly to become one of his best students in the Rama and Laksmana repertoire.

Between his Chinese schooling and a piano-based musical education, Sibxy na PANH continues his long apprenticeship of Khmer classical dance. Sibxy na PANH is attracted by the epic combats between the good princes Preah Ream and Preah Leak and the devils of Krong Reap, a forceful style that he also finds in the wu shou (kung fu). He undertakes to learn wu shou in Phnom Penh with master Peou Yanna, who won several championship medals in France, and to deepen this discipline in Sichuan-China, one of the craddles of wu shou, with Chinese masters in the Emei Shan mountain and at the Sports University of Chengdu.

He discovers that in China, the wu shou is also a dance, a meditation that meets up with the gesture of the Ramayana epic combats and the classical dance tradition of the Khmer, Thai and Lao royalties.The precision of the fight enchainement, in wu shou, the Katas, rejoins the purity of the Ramayana movements.

He deepens his apprenticeship of the Khmer classical dance with two master dancers Noam Narim and her mother Thong Kim An, known as "Preap", both specialized in the Yeak figure and members of a family where Yeak dancing has been passed on for four generations. As it was the case with master Surat, Sibxy Na PANH has been instantly adopted by his master dancers who see in him their disciple, the heir to a thousand-year tradition.


One has only to observe how Preap teaches Sibxy Na PANH. She shows a Yeak posture, stays immobile as she wants him to be imprinted. She becomes a living sculpture which reminds of the Rodin drawings recently exhibited at the National Museum of Phnom Penh. She tiredlessly corrects him to obtain the same precision, with her fixed eyes alike Rodin's pencils drawing lines, her hands molding swiftly his posture, her words hammering like a burin. She already calls him "my son".

After 47 days of intense training during this summer, she just decided to bestow him with a Thway Kru ceremony (payment of respects to the spirits and elders of the arts) and to allow him to perform with her the role of Krong Reap, a role that she is usually playing. In a time where young boys of the age of Sibxy Na PANH do not seek to learn the Royal Palace dance, Preab has been able in 47 days to transform a teenager into an artist. Preab, "the King" of the Yeaks and her certainty overwhelm us with emotions. Has a star been born from the generous heart of Preab ?


Come to discover Sibxy Na PANH
on Friday 24 et Saturday 25 Aout 2007 at 19:00 pm
at Sovanna Phum Theater and Art Gallery
#111 street 360, Corner street 105, Phnom Penh



Episode of Ramayana performed:

Rama is about to go and preach but stops by the edge of a forest. At the same moment Ravana (Krong Reap) passes by, sees Sita, Rama's wife, and falls in love with her. To possess Sita, Ravana decides to use a trick. He orders one of his devil-servants to disguise itself as a beautiful deer, as radiant as gold, to attract Sita. Sita then implores Rama to capture the deer. Rama agrees after Sita's pleas for he loves her without limits.

Before leaving, Rama calls his brother Laksmana to ask him to take care of his land and to protect Sita from any danger. Once Rama has left, Ravana imitates Rama's voice and calls for help so that Laksmana could hear and come to rescue. Hearing the distress, Laksmana can not stay idling, he decides to confide his magic bow in Sita and in the Earth Goddess, Preah Thorani, and leaves. Ravana grabs the opportunity to disguise himself as an ascetic and succeeds in approaching Sita. He captures her and takes her to his kingdom of Lanka, located in the midst of the Oceans.

Discouraged and defeated by the ruse of Ravana, Rama calls Hanuman, the Monkey King, to find Sita and give her his ring, so that Sita does not despair. Rama orders Hanuman to assemble an army of monkeys to build a bridge of the oceans and reach the Lanka Kingdom, where Sita is imprisoned. On one side, the monkeys are placing rocks, on the other side, Sovan Maccha destructs the bridge. Hanuman flies to meet with Sovan Maccha and succeeds in convincing her of the good deeds of Rama. Sovan Maccha eventually helps to build the road over the oceans to reach Lanka. Rama with the Monkeys' army crush the devils' army and Ravana. Rama and his suite take Sita back to her palace.

I have been featured this month in Globe Magazine, and in Khemara magazine where I made the cover page. They are new magazines in Cambodia, one in English and the other in Khmer. I like them, the design is nice and it looks like there are interesting articles. Not always about sensational news that we can see usually. The photos about me, have been shot at home or selected from our family album. This is so different from the other pictures in the Khmer magazines, the ladies have a lot of make up and funny dresses.

Things have calmed down, it is almost the end of the schoolyear and after a series of TV programs and interviews, we are now able to concentrate on our second CD. It will contain 15 songs. Every week end, I would spend a day in the studio recording. That's the only time I have as I also have to go to school. We will probably finish by September.

This Monday, our band spent the day to record the one-hour program "21" produced by the famous Youk Chenda. It is a program where she interviews famous artists. I feel very proud to be invited and we have been preparing ourselves intensely for almost a month. The stage is impressive: all black with a sophisticated array of lights. It is conceived to really put into value the music and musicians. We have prepared three very different songs to perform. the first one is "Tonle Mekong" with a choir of 20 singers. The song is composed by lok Khru Pen Sam Ol who is coaching me to sing better. This song is wonderful and you have to listen to this ! A whole new sound, very classical music and one can imagine very easily how the Mekong is in listening to our voices. The second song is Chumno Vicheaka (Brise de Novembre) composed by Samdech Ta Tuot. Here I sing with la Compagnie Bosbapanh. It is a melodious song, melancholic like an autumnal day. The third song, I sing alone and play acoustic guitar. It is "Phnom Penh" from Samdech Ta Tuot, you know this song already but it is a different sound to hear me without the band. I was already a bit tired at that time of the day, it took us from 10 am to 7 pm to record the whole program. Then I was interviewed with my mom. Watch the program (Wednesday 23rd and 30 May at 21:00 pm PP time) you will learn more about me and also enjoy the new songs.

I spent the Chinese New Year in Sichuan to prepare for a new song, "Tian Lu", which will be included in my next album. I celebrated my 10th birthday with the pandas of Sichuan. We went to Wolong to be inspired by the nature and bamboos forest. Wolong is the largest natural reserve for the pandas. Do you know that there are less than 1,000 pandas left in the world ? We will launch our second album in June 2007 so watch out !

Phnom Hemapean (the Himalayas) are at the center of the universe in Khmer mythology. Inspired by her travels to Tibet and the Himalayas, BosbaPANH interprets “Hemapean”, a Tibetan song adapted in Khmer. This brings a whole new sound to the Khmer music scene, blending traditional Khmer musical stylings with the lyrical music of Tibet.

The Himalayas, known in Khmer as “Phnom Hemapean” (the Himalayan peaks), are important elements of Khmer mythology and religion as they are the inspiration for our culture and art. Angkor Wat, for example, symbolizes the mythic mountain of the Gods, Mount Meru, which lies at the heart of the Himalayas. For Khmer buddhists, it is often an unattainable dream to visit the Himalayas and Mount Everest - the highest peak in the world at 8,848 meters.

Brought up to cherish Khmer culture through regular visits to museums and archeological sites, BosbaPANH went in search of the roots of her culture and civilization : she made the pilgrimage to the Himalayas this year. Inspired by the magnificent landscapes of Tibet and the immaculate, eternal snows of the Himalayas, the young artist says: it was extraordinary, I never imagined that ! I have already read two books on the life of Buddha, and a short story of the Ramayana. In Tibet, I could feel Buddha was there, everywhere”.

From this journey, BosbaPANH understands more profoundly how Khmer civilization and beliefs are intertwined with the Hemapean peaks and she wishes to communicate the serenity and contemplation of Lord Buddha to her compatriots. So her band, La Compagnie BosbaPANH, adapted the Tibetan song “Qing Zang Gao Yuan”, which was composed by Li Qianyi. This song has very high notes which only the very best singers can perform. Light and airy, Bosba’s voice floats through the air and becomes a scent. One can easily imagine the immensity of the Tibetan Plateau and its sacred nature (“atitep” in Khmer).

This song demonstrates the quality of Bosba’s voice. In opera, sopranos are classified into three categories, depending on their ability to sing without difficulty the high notes. Belonging to the highest category, Bosba’s voice is crystalline and ranks her among the very best sopranos aged 8 to 12 in Asia-Pacific.

For BosbaPANH, the Himalayas have become the “Hemapean Atitep” (Sacred Himalayas) and she offers this song as a New Year’s gift to all Khmers and friends of Khmer culture who like “Songs for Life” and are striving to understand Cambodian culture. Bosba said: « I would like to share my song « Hemapean » with all Khmers so that they can feel at peace and do not forget Buddha”.

Dedication : BosbaPANH offers this song as a New Year gift to his Majesty the King, to King-Father Samdech Ta Tuot, King-Mother Samdech Yeay Tuot, and all Khmer compatriots: grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters.

Cambodia Scene, travel and business magazine, talks in its November issue about Bosba and her trip to Tibet : "Nine-Year old singer is first Cambodian to take the Highest Train in the world and climb Everest".

On October 20, 2006 BosbaPANH is the focus of CTN program "Tepkosal, the Gifted". The one-hour long program provided opportunities for viewers to know better Bosba and her musicians. On stage, they performed live four songs : Phnom Penh, Monica, Sakraval and Bompe. The program was rebroadcast several times and Bosba won the heart of many viewers.

"It is mostly the voice". A full page article is dedicated to Bosba in the Cambodia Daily. The article is part of a special issue on the legacy of French culture in Cambodia. It discusses the complex relationship between the two countries from which Bosba is a living testimony. Receiving a French education, Bosba manages to take the best of the two cultures but is already embracing the English language to broaden her horizon.

BosbaPANH, a young star singer is the first Cambodian
to take the “Highest Train in the World” to Tibet.
She climbs the Everest

BosbaPANH, a young Khmer star singer has traveled to Tibet in July and is the first Cambodian ever to take the “Highest Train in the World” from Chengdu to Lhasa and to climb the Everest. She then stayed in Chengdu for a month to practice her art with famous Chengdu artists.

BosbaPANH is only 9 years old but she is not an ordinary little girl. She is a promising Khmer coloratura soprano and has just released her first album “Phnom Penh” last June. BosbaPANH, sings “songs for life” from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and an international repertoire. These include a number of well-known songs composed by King Father HR Norodom Sihanouk such as “Monica” and “Phnom Penh”.

BosbaPANH has just spent one month in Tibet, traveling with her family to Lhasa, the sacred lake of Nam-Tso and the Everest Camp. The Himalayas are very important elements of the Khmer mythology as they are considered the center of the universe, source of our culture and art. That’s why, BosbaPANH went to the Everest, called in Khmer the “Phnom Himmapean”, to pay her respects and pray for the benevolence of the spirits to help her succeed in her art.

She has amazingly traveled by the famous “highest train in the World” from Chengdu of Sichuan Province to Lhasa-Tibet only 9 days after its opening, on July 9, making her probably the first Cambodian ever to take the train. Her experience was great: “I was really happy,I played guitar and I sang all the way. We have spent a wonderful time looking at the beautiful landscapes. We had fun and I was a bit sick the second day because of mountain sickness, we were at 5000 meters high! I could use the oxygen. I felt fine when we arrived in Lhasa”.

Tibet was a fascinating trip for our young star. She has been inspired by the magnificent Tibetan landscapes and the immaculate eternal snows from the Himalayas. When asked about what impressed her most, she said : “I had never imagined that nature can be so beautiful and immense. In Tibet, I could see so many shades of blue and green from the lakes, I was captivated by mysterious monasteries and stories of buddhas… and of course by the Everest mountain, this was so magnificent”.

BosbaPANH and her brothers are also probably the first ever young Khmers to visit the Everest. Proud of their country, BosbaPANH and her brothers have deployed the Cambodian flag when they arrived at Base Camp 1, which is at 5,200 meters high. She sent postcards from the highest post office in the world, China Post, to her fans and friends.

After she came back to Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province of China, BosbaPANH started immediately to practice with music teachers from the Sichuan School of Music to improve her singing techniques as well as her guitar skills. Known for their discipline and application of techniques, Bosba’s Chinese teachers have helped her reach new heights in her art.

Why did BosbaPANH came to Chengdu ? BosbaPANH’s elder brother is enrolled at Chengdu Secondary School and her mother travels between Cambodia and Chengdu to manage a development program to support the growth of the private sector. It was then very natural for BosbaPANH to come to this city of China.

What do the teachers say about our young friends ? Teacher Cui said “BosbaPANH has a beautiful voice, especially in the higher notes. She is a coloratura soprano. She is born to sing. She has come to learn the techniques on how to sing better, to breath. It was a wonderful experience both for her and for me, she is a lovely child”.

On August 26, 2006, BosbaPANH has performed a friendship concert with her teachers to thank them for their dedication. She has sung a very famous Chinese song “Xi Jiang Kao Yen”, which is a high pitch song performed only by the best Chinese female singers.

BosbaPANH is a child of many cultures, polyglot and has traveled widely in Asia. BosbaPANH comes from a family of Cambodian intellectuals and is the niece of the famous film-maker, PANH Rithy, whose films have been awarded international recognition and prizes at leading cinema competitions such as the Cannes Festival in France and the Mostra of Venice in Italy. His most famous documentary is “S-21, the war machine”.

BosbaPANH’s CD is on sale in Cambodia and promotion is starting for the European market.

Phnom Penh, June 27, 2006


BosbaPANH, promising Khmer soprano coloratura, age 9
sings HRH Norodom Sihanouk and Sin Sisamouth


BosbaPANH, age nine, has just released “Phnom Penh” her first album of songs that recall simpler, happier times in Cambodia in the 1960s. Then the country grew an abundance of rice, Phnom Penh was known as the Riviera of Asia, and Cambodia and its youth had a future of great promise.

An elementary school student at Phnom Penh’s French school, Lycée Descartes,
BosbaPANH, sings “phleng cheewit” or songs for life from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and an international repertoire. These include a number of well-known songs composed by recently-retired King HR Norodom Sihanouk in the 1960s and 1970s before decades of war tore Cambodia apart. In addition to his own compositions, “Monica” and “Phnom Penh”, the album also includes three traditional songs the retired king scored and popularized – “Violon Sneha”, “Slek Chheu” and “Samrong Chongkal”. BosbaPANH and her band “La Compagnie BosbaPANH” aim at reviving the type of concerts directed by young Prince Norodom Sihanouk in the early 1960s as well as the glamorous style of Sin Sisamouth, widely known as “the Khmer Golden Voice”.

BosbaPANH explains: “When I sing the song Phnom Penh, I am so happy. I have the feeling that there is no pollution anymore, I can hear the birds sing, and I can stroll in the streets of the city without fear.”

The musical arrangements are full of freshness and enable listeners to hear the sound of the instruments highlighting the pure voice of BosbaPANH. Her voice is mature and modulates without difficulty while effectively sharing her nascent emotions. A master singer from China recently judged Bosba’s voice to be the quality of a “coloratura soprano”, a term applied to virtuosi of the opera. “I am very surprised by the voice of BosbaPANH, it is very mature. Usually, children’s voice changes at the age of 11-12 years, but the voice of BosbaPANH has already transformed itself. She is born to sing and she needs to continue to work hard”.

Sin Chaya, the son of Sin Sisamouth and Chhuong Bunly, the president of the Sin Sisamouth association have listened to BosbaPANH and declared enthusiastically: “Bosba has received a gift from nature. If she continues to work on her voice, she will be the female Sin Sisamouth in a couple of years”.

BosbaPANH is only 9 but her album is full of messages. In contrast to the songs conjuring up images of a happier Cambodia where days go by with simplicity, BosbaPANH adapts a song known by all French pupils, Sur le Pont d’Avignon (on the Avignon Bridge), to evoke the drama of Phnom Penh’s evacuation in 1975 : “On the Avignon Bridge, everyone dances, everyone dances…. Under the Monivong Bridge, everyone dies, everyone dies… the Yu Vea Chon do like this, the Yu Vea Tai do like that” with sounds of drums that recall the guns shots of the young revolutionaries.

Accompanying BosbaPANH are ten young instructors and graduates from the Royal University of Fine Arts. Kiry is the guitarist; Vattana, the flutist and conductor; Narath, the second singer; Samnang and Thach, the violinists; Sreang, the clarinetist; Sareyvann, the pianist; Deth the traditional drummer; and Vudh play bass guitar. On two of her songs, BosbaPANH is accompanied by her brothers, 15-year old Sibxy who plays piano and 5-year old PANHLauv who plays the flute.

BosbaPANH worries about the fate of her music teachers and fellow musicians who, after five years of study, lost their school in July 2005, the Royal University of Fine Arts. It was taken over for a commercial development in one of Phnom Penh’s many lucrative government/private sector “land swaps”. “I worry that now Kiry, Vattana and Narath have nowhere to teach and play. What will become of them?”

Besides her passion for music and doing well in school, BosbaPANH also practices judo, swimming and Khmer Classical Dance. She is a child of many cultures, polyglot and has traveled widely in Asia. As such, she is an example of today’s children who see far beyond their borders and take the best from many cultures, while studying and appreciating their own. BosbaPANH, who has never traveled to Europe also reminds young Cambodians living overseas not to forget the history, culture and traditions of parents.

BosbaPANH comes from a family of Cambodian intellectuals and is the niece of the famous film-maker, PANH Rithy, whose films have been awarded international recognition and prizes at leading cinema competitions such as the Cannes Festival in France and the Mostra of Venice in Italy. His most famous documentary is “S-21, the war machine”.