The Staedtler – Hucky Eichelmann Thailand Tour 2012, which formed part of the 150-year anniversary celebrations of German-Thai relations and was held in major cities nationwide from 15 August to 4 September, presented a highly satisfactory combination of music, education and cultural highlights. Nearly 8,000 enthusiastic audience members attended the packed concerts and workshops throughout the three week tour.
Renowned German guitarist Hucky Eichelmann has toured the Kingdom regularly for more than 25 years as both a solo artist and with various musician friends and ensembles. This year’s concert program focused on an exciting collection of German and Thai music, which provided audiences with an opportunity to broaden their understanding of the differences and similarities between the countries’ two cultures.
German guitarist Hucky Eichelmann.
The concerts also introduced Hucky’s new album, “Guitar Favourites”, his debut of exclusively western music, which was released in mid-July.
The tour’s education development and cultural exchange elements were also a success: The results of Hucky’s on-going tour efforts show great improvement among the students who attended.
“Their development is amazing,” said Hucky. “At Mahasarakham University there are nearly 90 students majoring in guitar. However, at another university where I visited for the first time, and where the guitar is taught in a strictly ‘classical’ way, the number of students has been gradually dropping.”
Hucky firmly believes that developing creative ability involves a balance between teaching skills and understanding and promoting the freedom to innovate and take risks.
“It is very important to me to open the students’ minds to the incredible versatility of the guitar apart from the purely classical guitar approach,” he says. “This appears to help many of them to develop themselves into a broader-minded musician rather than just a limited classical guitarist.”
Hucky is mobbed by student fans in Phatthalung during his 2012 tour.
Another highlight of the tour was the participation of students and teachers from each city who were invited to perform together with Hucky on stage, which brought some more interesting colors and aspects to the concerts and was highly appreciated by the cheerful young audiences.
“This year I was particularly impressed with the improvement of the performance standards. After introducing my workbook “Finger Works” during last year’s tour the students really got into it and studied hard throughout the year to reach a new technical as well as musical level of performance. All of this is highly encouraging,” said Hucky.
A large-scale tour like this requires support and this year’s Hucky Eichelmann Thailand Tour received generous support from Staedtler (Thailand) Ltd. and Chiang Rai University. Both entities saw the value in participating in this event in order to play a part in building a creative society for present and future generations while also helping to make the world a better place through music.
When asked why he keeps on touring every year, Hucky said: “I have lived in Thailand for over 30 years and I feel very much like being part of Thai society. It is my honor and duty to share my music and experience with the Thai people. Music has the power to positively contribute to people’s lives and this becomes more and more important as life rapidly becomes more stressful. Music is an important counterbalance to that. Besides that, I just love meeting my fans around the country on a regular basis. They are so different and yet they all share the same thing: the love for music!”
