www.mujestic.com - P i n P e a t

Master: Ho. C Chan

     Master musician of pin peat--the wind and percussive music that accompanies Cambodian court dance--masked dances, shadow plays, and religious ceremonies, has been awarded an Individual Artists Fellowship Grant by the PCA.

   Chan's first teacher was his grandfather, a well-known musician, who taught him to play 'roneat ek' (teak xylophone). Chan played for temple ceremonies and accompanied a local dance troop until 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took over the country and Chan was forced into slave labor and forbidden to play his music. After the 1979 Vietnamese invasion, Chan fled to the Khao I Dang refugee camp in Thailand where he joined a classical ensemble that was supported by "Save the Children."

   In 1986, Chan resettled in Maryland where he joined the Cambodian American Heritage Ensemble and learned to play the 'sralai' (triple-reed oboe). In 1989, he participated in the Smithsonian Institution's Folk Life Festival.

         "My goal is to ensure the survival of Cambodian music here in the U.S., most especially in the large Cambodian community of Long Beach. Following the foot steps of those who taught me, I lead classes for refugees and their children, teaching them the music of our ancestors. As with all traditional Cambodian arts, the form lives within the master and must be passed down in a very personal way to the apprentice. I will always treasure what my grandfather taught me. It is a way of bridging a significant generation gap among immigrants, their children, and grandchildren."

He's been awarded many grants, and have been asked to perform in many diverse events, as well as Cambodian festivals.


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