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Marion Institute

artist Masters

	MASTER KONG NAY – Chapei Dang Weng Born in 1944, Kampot Province. Kong Nay became a CLA Master in 2003 and has now retired. He plays Chapei Dang Weng, a long neck 2-stringed guitar. This instrument is played in traditional songs as well as in improvised pieces with satirical, rhyming verses. As he became blind because of smallpox at the age of four, he is known as the “Ray Charles of Cambodia”. Kong Nay is not only known by most of Cambodians for his witty, raspy voice through frequent performances broadcasted in TV, but also worldwide as he performed on the four continents.
	MASTER SUON SAN– Chapei Dang Weng Born in 1950, Phnom Penh. Suong Peng, was wounded during the Khmer Rouge and lost use of one leg. That is why until he was approached by CLA and became a CLA Master in 2005, he lived in poverty. But he is now happy to teach young people his art form and he regularly performs in live and in TV.
	MASTER NHOCH HOEUN - Memm Born in 1954, Ratanakiri. Nhoch Hoeun is a member of the Kroeung tribe and lives in the hills of Northeastern Cambodia. In his village he teaches young tribal people how to play Memm, an ancient one-stringed instrument with a fret board but no sound box, which raised curiosity of many archeologists. This instrument is depicted on Angkor’s bas-reliefs and used to be appreciated in ancient times, yet then the savoir-faire was left but kept alive by the Kroeng tribe. Nhoch Hoeun enjoys playing it in ensembles of tribal instruments for weddings and funerals and passing his knowledge since he became an Assistant Master in 2007. He was then promoted to Master in 2009.
	MASTER SOK DUCH - Classical Wedding Music Born in 1926, Takeo province. Sok Duch was designated a “Living Human Treasure” by UNESCO and is the only surviving Master artist of Kse Diev, a one-stringed instrument depicted in Angkor’s bas-reliefs. He became a CLA Master in 2006 and since then teaches Classical Wedding Music and also how to make the instruments of this ensemble. Thanks to this unique class, one day several young players will become in turn Masters of the Kse Diev and of this art form.
	ASSISTANT MASTER KEOT RAN - Smot Born in 1953, Kampong Speu. Chanting poetry or “Smot” is Keot Ran’s way of healing from the atrocities she survived in the Khmer Rouge time. To her, it is also a way of comforting people with Buddhist wisdom about life and death. Since 2004, Keot Ran has been teaching to many students in a small village in the Kampong Speu province, first with Master Prom Uth, who passed away in 2009, and now on her own.
	ASSISTANT MASTER SOUR VANNA – Pin Peat Born in 1982, Kandal province. Sour Vanna is learning how to be a Master since 2006. He represents Cambodia’s cultural renaissance as he is one of the rare Cambodian traditional musicians to know musical notation and he can write traditional music to pass it on to further generations. Pin Peat ensembles are indeed used to accompany classical dance, large shadow puppets and religious ceremonies.
	MASTER IENG SITHOL – Folk and Classical Dance Born in 1959. Ieng Sithul may be the most popular musician of Cambodian traditional music as he performed on national television and in live inCambodia as well as on abroad stages. He became a CLA Master in 2003 and since then enjoys teaching folk and classical dance to nearly 50 students with the help of several assistants. These performers are now the professional Children of Bassac troupe and have already toured in UK, Japan and USA.
	MASTER TEP MARY – Pin Peat Born in 1943, Kandal Province. Tep Mary is one of the rare women performing in Pin Peat ensembles. Before she became a CLA Master in 2000, she used to be part of the very selective Pin Peat ensemble of the Royal Palace.
	MASTER KHI MOM – Yike Opera Born in 1936, Takeo Province. Before the Khmer Rouge era, Khi Mom was a famous Yike Opera performer. She herself was taught by her father, known as Ta Khi (grandfather Khi) and who was a recognized performer and manager of his own Yike Opera troupe. Khi Mom became a CLA Master in 2000 and has now retired.
	ASSISTANT MASTER NAY SITHA - Mohaori Born in 1955, Takeo province. Nay Sitha became a CLA Assistant Master in 2008 and manages her own class. She is also a recognized singer of Mohaori, a traditional Khmer form of singing.
	ASSISTANT MASTER UY LATAVAN – Yike Opera Born in 1954, Kampong Cham. Uy Latavan has been teaching Yike, a traditional Khmer opera form, since 2008. Besides that, she is also a member of the Department of Performing Arts specialized in Yike and Bassac Opera.
	MASTER YOEUN MEK – Modern Wedding Music Born in 1939. Yoeun Mek is the first Master who was recruited by CLA. He started studying music in 1963 with Master Sareoun, a real Cambodian legend who used to teach music by singing the sounds of the instruments. During the Khmer Rouge, Yoeun Mek survived by playing music in the same prisoner camp where CLA’s founder Arn Chron-Pond was. He now lives in Battambang and is a well-known player of string instruments, including Tro Sau and Tro Ou. Yoeun Mek is a gifted teacher who uses humor to pass on his knowledge to young generations.
	MASTER NONG CHAK – Bassac Opera Born in 1945, Battambang. Before the Khmer Rouge, Nong Chak was a member of the Bassac Folk Opera Company led by the father of CLA’s founder Arn Chorn-Pond. A talented singer and actor, he likes performing dramatic and humorous parts of the Opera and teaches a class in Bantey Meanchey, near the Thai Border.
	ASSISTANT MASTER WAY DORN - Bassac Opera Born in 1958 in Kampot province. Way Dorn had been learning music before the Khmer Rouge. Then he worked at the Department of Information and performed Modern Wedding Music and Bassac Opera music. He became a CLA Assistant Master in 2000.
	MASTER SENG NAN - Kantoaming Born in 1941. Seng Nan is one of the last performers of Kantoming, a rare, ancient form of funeral music that guides the soul from life to death. In 2008, Seng Nan nearly died of tuberculosis. His family had already prepared his coffin and he was lying in coma when CLA brought him to the hospital. That saved his life and he now continues teaching how to play the instrument of Kantaoming, including gongs, drums, and a wind instrument called a Sralai.
	MASTER MANN MEN - Classical wedding music Born in 1949. Mann Men is a respected elder in his impoverished village near Siem Reap, where he teaches a class of 16 young people. The latter are given the occasion to regularly play for weddings in this area. Mann Men is the last Master of this rare, ancient form of wedding music which instruments are depicted on Angkor’s bas-reliefs.
	GROUP LEADER VANN SOPLEAOUTH - Large Shadow Puppet Born in 1972. Vann Sopleaouth has learnt this art form from monks in the Wat Reach Bor pagoda. He became a group leader in 1994 and in 2000, CLA approached his troupe and started to support him. Beside working as an artist, he is a teacher at ‘10 Makara’ high school.