In June of 2001, Ponn Yinn passed away due to a lengthy illness. He contributed so much to the cultural landscape of California. He is missed and remembered by the many who enjoyed and experienced his music. His children continue to carry on the family mahori ensemble, led by his son and apprentice Andrew.
 |
| ©Terry Liu |
Pin Peat, the percussive classical music of Cambodia, has been passed from master to apprentice for more than a thousand years. Because this art form has no written notation, it must be learned through imitation and repetition.
During the years of the Khmer Rouge "killing fields," pin peat almost disappeared though the death of perhaps 90 percent of its practitioners. Those who survived have spent the rest of their lives attempting to pass their knowledge and skill along to the next generation so that the art form will remain a lively and important part of Cambodian culture.
Master musician Ponn Yinn and his apprentice Andrew Yinn are father and son. An ethnic Khmer, Ponn Yinn was born and raised in Cambodia, where he fell in love with music. At sixteen he joined an orchestra and later organized his own musical group and joined the military band. In 1959 he was appointed principal musician and teacher of the Classical Symphony of the Army for the Royal Ballet. Even after fleeing Cambodia in 1979, Yinn was able to follow his love of music, participating in orchestras in the refugee camp in Thailand and later coming to the United States. In 1986, he formed the first pin peat ensemble in California. Yinn says, "In my head and in my heart live the complicated rhythms and sounds of the traditional music of my native country. Playing music is the only vocation I have ever known. It even saved my life. During the barbaric rule of Pol Pot, I was accused of being a former government soldier, for which I would be punished with death. When I told them I was a musician, they didn't believe me. So I drilled a few holes in a bicycle handlebar and played a tune for them. With this proof, they allowed me to live."
Ponn Yinn considers his son Andrew as his "gift" to the future of Cambodian culture. The teen is Mr. Yinn's most dedicated and promising apprentice and they have performed together hundreds of times since Andrew began studying music as an eight-year-old with his father. Although Andrew himself is quite an accomplished musician with a long list of public performances to his credit, he realizes the importance of continued study with his father.
"My father is the oldest master Cambodian musician living in the United States…. I have the unique opportunity to learn from him. I worry because he is old and his health has been failing in recent years…. That is why I am eager for him to teach me as much as possible and why I worked so hard to learn the songs only he knows."
top
