Music Saved My Life- A talk by Human Rights Activist and Musician Arn Chorn-Pond

Human rights activist and musician Arn Chorn-Pond will be at Birkbeck to talk about the role music has played in his life. The talk titled Music Saved My Life Chorn-Pond will highlight the power of the arts to give a voice to individuals and bring peace to societies. From the Khmer Rouge genocide, to his latest venture, the Khmer Magic Music Bus, Chorn-Pond explores how music has helped him, and how he now uses music to help others.

When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975, Chorn-Pond was sent to a children’s labor camp. There, he learned to play the Khim and played propaganda music for the Khmer Rouge generals, escaping death. He later reached a refugee camp in Thailand, where Reverend Peter Pond adopted him in 1980. In the U.S., Chorn-Pond began a series of community rebuilding projects and founded several organizations. In the mid-1990’s, he returned to Cambodia to find his family and his music teacher. He “discovered” other artists who had survived the war and were living in difficult conditions. The organisation Cambodian Living Arts was born.

This talk is presented in collaboration with the Guilt Group at the Birkbeck Institute of Social Research.