Written by THA SC
Samphran, Thailand, 27 November -- On 22 November 2024, Salesians in formation from Samphran and the Sisters of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary came together under the name of “Il Sogno dell’amore” (The Dream of Love) to participate in the creative music and composition competition at Saengtham College. The college is the only college in Thailand that provides education and training for seminarians - students in philosophy and theology to prepare themselves to become priests and religious. The college organizes music competitions every year. This year, the college organized a music competition with the theme “Laudate Deum - Praise the Lord”. This competition was participated by 8 teams of philosophy and theology students from both the diocese and the religious communities.
The Salesian team composed the song “Following the Dream of Love” to enter the competition and received 2 awards: the first prize in the songwriting competition and the first prize in the music competition.
The inspiration for the song came from experiencing beautiful nature, along with information from the Apostolic Exhortation "Laudate Deum" and the Rector Major's Strenna for 2024 “The Dream That Makes You Dream”, which made this song a reminder of the importance of working together to take care of the world, our common home, which is full of beautiful creations from God. We must all help take care of the world and walk alongside the young people who are in the age of dreams to help them find dreams that respond to God’s dream of love, which is beautiful and full of love.
This performance by the Salesian Band was the result of the cooperation of various groups in the Salesian Family, including the Salesian Sisters who helped to check the melody and lyrics. The Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary sang the songs and made costumes from recycled materials together with the Salesian Brothers. The members of the Salesian Cooperators helped make the costumes for the performers from scraps of cloth. The youths from the Don Bosco Youth Center helped to choreograph the dances together with the Sisters.