Bosba Panh prepares to study in US after winning scholarship

Bosba Panh

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - Young soprano Bosba Panh is preparing to leave Cambodia after winning a $50,000 scholarship to study in the United States.

"We have only one life," she said. "So we have to do something for humanity, ourselves, our parents and friends."

After graduating from Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Massachusetts, Bosba Panh said she planned to do further studies at Julliard School in New York.

"One of my main purposes is to show Cambodian music and tunes to international audiences," she said. "I also want to meet different people."

In applying for the scholarship, Bosba Panh performed "My Ship" composed by Kurt Weill for the Broadway musical Lady in the Dark. She also performed "Una Voce Poco Fa", an aria from Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville, and “Hallelujah” from Handel's Messiah.

"Music is sometimes not hard to sing," she said. But "I have to set my own routine to be a good and sucessful artist. I want to learn new things rather than stay in my room."

Bosba Panh has been performing since the age of nine and has an international repertoire which includes traditional and folk songs from Cambodia and other Asian countries.

"I love music and music is my soul," she said. "I can’t live and don’t want to live without music and art."

Bosba Panh is the only girl among three children. Her mother Ly Ly works for an international venture while her father Panh Mengheang is a businessman in France. Her brothers Panh and Luv Panh are also musicians and are always with her when she performs.