Indonesia Orchestra

& Ensemble Festival

13 -15 September

MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA

The initial steps towards realising the long-cherished dream of the late PETRONAS Chairman, Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin, to create a youth orchestra as a ‘stage for young talents’, alongside the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO), were taken on 13 January 2006. Some 500 aspiring musicians from across Malaysia auditioned and 110 – with an average age of 18 years – were selected to form the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO).

After a period of intensive training under its founding conductor, Kevin Field, and mentors drawn from the ranks of the MPO, the MPYO gave its first public concert in Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS on 25 August 2007. It has since established a pattern of music camps held three to four times a year, culminating in performances in Kuala Lumpur and beyond. It has toured Peninsula Malaysia (2007 and 2010), Sabah and Sarawak (2008), Singapore (2009 and 2017), Brisbane, Australia (2012), Kedah (2013), Johor Bahru (2014) and Hong Kong (2018).

Auditions are held every year to provide opportunities for talented young Malaysian musicians to join the MPYO and participate in orchestral training and performances, under the guidance of the MPO musicians as tutors.

The music repertoire ranges from symphonic repertoire to specially-commissioned works by Malaysian composers. In an innovative project, ‘Jazzaar’, in 2010, the orchestra collaborated with leading jazz musicians from the USA, led by Fritz Renold who wrote his Suite Nusantara specially for the project.

In 2013, the orchestra performed in Kedah with renowned local singers Datin Paduka Julie Sudiro and Datuk Yusni Hamid in a keroncong concert attended by the HRH Agong of Malaysia. In 2014, the ensemble collaborated with Yayasan Warisan Johor and Orkestra Tradisional Malaysia in Johor Baru. In 2015, the MPYO was given the honour to perform at the opening of the 128th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Kuala Lumpur.

In 2017, the MPYO was invited to perform at Majlis Santapan Malam Memuliakan Mesyuarat Majlis Raja-Raja ke-247 at Istana Negara, and Majlis Jamuan Teh Sempena Sambutan Ulang Tahun Hari Keputeraan Rasmi DYMM Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, Sultan Johor.

For inquiries, please call Shafrin Sabri at 03-23319298, email shafrin.sabri@mpo.com.my or check out www.mpo.com.my.

Sun 15 September 2019 at 3.30 pmTaman Ismail Marzuki, Teater Besar, Jakarta

Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

Naohisa Furusawa, conductor

PROGRAMME

AHMAD MERICANTanah Pusaka 3 mins

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 45 mins

All details are correct at time of printing. Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS reserves the right to vary without notice the artists and/or repertoire as necessary. Copyright © 2019 by Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (Co. No. 462692-X). All rights reserved. No part of this programme may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owners.

NAOHISA FURUSAwAconductor

Naohisa Furusawa has been a member of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) double bass section since 2003. Born in Tokyo in 1973, he started to play the violin when he was 4 and joined his junior high school orchestra as a double bass player at 12; his first conducting experiences were with this orchestra. Later, he studied double bass with Prof. Nobuo Shiga and conducting with Prof. Kazue Kamiya at Tokyo’s Toho Gakuen School of Music, and with Prof. Frank Reinecke at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.

Furusawa has performed as a double bass player with the NHK Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony and other orchestras, under the direction of conductors including Seiji Ozawa, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Horst Stein, Lorin Maazel, Herbert Blomstedt, Pierre Boulez and Valery Gergiev.

He conducted Beethoven’s 9th Symphony eight times with Tokyo’s MAX Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2015, he conducted Mahler’s Second Symphony with the MAX Philharmonic to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of Second World War.

Since 2016, Furusawa is Resident Conductor of the MPO. He also serves as conductor to the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and cover conductor for Mark Wigglesworth, Roberto Abbado, Stéphane Denève, Jun Märkl and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

He conducted the MPO in Tokyo for the Asia Orchestra Week 2017, a festival under Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. He also conducted the MPO and Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra at Iwaki Performing Arts Center.

He has conducted many youth ensembles including the MPO’s Encounter Training Ensemble and the Miri Tutti Project in East Malaysia as part of the MPO’s Education and Outreach Programme.

PROGRAMME NOTES

INDONESIA ORCHESTRA & ENSEMBLE FESTIVAL

TAN SRI AHMAD MERICAN (b.1924)Tanah Pusaka (arr. Vivian Chua)

A famed patriotic Malaysian work opens this special concert by the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchesra (MPYO). In 1963, Radio Malaya national broadcaster Ahmad Merican penned one of the all-time classic and favourite Malaysian nationalistic works entitled Tanah Pusaka, a flowing and beautiful song that nurtures patriotism. With lyrics by Wan Ahmad Kamal and Tan Sri Dol Ramli, it begins as a song of praise (“harum semerbak namamu oh Malaysia”) that also takes pride in the country’s racial harmony. In the final verse,

it takes on a powerful declaration of loyalty and gallantry (“biar putih tulang jangan putih mata”).

Indonesia Orchestra & Ensemble Festival (IOEF) is Indonesia's first festival that accommodates orchestra and ensemble musicians, held for the first time in September 2016. With the main focus in music education, IOEF does not only offer a spectacular open stage where you can share your music but also provides valuable activities that will expand knowledge in music, specifically in the world of orchestra and ensemble playing. In addition to this, this festival is a place where its participants will embrace the joy of music while starting new, inspiring friendship between musicians.

star2.com

rtm.gov.my star2.com Vivian Chuawan Ahmad KamalTan Sri Dol Ramli

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 (1937)

I. Moderato II. Allegretto III. Largo IV. Allegro non troppo

Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony had its premiere on 21 November 1937 in Leningrad (today St. Petersburg). He subtitled his symphony “A Soviet Artist’s Reply to Just Criticism” as a palliative to the heavy-handed Soviet Union government critics who had mercilessly railed at his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and other works. Further for the benefit of Soviet officialdom, Shostakovich claimed that the symphony had as its theme “the making of a man”.

The symphony abounds in extended but easily recognizable and memorable themes that lend themselves to fragmentation and development. There are passages of haunting beauty, mordant wit, pressing intensity, strident militarism, and an almost unlimited number of imaginative and inventive orchestral effects: fanfares, extremes of range, prominent use of piano and celesta, wide leaps with mischievous effects, unexpected contrasts of high/low and loud/soft, and chamber-music delicacy contrasted with massive tuttis.

Concert notes for Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 was written by Robert Markow.

symphonyofthevines.org

MPYO: THE JOURNEY SO FARAs the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) was maturing artistically into one of the most accomplished orchestras in the Asian region, PETRONAS Chairman Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin felt a strong desire to create a youth orchestra as a ‘stage for young talents’. His wish came true on 13 January 2006 when the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO) was officially launched.

Auditions for the MPYO were held across Malaysia, attracting some 500 aspiring musicians, at the end of which 110 of the best talents, on an average age of 18 years, were selected. The group received intensive training from its founding conductor, Kevin Field, and mentors drawn from the ranks of the MPO.

The MPYO made its debut at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (DFP) on 25 August 2007 and since then, members of the MPYO meet and practise regularly at music camps held three to four times a year, culminating in performances in Kuala Lumpur and beyond.

Starting off with core symphonic works, the MPYO’s repertoire has steadily expanded to include specially-commissioned works by Malaysian composers, jazz and pop music. In 2010, the young musicians were privileged to widen their music experience in an innovative project called Jazzaar which saw it collaborating with six renowned jazz musicians from the USA led by Fritz Renold, who composed Suite Nusantara specially for this project.

MPYO at the opening of the 128th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session, 2015

Besides performing side-by-side with its mentor MPO at numerous concerts at DFP, the youth orchestra has performed at prestigious events such as the PETRONAS Merdeka Award, Symphony Lake KLCC and the opening ceremony of the 128th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session which was broadcast ‘live’ around the world. In 2017, it was invited to perform at the Majlis Santapan Malam Memuliakan Mesyuarat Majlis Raja-Raja ke-247 at Istana Negara, and Majlis Jamuan Teh Sempena Sambutan Ulang Tahun Hari Keputeraan Rasmi DYMM Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, the Sultan of Johor.

The MPYO has toured Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, and spread its wings to Singapore in 2009 and 2017, and Brisbane, Australia, in 2012. In conjunction with its 10th anniversary, the orchestra participated in the Miyakojima Youth International Music Festival in Japan in 2017.

The MPYO has also toured Hong Kong in 2018 in conjunction with the first Asia Pacific Youth Symphony Orchestra Festival. A first in the region, the festival assembled the best orchestras from Macao, Shenzhen, Hunan, Guiyang, Singapore as well as Hong Kong, igniting passion among the youths, bringing out their best in music and bridging the gap between cultures. This is yet another milestone for the MPYO as it contributes to the orchestra’s artistic development and provides international exposure for the MPYO by performing ‘live’ to different audiences.

MPYO and conductor Tengku Irfan, 2017

Stretching its virtuosity further, the MPYO performed with conductors such as Benjamin Zander, Fabian Russell and Nicolae Moldoveanu, and local maestros Mustafa Fuzer Nawi and Dato’ Mokhzani Ismail. Big names in the music industry that have shared their musicianship with the MPYO include Dato’ JamaI Abdillah, Dato’ Ramli Sarip, Harvey Malaihollo, Dato’ Sheila Majid, Ella, Datuk Paduka Julie Sudiro and ensembles such as Yayasan Warisan Johor, Orkestra Tradisional Malaysia, Hong Kong Children’s Symphony Orchestra and Indonesia’s Trinity Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, Malaysian piano prodigy Tengku Irfan made his conducting debut at DFP with the MPYO in a world premiere of his composition entitled What Does It Take To Dance?.

Many members of the MPYO have won scholarships to further their studies at international music schools in Singapore, the USA and the UK, while others have gone on to become full-fledged professional musicians. As these young musicians leave to pursue their dreams, auditions are held regularly to refresh the ensemble and build a pool of well-trained Malaysian musicians.

The birth of the MPYO is a testimony of the MPO’s commitment to cultivate the awareness of classical music among our new generation, transferring its skills and sharing its knowledge to the youth of Malaysia.

For information on the MPYO, kindly visit www.mpo.com.my.

MPYO for 'Jazzaar' concert, 2010

VIOLINAndrea Sim Yi XianAshraaf Shahiran Abdul KarimAzhad Sulaiman @ ZakariaCeleste Tan Chai WenChan Mei TengCheong Keat ZhenDebbie Johanna Ho Yan YanHam Kay LynHoi Khai-WeingJoanna Delight Ho May SumJoey YoungJonathan Ng Chin KhaiKylie TanKylie Tan Khai LiKyvie TanLee Yan XingMegan Loo Mei HuiNatasha Francesca ParanNg Chia WenNg Zhi NingNgoh Ea SonNicole Leong Ka YengSia Zhi YiTimothy Song

VIOLAEvelyn ChowIzzywan MusibLoo Pei ZhengPoh Yoon HouTan Jiunn Shaw

CELLOCharissa Tan Tian AiEmily Lee Tze ShinGoh Wen ChihIsabel Lau Kai ZiJoel Chew Yee SongJoshua Sim Te Sheng

DOUBLE BASSKhee Yu HangLee Kar YanSiti Aishah Che HassanWong Zheng Dao

FLUTEBonnie Kong Tien Li Lawrence Chiu Peng ChongTan Wei Harn

OBOEMohd Izzat Bukhori AwangTunku Amanina Tunku Ibrahim

CLARINETEugene Chee Jia JiunnLee Shi MinLing Ji Xu

BASSOONChong Chun WengMuhammad Afiq Hussaini

FRENCH HORNChai Kee HongChloe Chai Mei QinEric Tiow Xian LiangNoor Fauzan Mohd Khiry

TRUMPETDarren Huong Nai Xian Loh Ryan BenzWong Soon Kang

TROMBONEAbdul Hanif Abd HamidAinul Basyirah AznanLow Kim Ven

TUBALim Jun Yi

TIMPANI/PERCUSSIONNorman Cheen Xin TaoOng Chu WenOng Jia YongWinnie Chong Yee Nie

HARPIsabel Chan Xuan-e

PIANOChong Yi Heng

MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA

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2019 Season Brochure

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