The Chinese Orchestral Competition Malaysia 2019 is making a comeback after 7 years!
This year’s iteration will be held at the Selangor & Federal Territory Hainan Association from 13 – 15 December 2019. This nationwide event is open for Chinese orchestras and music groups, from both private groups or schools, to participate. It’s time for the local Chinese orchestra scene to shine.
Organised by the youths of the Selangor & Federal Territory Hainan Association, the Chinese Orchestral Competition Malaysia 2019 will be gracing the auditorium of the association for 3 consecutive days. ‘Infusing Chinese Orchestra with Malaysian Colours’, the theme of this year’s iteration, was created in hopes of discovering raw local talents to diversify and to create a ripple effect in the local Chinese orchestra scene — bringing it to a whole new level.
Jun Yi Chow, a young Malaysian prodigy has composed a single—known as Days at the Pasar—specially for this competition. He created this piece in order to help more people understand and appreciate the beauty of local Chinese orchestra music – putting the local scene first before ever thinking of the international stage.
Jun Yi started his musical journey at the Central Conservatory of Music, China, before pursuing his master’s degree in music composition at Indiana University. He is now an established composer, an experienced concert planner and a reputable orchestra conductor. He has many awards under his belt, with his first win in 2009 as the champion of the Yanhuang Cup with his first-ever musical piece, ‘An Impression of Kampung Life’ from the Kampung series. In the following year, he continued and completed the Kampung series with ‘Kampung’ and ‘Kampung Voice’. These two singles made him the runner-up of 2010’s Taipei City Orchestra International Composition Competition (there wasn’t a first-prize winner) and the champion of Singapore Ding Yi Music Company Chinese Chamber Music Competition.
In 2017, Jun Yi’s ‘Kampung and the City’ won the Best Original Music award at the ‘Music About China X Chinese Music Without Bounds’ International Composing Competition. In that year alone, he has also won the Best Supporting Music award and the Most Popular Original Music award.
Back in 2002 when the first Chinese Orchestral Competition Malaysia was held, the association made it their mission to host one every two years in order to discover and hone more talents. It all stopped at 2012. Despite the overwhelming response, the association was plagued by various issues, with funding being the main one. It was a tremendous loss for the local Chinese orchestra industry.
The Chinese Orchestral Competition Malaysia 2019 serves a much bigger purpose than before. It is to promote Chinese culture, inspire and encourage local Chinese orchestras and music groups, and to serve as a platform for local Chinese orchestras to showcase their capabilities. Ultimately, it is to add a local flair to the scene — diversifying it and taking it to greater heights.
“The association is not motivated by money or returns in any way. On the contrary, we are driven and willing to go the extra mile to bring Malaysia’s Chinese Orchestra scene back to its glory days. We want to become a breeding ground, a place where raw Chinese orchestra talents can grow and contribute not just locally, but on an international level as well,” said Dr C.Y. Tang, the President of the Selangor & Federal Territory Hainan Association during a press conference on 18 July 2019, Thursday.
Wong Liang Yew, the consultant of the Chinese Orchestral Competition Malaysia 2019, advises the Chinese organisations in Malaysia to show more initiative and refresh their perception towards Chinese orchestra in Malaysia. On top of that, these organisations should also respect and cherish the beauty of the culture, because an international presence would be impossible without the support of our own people.
Wong also said that preserving and ensuring that the Chinese culture lives on is the duty of every Malaysian Chinese, and all of us at the Selangor & Federal Territory Hainan Association are more than willing to take up this responsibility.
“In our efforts to make the event transparent and with credible results, we have invited five renowned composers and conductors, both from home and abroad, to become our judges. This is to ensure that only the best will win. Therefore, we hope that all the Chinese orchestra groups in Malaysia will take this opportunity and sign up for the event.” said Eng Fwu Ji, the Chairperson of the Organising Committee.
When Jun Yi, the young prodigy, attended the press conference, he said he felt like he was on top of the world when he received the invitation to this competition, as he will always remember the invaluable inspiration he got from his visit to Malaysia’s Pudu Market.
He believes that a street market, which has unique local characteristics, best represents the diverse culture of Malaysia. Despite the change that’s been happening with the world, a street market is and always will be relevant in people’s lives. “I hope that the local tales of Malaysia will help the world understand the beauty of this multicultural country.”
Any Chinese orchestra groups, organisations or Chinese school orchestra clubs may participate, as long as the registered participants are permanent residents of Malaysia. Each orchestra group must consist of at least 45 people and not more than 55. The order of appearance on stage will be determined fairly by lot drawing.
This competition will have two rounds: preliminaries and finals, and all participating teams are required to perform two songs each. In both rounds, the first performance can be any song of choice, but the second performance must be either Liu Xi Jin’s ‘Chun Yu Fen Fen’ and Jun Yi Chow’s Days at the Pasar. For those who make it to the finals, their second performance must be the other one on the list above. For the first performance, teams can choose any song they want, as long as it is more than 3 minutes and not more than 15 minutes. However, there will be no time limit for the performance of Liu Xi Jin and Jun Yi Chow’s songs.
The champion will win RM15,000, while the runner-up and second runner-up will get RM10,000 and RM5,000 respectively. There will also be 5 consolation prizes of RM 3,000 each.
There will be a registration fee of RM500. Submit your team’s application to Persatuan Hainan Selangor dan Wilayah (Youth Division) together with either a cheque, cash, or remittance before 2 September 2019. The cheque must be made payable to: PERSATUAN HAINAN SELANGOR & WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN.
For any enquiries, please contact Lee Chin Teng, the assistant executive secretary of the Selangor & Federal Territory Hainan Association at 03-22747088 (ext. 182) or via email: chinteng2017@gmail.com.
Contact information:
Address: 65, Persiaran Endah, OFF Jalan Syed Putra, 50460, Kuala Lumpur
Phone number: 03-22747088/016-2274206 (WhatsApp)
Fax number: 03-22736505
Email: chinteng2017@gmail.com
Website: www.hainannet.com.my
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theanhoutemple/
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