Music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything, Plato once said.
To light up lives and spread the joy of music, the newly-formed Selangor Symphony Orchestra (SSO) will present its inaugural concert on Nov 21 at the Auditorium Dewan Jubli Perak, SUK (Setiausaha Kerajaan) Negeri Selangor, Shah Alam.
The homegrown orchestra will serve as a domestic platform for Malaysia’s top professional classical musicians, showcasing the accumulated growth in the Malaysian classical music scene.
“This has been my dream,” says Eugene Pook, founder, music director and conductor of SSO at the launch of the SSO on Oct 29. Also present at the launch was SSO’s royal patron, Tengku Zatashah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, daughter of the Sultan of Selangor.
“Back when I was studying in New York, I used to come home for the holidays and didn’t see many local orchestras. So I had an idea back then to set up an orchestra. When I returned home, I started to scout for local talent. This long awaited dream is now going to be unleashed in November,” Pook says.
Pook is no stranger to putting together orchestras. In 2010, he set up the Kinta Valley Symphonic Society, which oversees the Kinta Valley Wind Orchestra and the Perak Philharmonic Orchestra. He also founded the Kuala Lumpur Pops Orchestra. But the clarinettist deems forming the SSO is his greatest achievement yet.
“When we started auditioning and recruiting musicians, it was incredible how much talent we saw out there, and a lot of them were not full-time musicians. We don’t set any criteria but welcome anyone who shows some kind of music skill," he says.
“A lot of talented musicians graduate with music degrees and end up playing at weddings and small functions because there aren’t many avenues for them to show their skills. They lose spirit and end up getting different jobs. We want to give them a platform to play quality music. But I admit it was a challenging task to put them together,” Pook adds.
The orchestra comprises 76 players and will be accompanied by renowned soloist Zhang Le, former winner of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth International Competition in Belgium.
Born into a musical family, the Chinese violinist first picked up the violin when he was four, and by the time he was 13, clinched the top prize in China’s National Violin Competition. Zhang has tons of accolades under his belt and is currently a member of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
Pook and Zhang met last year and will be collaborating for the first time with the formation of the SSO.
Under Pook’s batonship, the SSO’s 90-minute maiden performance will feature Verdi’s Triumphal March from Aida, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor Op. 64 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 E minor Op. 64.
The 43-year-old’s selfless contribution to the music industry has benefited youth and communities of all races and backgrounds as well as professional musicians around the world. In 2012, he was the recipient of the Ten Outstanding Young Malaysian award by the Junior Chamber International for his cultural contribution and achievement in Malaysia.
Pook set up the orchestra in Selangor as he feels the state is vibrant and is home to most of the talented musicians. He says: “I believe orchestras have the power to uplift a city and stimulate other art forms.”
The common instruments people play are violin, flute and trumpet while the uncommon ones are bassoon, bass trombone and viola. Since some of these instrumentalists are rare, Pook has to source for them outside Malaysia.
All the SSO musicians come together when there is a performance and are paid on a project basis. More amazingly, because they are highly skilled, for the debut concert, they will only rehearse thrice as a group prior to the show!
“Then it’s all systems go! We get out there and play music, It’s going to be exciting,” concludes Pook.
The Selangor Symphony Orchestra’s inaugural concert will be held at 8.30pm on Nov 21 at the Auditorium Dewan Jubli Perak, SUK Negeri Selangor, Shah Alam. Tickets are available for donations of RM34 (free seating), RM54 and RM84. To purchase tickets, visit ticketcharge.com.my or call 03-9222 8811. For more information on the SSO, visit sso.org.my, e-mail admin@sso.org.my or call 010-703 8588.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
