Spotlight on young musicians

2 The trumpet and French horn in the brass section of the Selangor Philharmonic Orchestra, performing at their fifth concert, last year.

FIVE months after their last concert, the young and talented Selangor Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) are back to hold their seventh concert titled, “Chapter Seven: Fate”.

The concert will take place at the MBPJ Civic Hall in Petaling Jaya this Saturday starting from 8pm and the group will be taking on some of their biggest pieces yet.

The SPO was only formed in 2012 by a group of young musicians and its musical director and principal conductor Chan Ling Chee, with the purpose of creating a platform to cultivate talent in young musicians.

“Our main goal is to bring out local talent and give a platform to younger musicians who want to perform in an orchestra,” said SPO president Terence Ng.

With orchestra members as young as 10 years old, Ng added that anyone at all could audition to join, as long as they have the passion for what they do.

With a total of 80 musicians performing in their biggest concert ever, the programme for this seventh concert will feature three well-known classical works.

The first is Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ most famous piece, Finlandia, a dramatic song that embodies the national struggle of the Finnish people in the 19th century.

Renowned local pianist Ng Chong Lim will be the special guest performing in the second piece, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2.

Ng has taught many young musicians such as 13-year-old Vincent Ong who performed the Chopin piano concerto at SPO’s last concert, and will be taking the spotlight with his interpretation of this expressive and melodic Rachmaninoff piece.

Last but not least, the orchestra will be taking on one of the most famous pieces of all time, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No.5.

“It is an incredibly challenging but interesting programme,” said Chan Ling Chee, who conducted the orchestra for its last six concerts.

“The repertoire we chose is on par with international-standard symphony orchestras and I truly believe that with so many talented young musicians playing in the orchestra, it will be a wonderful concert that we can be proud of.”

Tickets are priced at RM25 for standard seats and RM50 for VIP seats, and they can be purchased by contacting Loke Cheng Mun at [e-mail]

For further details contact [e-mail] or visit www.facebook.com/SelangorPhilharmonicOrchestra