Orkestra Kuala Lumpur in a practice session. After a two-year break, the members can now line up more performances this year.
Kuala Lumpur has come a long way since being granted city status half a century ago on Feb 1, 1972.
The country’s capital has shown rapid transformation through the years.
To commemorate the golden jubilee as a city, the Culture, Arts, Tourism and Sports Department of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has composed a song for Kuala Lumpur.
The composition by the department’s Music Unit is titled Kuala Lumpur Untuk Semua (Kuala Lumpur for All) and features three verses and two choruses.
It refers to the 2040 vision themed “Kuala Lumpur Bandar Untuk Semua” (Kuala Lumpur – a city for all) and also to DBKL’s efforts to develop Kuala Lumpur into a sustainable, resilient and prosperous city for its 8.2 million population.
Joseph: Rockestra combines rock and orchestral music.
Composer Muhammad Zulfazeli Alizan said he gave the song an upbeat tempo for an energetic vibe.
“City residents have many fond memories growing up in Kuala Lumpur over the past 50 years and some even witnessed it getting city status,” he said.
The 32-year-old musician revealed that part of the inspiration for the song came from his desire to have everything back to normal just as it was before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I want this song to lift everyone’s spirits,” he said.
He worked together with his brother Syazleen Alizan, who was the lyricist, and it took them one week to complete the song.
Music Unit head Dr Isabella Pek said the song marked a milestone for Kuala Lumpur as a city.
“In a way, we shouldn’t have only one song to represent 50 years of Kuala Lumpur as a city.
Muhammad Zulfazeli: I want this song to lift everybody’s spirits.
“We could have 50 songs in different genres.
“But in reality, we cannot really do that because it requires a lot of planning.
“This song will be played by Orkestra Kuala Lumpur during events and special performances.
“It is also broadcast every Monday morning at three DBKL towers.
“I hope that people will remember this song for decades to come,” she said.
Orkestra Kuala Lumpur is the official name of DBKL’s orchestra.
More than just entertainment
It was established in 1988 by then Kuala Lumpur mayor, the late Tan Sri Elyas Omar who had a passion for music and sports.
The members compose and arrange orchestral music for performances and perform at government functions as well as private events upon request.
Pek said an orchestra could be considered the crown jewel of a city as it was a cultural representation or symbol of the place.
“There are currently only four orchestras in Kuala Lumpur.
“The three others are National Symphony Orchestra Malaysia, Orkestra Radio Televisyen Malaysia and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ho’s job as a musician and copyist is to record and document pieces that are being played.
“We have very few orchestras compared to countries such as Germany that have some 130 funded by state or national bodies.
“An orchestra bears a more significant meaning than just providing music and entertainment.
“It represents what the city is all about.
“It’s not just about DBKL, but also city folk,” she said.
Pek had worked at Orkestra RTM for 15 years as a pianist, music arranger and conductor and at Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan as a senior lecturer for 11 years.
She founded Southeast Asia Music Education Exchange in 2017 and initiated the Southeast Asia chapter of the International Association of Studies of Popular Music.
She said the orchestra’s job was to engage with city folk by catering music to them.
“We look at the relevance of the orchestra at a holistic level, which is to promote a variety of offerings that include rock music.
“We also provide contractual jobs to musicians when they join our department,” she said.
Community programmes
The Covid-19 pandemic greatly affected orchestral performances in the last two years.
According to musicians from the Music Unit, they used to perform at least two shows in Kuala Lumpur a month.
The Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to these performances so Orkestra Kuala Lumpur released specially recorded videos on Facebook for the masses to enjoy.
As things started picking up in the fourth phase of the National Recovery Plan, the orchestra was able to line up some performances this year.
They include the KL River Jazz programme which will be held in August at the iconic Blue Pool near Masjid Jamek.
File photo of the orchestra performing at a concert for International Women’s Day before the pandemic.
“We look forward to performing at this jazz event organised by Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau.
“Visitors can expect a wide range of musical performances.
“Most importantly, both local and international visitors can get a taste of what Kuala Lumpur has to offer music-wise,” said Pek.
DBKL’s Music Unit is also kickstarting its community music programme at libraries and community centres for the younger generation.
“We will introduce orchestral instruments such as violin, horn, flute and oboe to get people interested in playing music,” said Pek.
“This programme was started in 2020 but stopped after the nationwide lockdown on March 18.
“We are going to hold the programme at Kuala Lumpur Library and later introduce it in Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Gombak Setia libraries too,” she said.
Pek showing photographs of some past performances by DBKL’s orchestra. — Photos: SIA HONG KIAU/The Star
Non-governmental organisations and residents associations can write to the Music Unit to ask for such programmes.
“We are not teaching music but rather introducing music to a target audience who are children aged five to 12,” Pek explained.
“We believe that playing music can help build children’s character.
“Those who play music develop qualities like patience and perseverance.
“Music can help keep them productively occupied and away from social ills,” she said.
She highlighted that Orkestra Kuala Lumpur would be marking its 35th anniversary next year.
“A lot has happened in 35 years and we wanted to commemorate our growth by having concerts, documentaries and community projects.
“I hope we can have 35 pieces to commemorate our coral anniversary,” she said, adding that the plans were pending approval from DBKL.
The musical process
When DBKL’s Music Unit produces a show, they will first need to choose a programme to play.
The producer will curate a programme and send it to music arrangers to compose and arrange the scores.
Copyists will then prepare orchestral parts and sheets for the musicians to rehearse and perform.
Musician and copyist Ho Kit Teng said her responsibility also included recording and documenting pieces that were being played.
“We are like a delivery hub that prepares the parts that music arrangers have created and we give them to the musicians.
“We have a library of over 4,000 pieces. When any of those pieces are needed for a performance, that’s where we come in.
Violinists rehearsing at Menara DBKL 2 for upcoming shows
“We are in the midst of digitising physical copies to be saved to a cloud system.
“It would be such a hassle bringing the entire physical copy to shows outside Kuala Lumpur or Selangor so a digital copy would be better,” Ho elaborated.
On average, the orchestra plays about 15 pieces during each performance, based on a prior agreement with the producers.
Meanwhile, double bass principal Joseph Raymond Uyehara Arnesto from the Philippines shared that the Music Unit had a programme called “Rockestra” for the public.
“It’s a combination of rock music and orchestral music, something that was performed during the 1950s and 1960s.
“The audience can expect music incorporating the electric bass guitar and drums.
“Some pieces were rewritten to give them a unique rock character,” he added.
Another musician, Syed Faisal Syed Hussain from the Music Unit, is also in the thick of things.
He currently composes and arranges orchestral music.
“One of the most memorable pieces that I rearranged in the past was P. Ramlee’s Jeritan Batinku.
“I altered the song’s original opening and bridge by adding string instruments.“The song was performed by Sheila Majid and won an award for ‘Best Music Arrangement’ at the 18th Anugerah Industri Musik in 2011,” said Syed Faisal.
