MUSIC enthusiasts are in for a treat as the Penang Hill Festival kicks off tomorrow (Friday) and concludes with its signature event, ‘Music on the Hill – East meets West,’ at Dataran, Penang Hill on Sunday (July 23).
The festival features four distinct musical groups showcasing traditional Indian music, Penang’s renowned boria, and Chinese contemporary music.
Organised by Penang Hill Corporation, the festival marks its fourth edition since its inception in 2018. This year’s festival holds a special significance as PHC celebrates the centennial celebration of the hill’s iconic funicular railway.
The Musica Sinfonietta Penang Orchestra, composed of 40 musicians ranging from 10 to 65 years old, will open the ‘Music on the Hill – East meets West’ programme under the baton of experienced conductor Lo Mei Yoke.
Mille Ho Suan Cheng, a clarinet player from the orchestra, revealed that they would perform 10 songs, starting with ‘Sound of Music’ and concluding with ‘Heal the World.’
“As we are performing on top of the hill and not in a concert hall, we will focus on contemporary music instead of classical music.
“We use strings, woodwinds, brass instruments, and rattles. To blend with the natural surroundings on the hill, one of the wind instruments will mimic bird-chipping sounds. Furthermore, two young players will have solo performances, which will provide valuable exposure for them,” Ho told Buletin Mutiara in an interview.
According to Ong Bee Lee, who plays the cello in the orchestra, this will be the fourth time that Musica Sinfonietta has been invited to perform at the Penang Hill Festival.
“We’re excited to perform for the public. Our orchestra was formed in 2010 to provide an opportunity, particularly for amateur musicians or those who love to play music as a hobby to join,” Ong said.
Following the orchestra’s performance, the stage will be taken over by Boria Omara, led by Penang’s renowned instructor Omar Hashim.
The group comprises 12 participants, with Omar being the oldest at 69. Most of them are from 18 to 25 years old.
“I want to keep boria alive. I have been passionate about this Malay traditional dance since I was hooked on it as a primary student. I had formed various groups before and Boria Omara has been established for 20 years.
“This is the first time we will be performing at the Penang Hill Festival. But we have performed in Penang Hill three times for a shooting programme by a TV station.
“We have performed in various places like Batu Ferringhi, Balik Pulau, Kuala Lumpur and Pahang.
“For the Penang Hill Festival, we will deliver two songs and a comedy sketch,” said Omar, who keeps himself abreast with times by promoting boria through social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. In fact, he has uploaded over 300 Boria videos on YouTube.
In addition to this, Omar is also actively promoting the Ghazal Party featuring comedians, singers, dancers and musicians performing together.
The festival will also present a duet performance by Kumaran Rajangam on tabla and Dr Pravin Kumar on sitar.
Both seasoned instrumentalists have been playing together for about eight years.
Kumaran, who has done solos in Singapore and India, and also performed with the Singapore orchestra, said they are looking forward to the event.
“We want to showcase the authenticity of Indian traditional music. Using the sitar and tabla, we can create sounds from low frequency to high frequency. Pravin will produce the melody with the sitar and I will produce the beat with the tabla.
“We don’t rehearse much and we improvise as we go along,” said Kumaran, who also teaches music part-time at the Temple of Fine Arts.
The Joyous Chinese Orchestra will then take the stage to thrill the audience with enthralling harmonies and melodies.
They are a unique musical group based in Penang, consisting of passionate enthusiasts of Chinese musical instruments.
At the heart of the Joyous Chinese Orchestra are its four core team members, each specialising in a different type of instrument, mainly Dizi, Erhu, LiuQin, and ZhongRuan.
“Depending on the songs, we may incorporate additional instruments such as Pipa and Xiao.
“We have been performing in various kinds of celebration events for the past nine years. Our songs vary from traditional Chinese music, classical songs, modern Chinese and English songs, cartoon and movie theme songs,” said its LiuQin player Aderine Cheah, a virtuoso of the high-pitched plucked string instrument.
The other three core members are the masterful Dizi player, J.K. Loh, whose expertise lies in the appealing wind instrument; talented Erhu player Mike Yee, who evokes emotions through the compelling sounds of the string instrument, and ZhongRuan player Nick Ong, who brings a melodic flair and rhythmic complexity to the group.
Apart from the musical performances, the organisers of the Penang Hill Festival have invited three distinguished speakers to speak on ‘Penang Hill & Its Vicinity: 100 Years of Wonder’ at Bellevue Hotel on Saturday from 9am to 11am.
The speakers are USM senior lecturer Dr Tan Chee Seng, Penang Tourist Guides Association president and history lecturer Clement Liang, and author Enzo Sim.
Over the three days, the festival also offers a plethora of activities, including Zumba, fun walks, nature and heritage walks, workshops and exhibitions.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Darwina Mohd Daud and courtesy of Penang Hill Corporation