THE much-anticipated Penang Hill Festival: Music on the Hill, themed East meets West, is back and will take place at Penang Hill on July 21 this year.
Visitors can look forward to an evening filled with mesmerising musical performances by five well-known dance and singing groups from 3pm to 6.30pm.
They are the BhaavaNarthana Natyalaya, Penang Youth Orchestra, Culture Shot, Wak Long Music and Art Centre and Sada Borneo.
Mohd Jufry Yusoff of Wak Long Music and Art Centre said that his group had been invited to perform the ‘Dikir Barat’, a group musical performance that originated from Kelantan.
“We are privileged to be given this opportunity to perform at the Penang Hill Festival this year, giving us the platform to showcase the beautiful display of traditional music from Kelantan and its significance in this 21st century.
“We want the future generations to recognise and value the essence of traditional music, especially musical performances like ‘Dikir Barat’, which speaks volumes about unity in music,” Jufry said in an interview with Buletin Mutiara on May 10.
Meanwhile, Culture Shot, a group that makes music based on instruments used by the Indian, Chinese, and Malay communities, will feature seven crew members during the festival.
Ang Eng Bok of Culture Shot said that the team is preparing to produce a memorable evening of musical experience for the visitors by integrating a mixture of all the cultures in a single performance.
“This will be our first time performing on a hill. It will be a new and exciting experience.
“We look forward to giving everyone a great memory from our performance,” Ang said.
As for the Penang Youth Orchestra, Carmen Tan said the group will be performing for the first time on a hill since its inception.
The other group that will be performing is Sada Borneo, a group that displays unique performances, using traditional and modern instruments from Sarawak.
Story by Kevin Vimal