Malaysian Young Composers' Workshop 2021
A Refreshing Opportunity in the Malaysian Composers' Community
It has been almost two years since the pandemic started, and it has definitely caused a huge negative impact towards composers all around the world. This is especially true in Malaysia as the continuous lockdowns had jeopardized some artists' career pathways. The restrictions had complicated opportunities for artistic work and collaborations, and subsequently it has taken a toll on our creative minds, despite the current world needing more art than ever before.
In May 2021, I was recommended by my mentor to participate in a new workshop hosted by the Society of Malaysian Contemporary Composers (SMCC), which aimed at promoting the creation and performance of new contemporary works by the younger generation of Malaysian composers, as well as honing the crafts of these young composers in Malaysia. To be honest, I was initially reluctant to participate at first as I was already facing quite a lot of difficulties in participating online activities, despite knowing the benefits that I would reap from it. I ended up joining it anyway and it was definitely worth it.
In May 2021, I was recommended by my mentor to participate in a new workshop hosted by the Society of Malaysian Contemporary Composers (SMCC), which aimed at promoting the creation and performance of new contemporary works by the younger generation of Malaysian composers, as well as honing the crafts of these young composers in Malaysia. To be honest, I was initially reluctant to participate at first as I was already facing quite a lot of difficulties in participating online activities, despite knowing the benefits that I would reap from it. I ended up joining it anyway and it was definitely worth it.
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The workshop featured the distinguished Malaysian saxophonist Scarlet Gouk and a panel of senior composers from SMCC, as well as a total of 8 young composers participating in it. It felt great to get to know other Malaysian musicians, especially my peers who are also in the process of developing their own compositional voices. The 8 of us came from different backgrounds and compositional preferences, ranging from jazz-influenced to contemporary classical compositional practices.
In the workshop sessions, we were introduced to the basics of saxophone writing as well as extended techniques for saxophone. As we shared our ideas for respective compositions among each other, the panel have also discussed on the suggestions for every one of our works so that we could enhance our own compositions before the performance.
By the end of the workshop, we will be presenting our own freshly composed works for saxophone, with or without piano and/or electronics. It will be presented virtually as one of the concerts in the upcoming SoundBridge Virtual Contemporary Music Festival in November 2021, featuring Scarlet Gouk on the saxophone as well as Poom Prommachart as the guest pianist.
In the workshop sessions, we were introduced to the basics of saxophone writing as well as extended techniques for saxophone. As we shared our ideas for respective compositions among each other, the panel have also discussed on the suggestions for every one of our works so that we could enhance our own compositions before the performance.
By the end of the workshop, we will be presenting our own freshly composed works for saxophone, with or without piano and/or electronics. It will be presented virtually as one of the concerts in the upcoming SoundBridge Virtual Contemporary Music Festival in November 2021, featuring Scarlet Gouk on the saxophone as well as Poom Prommachart as the guest pianist.
Our experience with the workshop thus far has been a refreshing experience, and we will be looking forward to see everyone joining us for the premiere of our new works in this upcoming concert!
Written by Jellal Koay, October 2021.
