Malaysian Composers Collective - MCC

14/08/2023

Malaysian Composers Collective - MCC is thrilled once again to have Institute of Music, UCSI University faculty and students perform 10 Malaysian piano works. This year’s Free Hand is special as it will be the first time MCC is in partnership with UK’s Sound World. During the concert, we will feature Michael Ellison’s ‘Interlude on Todi’ as an exchange work between MCC and Sound World.
You can book your tickets now by scanning the QR code in the poster or using this link here:
https://mereka.io/experience/free-hand-2023-3rd-malaysian-contemporary-composers-piano-festival

07/08/2023

This August Aswara will hold a recital.art exhibition marrying the idioms of music and contemporary art. Nine composers were commissioned to write piano music inspired by the artworks of two local artists.

The nine composers are ACL award winners Ainolnaim Azizol and Jessica Cho, Chan Wei Tuck, Lee Chie Tsang, Sayyid Shafiee, Loh Chan Hong, Caeleb Tee, Rayner Naili, and Jamie Tan.

More information in our blog!

This August Aswara will hold a recital.art exhibition marrying the idioms of music and contemporary art. Nine composers were commissioned ...

24/11/2022

Jalur #14: Adeline Wong takes us to Negri Sembilan to marvel at the buffalo horn design of Minangkabau architecture, The piece, titled 'Sembilan', also has nine sections or gestures representing the state's name.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2! Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

23/11/2022

Jalur Kita #13: Wan Azlan explores Kelantan's Dikir Barat, and produces what he says is like "eating Budu with Fish and Chips".

Q: How would you describe yourself?

I am an experimental composer, which means I always look for new ideas or at least something that I haven’t done before in my composition. I will always push my limits questioning what is music.

Q: What are the most important principles in life to you?

The idea that “diamond’s are not forever, but friends and family are”.

Q: What have you learned about the subject you chose?

Kelantan has a very unique dialect, or I would say, a different kind of language. It is a state in Malaysia but when you listen to their conversations, you hardly understand what they are saying. What interests me the most is that even though I cannot understand what they are saying in their Dikir Barat performance, but I am still able to enjoy watching it.

Q: What can the audience expect to hear from this work?

The audience can expect a crossover of two different styles of music, to make it easier for me to explain, it is like eating Budu with Fish and Chips.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2! Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

22/11/2022

Jalur Kita #12: Tazul Tajuddin marvels at the wonderful architecture of Selangor's Blue Mosque.

Tazul is always searching for an eastern and western contemporary multi-cultural
ideal. Here he uses his inspiration, an eastern cultural monument, and translates it
to sound using a western medium.

"Masjid Biru Shah Alam is important focal point here. The four minarets of the mosque are architecturally stunning, and I can see them from where I work (at Shah Alam UiTM)," says Tazul.

What can the audience expect to hear? "Expect something abstract, where the four
minarets represented in the up and down registers with a central axis line in the
mid-register," he says.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2!
Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

21/11/2022

Jalur Kita #11: Zhiyong Tan gets into the verbal sparring of Melaka's Peranakan
culture.

Q: How would you describe yourself? What are the most important principles in life to you?

I'm one who cares about social, cultural and environmental issues. The most important principle to me is to treasure everything, and every moment you enjoy.

Q: What have you learned about the subject you chose?

I learned about the traditional musical style of the Baba Nyonya, including the
instrumentation, rhythm, scale etc. I am grateful for this opportunity because the
culture of Baba Nyonya is something I enjoy and have been exposed to since young.

Q:What can the audience expect to hear from this work?

The audience can expect to hear some typical musical phrases of the style of Dondang Sayang, as well as some imitation of the traditional rhythms.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2!
Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

20/11/2022

Jalur Kita #10: Tai Yun Ming is taken by stories of Terengganu's sea princesses
stealing fishermen's souls.

Q: How would you describe yourself? What are the most important principles in life to you?

I like to work with film, visual art, dance and painting when composing. Writing
music from the heart is what I value most.

Q: What have you learned about the subject you chose?

I was happy to discover our own mermaid tale in Terengganu.

When I was researching its local legends and myths, I particularly liked the Ulek Mayang tale of the sea princesses for its twist to the well-known Disney mermaid tale. And so I wanted to find out if earlier versions of the Ulek Mayang tune existed.

Dr Johan Othman told me about Puan Liyana from Dewan Budaya USM, and so I approached her, and she gave me her version of the tune.

Q:What can the audience expect to hear from this work?

You can hear the Ulek Mayang tunes (including the lesser-known versions), and
imitations of the gong and rebana rhythm section.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2!
Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

19/11/2022

Jalur Kita #9: Ooi Wei Chern takes a spiritual journey to Kedah's Bujang Valley but finds he just can't leave city noise behind.

Q: How would you describe yourself? What are the most important principles in life to you?

I enjoy learning new things. The most important principle for me is "don't get complacent, always strive for the better".

Q: What have you learned about the subject you chose?

It takes a lot of time and dedication to build and preserve any heritage, but only a little negligence is needed for it to be destroyed.

Q: What can the audience expect to hear from this work?

A grand ritual interrupted by noise.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2! Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

18/11/2022

Jalur Kita #8: Lee Chie Tsang is inspired by the calls of Sabah's orang utan and
hornbill.

Q: How would you describe yourself?

I think I’m a curious person, almost to a fault who trying to keep learning new
things in all different fields, wishing to know and understand the world better.

Q: What are the most important principles in life to you?

Compassion, kindness, and listening other voices are the most important principles I
have been practicing in my daily life.

Q: What have you learned about the subject you chose?

Love and caring. The hornbills show an incredible firm set of family values that not
only will they stay with the same partner but their children all their life.

Q: What can the audience expect to hear from this work?

'Long Calling from the Gardeners of the Forests' celebrates the ecosystem of Sabah's
biological diversity where the audience could experience the beauty of the wildlife
ambience of long call repertoires in the Borneo rainforest created by especially the
orangutan and hornbills.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2!
Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

16/11/2022

Jalur Kita #7: Jellal Koay takes us on a rediscovery of Penang's Teochew puppet opera.

Q: How would you describe yourself? What are the most important principles to you?

I would probably think of myself as an introvert who usually spend time being lost in my own thoughts.

I think one of the principles that I deem most important is to be genuine to others and myself.

Q: What have you learned about the subject you chose?

Although being trained in a Western classical music context, I have come to realise that the both of these seemingly different cultures (Western classical music and Teochew puppet opera) are actually similar in a lot of ways - the concept of opera itself and its forms, the use of specific tone colours, the imitation of speech in writing for vocals, and there are even specific tunings for Teochew music that draws parallels to the church modes in Western classical music.

However, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to fully integrate the two worlds into one, as the both of them still fundamentally have different ideas and beliefs at core.

Q: What can the audience expect to hear from your work?

In this piece, I attempted to draw the more prominent characteristics from both Western classical music and various styles of Teochew music and have them co-exist together. I felt that it would be best if I source my musical material from the music of Teochew puppet opera, and avoid altering it so much so that it could still be recognizable.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2! Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

14/11/2022

Jalur Kita #6: Tengku Irfan contemplates Johor's legendary tale of Laksamana Bentan and the infamous sumpahan muntah darah.

Q: How would you describe yourself?

As someone who is interested in exploring different ways of making music. I like to see myself not as a composer, or another specific field per se, but rather, a musician who likes to inhabit different persona.

Q: What are the most important principles in life to you?

An important thing for me is to discover yourself, and not be worried about labels. There is something individual and personal about everyone, and what they do as a career/living does not give an entire picture of the person. Leading from this, one should not look down on opportunities that might be different from what one usually does. In some cases, these unusual happenings can lead to lifelong interests and pursuits.

Q: What have you learned about the subject you chose?

I learned and tried to convey in my music the injustice that pervades during Laksamana Bentan's life. Even though living conditions and society have improved in different ways, there is still unfairness in the world, and this story can be relatable to anyone because it still resonates with people in this regard.

Q: What can the audience expect to hear from this work?

In my piece, what the audience can hear is the conflict within the ensemble. Even though the wind quintet is traditionally thought as an ensemble with a blended instrumentation, I decided to focus on the conflict between the timbres of the different instruments. Also, the added timpani adds more chaos to the ensemble. This is related to the confrontations that Laksamana Bentan had to go through in the story.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2! Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

12/11/2022

Jalur Kita #5: Hardesh Singh takes a wry look at the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur with all its quirkiness.

Q: How would you describe yourself?

I would describe myself as an out-of-touch composer as I have not been composing for a very long time. However I live on the principle of never saying no, so when Adeline asked me to come on board and write a piece for this project I ended up having to say yes.

Q: What have you learned about the subject you chose?

KL is full of contradictions, like most big cities. Rich and poor, historic and modern, jaded and hopeful.

Q: What can the audience expect to hear from this work?

I hope it captures what everyone feels about KL - it can be inspiring and stressful at the same time, and I have tried to show that both through the music as well as the projection.

There is also a small section in the end that was composed by an AI algorithm. I just fed the AI with the scale I wanted and a reference composer for style (I chose Mozart) and it came up with its own composition.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2! Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

10/11/2022

10/11/2022

Jalur Kita #4: Jessica Cho takes us to Pahang to converse with the birds of Taman Negara!

Q: How would you describe yourself?

I'm a composer and piano lecturer, photographer, barista and more. I would describe myself as an enthusiast; I love to explore new things in my life.

Q: What are the most important principles in life to you?

My most important principles in life are to be myself, keep learning new things and live my life to the fullest.

Q: What have you learned about the subject you chose?

I have chosen bird songs and calls from Taman Negara, Pahang as my subject for this project. Taman Negara is said to be 130 million years old, and it house almost 500 species of birds. It's interesting for me to transcribe bird songs and calls into my musical motives, and choosing the right motives for my piece is a challenge.

I love to write my compositions based on people, animals and incidents that happened around me, and this project brought me to another perspective of writing closer to nature. And it also made me a more disciplined composer in terms of organising and collecting my motives.

Q: What can the audience expect to hear from this work?

My imaginations for the conversations of birds with beautiful bird songs and calls of various native Taman Negara birds, played on the flute and bass clarinet.

Catch the Jalur Kita, Cerita Kita concert on 26 November, 2022 at KLPac's Pentas 2! Book now at : https://www.cloudjoi.com/buy/oqpc8o (Show 2)

25/10/2022

Coming up next month - Dr Chan Wei Tuck's test piece for the UCSI International Piano Festival next month. Find out more!

Winners of Free Hand 2022 have been commissioned to write test pieces for the upcoming UCSI University International Piano Festival & Compet...

30/08/2022

Here is a compilation of our 2021-2022 performances made for the Asian Composers League festival in New Zealand last week, featuring a wonderful variety of composers and styles.

Prepared for the 2022 ACL meet in New Zealand, here is a selection from our concerts of the years 2021 - 2022 featuring the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra,...

12/07/2022

Mark your calendars and join us for a special concert, Three Nations Chamber Concert performed by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) on Friday, 22 July 2022 at 8:30 pm at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (DFP), KLCC.

This concert will feature works by our very own Malaysian composers in partnership with composers from Composers Society of Singapore (CSS) and ACL-Korea! And now more from Malaysian Composers Collective’s President, Adeline Wong

https://youtu.be/mBTIYjZEU2U

Mark your calendars and join us for a special concert, Three Nations Chamber Concert performed by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) on Friday, 22 Ju...

27/06/2022

24/06/2022

Listen to Ainol's fascinating piece at Free Hand at UCSI tomorrow!

19/06/2022

Listen to Jessica Cho's Arrythmia this Saturday at Free Hand 2022!

18/06/2022

Meet Rayner Naili from Sabah, whose piece you can hear at Free Hand 2022 next Saturday.

Meet Sabahan composer Rayner Naili, one of the finalists for next week's Free Hand Festival, and hear his unique world view:

Q: How would you describe yourself? What are the most important principles in life to you?

A: I would describe myself as always remembering who I am and where I came from. I am here today because of my roots and always trying to move forward without forgetting where I came from. This also reflects in my music composition, where I always try to connect with my background.

Q: When did you start composing - and what or who sparked your passion?

A: I started composing during my music study days in UiTM, and the thing that drives me into music composition (or art in general) is the feeling of freedom of thought , expression and interpretation which no one can take from you.

Q: What do you usually start with when composing a new work?

A: A plan. Like all types of works, a 'blueprint' needs to be laid out first before the crafting begins.

Q: What's the craziest idea for a piece you've ever had?

A: The theory of relativity incorporated with music composition. Of course that didn't happen (yet).

Q: The name of this festival is Free Hand, which means free to create, free to explore. How does this relate to your work?

A: Freedom of speech. But it expresses through music notes rather than a literal speech. You see someone corrupted, abusing their power in order to gain something for themselves. All these things are happening around you, which can be a bit overwhelming, and the best way to speak about it is through art.

Listen to Rayner's piece at Free Hand Festival next weekend 25th June at UCSI University. Book Now at www.freehandfestival.com