| Kuala
Lumpur Contemporary Music Festival 09 - Introduction
 The
1st KL Contemporary Music Festival 09 is organised by Goethe-Institut
Malaysia and the Malaysian Composers Collective,
together with event co-organiser SEGi College Subang Jaya,
to be held in Kuala Lumpur from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November
2009.
The festival, with this
year's theme of Urban Soundscapes, will bring together
the best of Malaysian and South East Asian contemporary music
at nightly concerts by Ensemble
Mosaik and Hong
Kong New Music Ensemble. The weekend programme of evening
concerts will be held at Segi College University Kota Damansara
Auditorium A, with a special Alternative Avant Garde
electroacoustic concert at the Central Market Annexe by HKNME
and guest musicians. These concerts will explore how composers
respond to the festival theme of city life with its many facets
and issues.
The Festival also includes
the Asian Composers' Conference with talks by invited
regional composers such as Dr Anothai Nitibhon (Thailand), Dr
Hoh Chung Shih (Spore), Dr Jonas Baes (Philippines), Prof Slamet
Sjukur (Indonesia), Prof Dieter Mack (Germany) and more.
KLCMF 09 represents the first regional contemporary music festival
of its kind in Malaysia and the premiere contemporary music
event of the year. It serves as a platform where Malaysian and
South East Asian composers can meet, exchange ideas and celebrate
our region's rich musical talent.
 One
of the highlights of the Festival is the Young Composers
Competition 09 which will invite a total of 9 young composers,
selected on the basis of a submitted score of an original composition
for a chamber ensemble, to participate in rehearsal workshops
and a final concert which will be adjudicated by an international
jury comprising established South East Asian composers and German
composers. Based on the highly successful HSBC Young Composers
Workshop 08, the competition ups the stakes this year by pitching
Malaysian composers against their colleagues from the region.
It is a formula that has produced some top notch young composers,
many of whom have moved on to regional successes and premieres.
The Festival Ensembles
Goethe Institute's generous financial support makes it possible
for the KLCMF 09 to present two exciting contemporary music
groups who will collaborate with our composers to bring you
a varied programme of contemporary classical music that is,
for the first time in this country, focused on the music of
our region.
Ensemble
Mosaik
Ensemble Mosaik, one of Germany's leading contemporary music
outfits, is the main Festival ensemble who will perform the
opening and closing concerts as well as the young composers
workshops daily.
The ensemble was formed in 1997 by an initiative of young instrumentalists
and composers in Berlin. Its interest lies in the diversity
of aesthetic concepts and their forms of existence in contemporary
music. To allow for the intended contemporary practice of performance,
the ensemble works in close consultation with the composers.
Apart from portrait concerts with "classical" contemporary
composers like Lachenmann, Wolpe, Stockhausen and Ligeti, the
ensemble mosaik pays particular attention to the opus of the
younger newcomers like Enno Poppe, Rebecca Saunders, Stephan
Streich, Michael Beil, Sergej Newski and Sebastian Claren. In
developing a long line of concerts which are based on specific
themes such as in "audible interfaces", "Musikszene
Graz", "Mythen des Alltags" or "Serien und
Etüden" the ensemble mosaik gained considerable reputation.
They received the Ernst-von-Siemens music-award in 2001, 2002
and 2004. The ensemble has performed on numerous national and
international festivals in Europe and around the world, for
example Donaueschinger Musiktage, festival de músiques
contemporànies Barcelona, Contraste in L´viv, Jornadas
de música contemporànea de Granada, MaerzMusik,
UltraSchall Berlin, Musik-Biennale Berlin, festival di nuova
consonanza Rom and on Transit in Leuven. Many of the concerts
were covered live on radio-live-broadcasts.
The ensemble frequently premieres new compositions, many of
which were expressly written for them.
Hong
Kong New Music Ensemble
The HKNME is one of our region's most exciting full time contemporary
music ensembles. A group of 6 musicians from the group will
perform the evening and late night electroacoustic concert on
28 Nov 09.
 An
initiative of the Grenzenlos Foundation, the Hong Kong New Music
Ensemble was formed in 2006 with fifteen of the best local and
international Western and Chinese instrumentalists living in
Hong Kong, with a mission to establish a strong presence in
the Asia-Pacific region.
The HKNME presents the best new music in Hong Kong by local
HK composers, Asian composers and also by the important international
figures. It intends to foster interesting interdisciplinary
collaborations, and to present the highest quality contemporary
music to Hong Kong audiences on a regular basis.
In its previous identity, called ‘Grenzenlos’, the
group performed in the Summer 2008 in Hong Kong (Osage Gallery
Kwun Tong), Macau (Ox Warehouse), Guangzhou (with the Guangdong
Modern Dance Company) and Shenzhen (Mooka Space). From 2007,
Grenzenlos also performed at Princeton University (USA), ORKA-M
(India), the University of London (UK) and Meran Palace (Austria).
In October 2008 members of the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble
were resident at the Shanghai Conservatory. Starting in early
2009 the HKNME will present regular concerts in Hong Kong.
Organising Committee
and Acknowledgements
Organizing Committee
Executive Producers: Hardesh Singh, CH Loh & Dr Volker Wolf
Festival Manager: David Ngui
Festival Administrator: Patsy Ng
Administration Assistants: Sharil, Alan Eee, June Lee
Program Manager: Chong Huey Ching
Master of Ceremony: Fiona Wong
Festival Secretary: Eva Tan
Technical Director: Hardesh Singh
Technical Manager: Shaun Chong
Stage Manager: Chong Huey Ching
Videographer: Jye Lee, Kien Leong, Ansif, Lim Teck Chan
Still Photographer: Chow Yik Sun, Lai Jia Hau
Volunteers: SEGi College Subang Jaya, Music Department students
- Jenny Wong Shu Yuan, Yu Xin Xian, Chan Zi Ying, Tommy Chin
Hong Wei, Lee Pooi Yin, Florence Chong Khei Kuna, Ti Qi Xin,
Goh Wei Jing, Lim Jing Xiuan, Yeo Lee Yee, Chen Kein Wooi, Chaw
Sau Hong, Goh Hong Lip.
Piano Sponsor
Wagner Piano
Additional Instrument Support
PCC Orchestra, German School Kuala Lumpur
Poster Design
Roy Tan
Printing
Gary Khoo
Festival Caterer
Country Lifestyle Café, SEGi UC.
Invited Ensembles
Ensemble Mosaik (Germany), Hong Kong New Music Ensemble (Hong
Kong)
Guest Musicians
Chong Keat Aun & Neuyabe, EMACM (Ng Chor Guan, Yong Yandsen,
Tham Kar Mun and Kok Siew Wai), Goh Lee Kwang & Friends
(Wong Eng Leong, Wong Min Lik, Lim Keh Soon
Muriz Contemporary Trio (Malaysia), Nicholas Ong, Ong May Yi,
Tey Beng Tze (Malaysia),
Leow Pei Yu (Singapore),
Jury Panel
Anothai Nitibhon (Thailand), Dieter Mack (Germany), Johan Othman
(Malaysia), Jonas Baes (The Philipines), Moritz Eggert (Germany)
& Musicians of Ensemble Mosaik.
We wish to express our gratitude to all Guest composers
for contributing their works, suggestions, advice and effort:
Adeline Wong (Malaysia), Ahmad Muriz Che Rose (Malaysia), Boonrut
Sirirattanapan (Thailand), Chinary Ung (Cambodia/USA), C H Loh
(Malaysia), Chong Keat Aun [Ji-An] & Neuyabe (Malaysia),
Goh Lee Kwang (Malaysia), Hardesh Singh (Malaysia), Hoh Chung
Shih (Singapore), Jerome Kugan (Malaysia), Jiradej Setabundhu
(Thailand), Narong Prangcharoen (Thailand), Ng Chong Lim (Malaysia),
Ng Chor Guan (Malaysia), Ngiao Tzu En (Malaysia), Nguyen Thien
Dao (Vietnam/France), Otto Sidharta (Indonesia), Samson Young
(HK), Slamet Abdul Sjukur (Indonesia), Tan Zi Hua (Malaysia),
Tazul Izan Dajuddin (Malaysia) , Teh Tze Siew (Malaysia), Tony
Prabowo (Indonesia)
Additional thanks to
Jason Tan (Off The Edge), Chong Keat Aun (Ai FM), Jerome Kugan
& Pang Khee Tiek (Annexe Gallery, Central Market), Lee Kee
Hin, Moon Chen, Shanon Crowe & Captain Roslee (SEGi Education
Group)
Media Articles
We invite the regional media to the festival to cover our event.
For interview requests and complimentary passes kindly write
in to the media contact address below.
Contact
Us
General enquiries (festival details, attending the festival)
email to
klcmf09@malaysiancomposers.com.
Media enquiries should be sent to
CH Loh (chloh@malaysiancomposers.com)
cc. Goethe Institut Malaysia (director@kualalumpur.goethe.org)
Photo Credits:
The art photography on this site is drawn from the photographs
of the exhibition Mapping
Invisible Cities by Goethe Institute South East Asia, with
the exception of concert photos provided by the musicians and
by Malaysian Composers Collective, and the main page photo provided
courtesy of Jay Suwanto.
|
Introduction 
