With Tunku Marina Tunku Dato’ Zubir as the choir director and Syafinaz Selamat as the artistic and vocal director, 19 members of The National Choir of Malaysia staged a concert entitled “Wajah” at the Perak FM auditorium on Sunday, November 6.
Paying tribute to the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee and the many characters he portrayed, the evening featured 21 classics such as “Ibu”, “Antara Senyum dan Tangis”, “Pujaanku”, “Azizah”, “Gelora”, “Kelasi”, “Do Re Mi”, “Medley Ali Baba” and “Semerah Padi” with exciting twists. Performers in multi-hued costumes sang their hearts out in the range of soprano, mezzo-soprano, countertenor, tenor and baritone to the responsive crowd of over 400. With elements of jazz, tango, a cappella and rock, their goosebumps-inducing vocals were interweaved with video clips of the icon’s works.
The man of many talents had created 401 songs and directed 66 films throughout his lifetime. He was honoured as the Best Actor Award and Most Versatile Talent at the 4th and 10th Asian Film Festival in Tokyo in 1957 and 1963 respectively.
The occasion was graced by Sultan Nazrin Shah and Raja Permaisuri Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim. Also present was Menteri Besar, Dato’ Seri Diraja Dr Zambry Abd Kadir. During the interval, 11-year-old Adinda Tasya Mansor, known for her stunning performance on a reality TV singing competition, “Let’s Sing Kids” in China, gave a special performance.
The National Choir of Malaysia was founded in 1991 under the then Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism with the view of having a choir of international standard to represent the country. To date, the group has performed throughout Malaysia and overseas. One of its greatest honour was singing in the opening and closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games XVI in Kuala Lumpur.
Mei Kuan
