Taking flight with song
Another MPO family day highlight awaits next month, but first, let’s enjoy a diverse pre-merdeka weekend.
HOW The Gimquat Found Her Song
Venue: Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, KLCC
Date: Sept 3
Early notice: tickets might not be hanging around for long here. Platypus Theatre, an American family theatre company, will collaborate with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) on the production of How The Gimquat Found Her Song. The hour-long show, part of the MPO’S Family Fun Day concert programming, takes audiences on a musical journey with Gimquat, a discouraged bird, and her wizard guide on an adventure to discover her unique voice.
The MPO will perform Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 1 - Prelude,
Berlioz’s Mother Goose Suite,
Offenbach’s Can Can, Gregorian Chant, and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro Overture, among other works.
Naohisa Furusawa, the MPO’S resident conductor, will lead this family day concert.
More info: mpo.com.my.
Peszta (arts, culture and music festival)
Venue: Zhongshan, SAM Mansion and Pentago House, KL
Date: Aug 27
The Kampung Attap area is set to come alive with pre-merdeka cheer tomorrow from 11am onwards with the Peszta arts, culture and music festival. The free admission event will be hosted by three main buildings in the area – Zhongshan, SAM Mansion and Pentago House.
Live music performances will be held at the outdoor parking space next to the Zhongshan building, with Dama Asia and the K2K Merdeka Idol Talent Competition.
“Mantap Kampung Attap”, a concert event, will feature bands and artistes such as Francissca Peter, Seven Collar T-shirt, The Impatient Sisters and Fugo.
Throughout the Peszta all-day event, there will be marching band performances, a community market, food vendors, workshops and wayang kulit performances by Kakiseni.
At the Zhongshan building, don’t miss the Si Anu Bah showcase of new media works from Sabah. It is curated by Kenneth Lo and Emily Chin of Third Rice Culture Media Productions, Ning of HUNTWO Studios and contemporary artist Yee I-lann.
The SAM Mansion will be hosting contemporary artist Red Hong Yi’s Tanah exhibition.
Dancers At Large Venue: Sutra House, KL Date: Aug 26-28
Datuk Ramli Ibrahim directs this
Indian classical dance performance, which features nine female dancers trained in the ancient classical dance of Odissi, which originated in the temples of Odisha.
The dance performance is part of the Sutra Dance Outreach Programme, which began in 2013.
This production features a cast of newcomer dancers (Aishwaryaa, Tishaa, Harini, Yovvani, Ruphaa, Kanishha, Jevita, Ruchika, and
Deshna) hailing from various parts of Selangor.
Sutra House’s resident set and lighting designer Sivarajah Natarajan heads the show’s technical direction.
The Sutra Dance Outreach Programme seeks to provide the most effective teaching methods as well as early exposure to the exciting and creative world of Indian dance.
More info: sutrafoundation.org. my.
Projek 555 Venue: Ilham Gallery, KL Date: End Dec 11
Have you ever wondered what was going through people’s heads during pandemic lockdowns, and how they perceived the world? Malaysia Design Archive issued an open invitation at the end of 2020 and again in 2021, where anyone who wanted to participate would receive a 555 notebook to journal whatever they wanted for a month.
These notebooks become part time capsule, part living archive. Each 555 notebook returned is unique, holding space for raw emotions, silences, and fragments of mundanity and significance. This new exhibition at Ilham Gallery invites you to enter this space of shared intimacy and collective memory-making.
More info: ilhamgallery.com.
Professional Mixed Breed Venue: PJPAC
Date: August 26 and 27
Stand-up comedian Gajen Nad is gearing up for his first one-hour special Professional Mixed Breed, which will feature the sharp-witted comedian’s best material to date (spanning four years of shows). New jokes will also be added to the show.
But don’t worry. It will be a good and clean fun evening with the Penang-raised comedian.
Gajen will dive into the topics of family, career (he was once an IT consultant), travel, dating, education, and being “mixed” (he has Chinese and Indian parentage) in his comedy set.
Professional Mixed Breed is produced by Laugh Labs Entertainment.
More info: pjpac.com.my.