Performance benefits kidney foundation
THE Jeffrey Cheah Found ation (JCF) recently hosted its fifth benefit performance “Choral Serenade to Music”, together with Sunway U niversity with proceed s going toward s the National Kid - ney Found ation of Malaysia (NKF).
The performance featured one of the U nited Kingd om’s lead ing collegiate choirs, the U niversity of Cambrid ge’s Choir of Gonville and Cauis College, accompanied by the distinguished Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.
U nd er the d irection of Dr Geoffrey Webber, the Gonville and Caius College Choir took the 1,100 guests on an enchanting journey through the centuries, buoyed by music from Mozart, and Franz Schubert, includ ing John Tavener and Cheryl FrancesHoad .
The performance also includ ed a special tribute to Malaysia’s musical heritage as the choir performed an arrangement of Malaysian folk songs, hand picked and accompanied on the piano by Jeffrey Cheah Found ation trustee Tunku Zain Al-’Abid in Ibni Tuanku Muhriz.
JCF found ing trustee Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah presented a cheque for RM300,000, representing the proceed s of the evening, to NKF presid ent Tan Sri Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman.
The proceed s will go toward s purchasing six d ialysis machines for the NKF’s centres in Sabah, Sarawak and Selangor.
The Sunway Group, of which Cheah is found er and chairman, is a long-time supporter of the NKF and has contributed over RM2.5mil over the years.
The concert is part of the choir’s inaugural series of performances in Malaysia, held at Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, Sunway City.
The concert arose from acad emic ties initiated in 2014 between the JCF and the U niversity of Cambrid ge, which resulted in the establishment of a fund for two Jeffrey Cheah Professorial Fellows, who are Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, in perpetuity.
“We are here in Malaysia to not only perform to a d iscerning aud ience but also to highlight music and the arts in ed ucation,” said Dr Webber.
“Tonight is a celebration of our historic past and our bright future with our communities. The musical journey, which had carried the aud ience through the waves of time, expresses our view of ed ucation as a timeless engine of sustainability,” said Cheah.
The JCF is a long-stand ing sup- porter of the role of music and the arts as part of stud ents’ ed ucation and in shaping the lives of well-round ed individuals.