What a tremendously busy and fulfilling year for Euroasia!
The Euroasia Strings Competition, in collaboration with the Selangor Symphony Orchestra, still attracts the most talented and ambitious young string players in the country: whether from Johor Bahru, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Kuantan or Kuching. This year, more than 500 participants have competed, with the youngest musician being five and the oldest being 34 years old. This year we have also held workshops and masterclasses for teachers and students in the regions where we hold our preliminary rounds, thanks to the Patrons Fund from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM).
We also held the second edition of our Sarawak Piano Festival, and in addition, we have launched two additional festivals: the Johor Bahru Piano Festival in collaboration with Johor Bahru: International Festival City, and the Kuala Lumpur Piano Festival in collaboration with the Malaysian Youth Orchestra Foundation. In both cases, we had to close applications to compete before the deadline due to the overwhelming demand.
This is evidence that Euroasia is going where we need to be and responding to the desires of young Malaysian musicians to hone their skills and perform on stage. These are fantastic ways to improve discipline and build confidence, and that’s why I’m so pleased that so many are vying to win the competitions this time around as well.
I’m pleased to report that last year’s winner of the Patron’s Prize in the Strings Competition, Goh Wen Chih from Seremban, has completed a successful (and enjoyable) tour in France, performing (at the Cello Fan Festival in Callian, and receiving lessons from Florent and Frederic Audibert, Paul-Antoine Rocca Serra and Xavier Chatillon). Soon, both he and Denise Mubin (with whom he jointly won First Prize in the Young Artiste Category) will be performing with the Selangor Symphony Orchestra – watch out for that!
Once again I’d like to congratulate Angel, Jonathan, Andrew and Bang Hean and the entire team, parents, teachers and volunteers for making Euroasia one of Malaysia’s most active and dynamic musical organisations.
Finally, I’d like to thank ABRSM and Trinity College London for their continued support for the festival, as well as EUPE Corporation, Graceful Piano and Opus for also believing in our objectives.
Despite this generous sponsorship I know that the team spend far too much of their time looking for funds (often with contributions from students themselves) to ensure their activities can continue. So please, dear reader, support us if you can!
YAM Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz
Patron, Euroasia Association of Performing Arts
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