People of Remarkable Talents (PORT), in collaboration with Gerakan Seni Ipoh, will be organising the Ipoh Music Symposium (IMS) programme for the third time, and the theme for this round is ‘Nusantara Music: Exploring Tradition and Contemporary’. Running from October 1 to 3, the programme aims to showcase the talents of both local and Indonesian artists.
Last year, the same programme, under the theme of Ax Rock, made its own success by garnering about 150,000 visitors online.
PORT General Manager, Nur Hanim Dato’ Mohamed Khairuddin, said that this year’s edition of the programme, which is also held online, is expected to receive additional response with the involvement of artists from two neighboring countries.
According to her, this prestigious event is organised with the Perak state government, with the support of Cendana (Cultural Economy Development Agency) and Tourism Perak.
“For two days, the virtual symposium offers various interesting content in addition to discourse sessions, recorded stage performances and also the promotion of art-themed books.
“It features big names including the country’s famous composer Datuk M. Nasir and Indonesian multi-genre musician, Dwiki Dharmawan, as well as symposium presentations by 23 artists and well-known art activists,” she said.
She mentioned this at the IMS 2021 online press conference session which was also attended by the Executive Councillor for Housing, Local Government and Tourism, Dato’ Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi.
Other prominent guests who will be involved in IMS 2021 include composer and Song Champion Award winner, Manan Ngah; composer and lecturer of Sultan Idris University of Education, Prof Azam Dungun; the founder of Pusaka, Eddin Khoo and the founder of Citra Research Center Indonesia, Dr. Citra Aryandari.
IMS 2021, among others, was created with the aim to gather input and various perspectives on the field of music through debate and presentations by invited panelists to open discussions on the impact of music on society, especially the younger generation.
The program includes symposium sessions, the ‘Identity and Globalisation’ forum, the ‘Memories of Loloq’ forum, the Nusantara Concert, book promotions and discussions, as well as music workshops.
Hanim added that the Nusantara Concert will be held live online on PORT Ipoh’s Facebook page on October 2 starting at 9pm for two hours.
The concert features performances by Datuk M. Nasir, the Raksar group, Selendang Perak group, Sada Borneo, Margasatwa, Space Gambus Experiment, as well as Orang Asli artists Herry and Alang Luhiew Renaweij.
Meanwhile, Nolee Ashilin said that IMS 2021 will be a platform for sharing and exchanging ideas, suggestions and criticism in order to nurture local music.
“The state government always supports the efforts of local art activists, especially artists from Perak.
“Even though IMS 2021 is held online, it involves the participation of many artists as well as local staff members behind the scenes to make this programme a success,” she said.
Rosli Mansor
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