BEING around young people at open houses over the recent festive season reminded me that children experience things for the first time much more frequently than adults do. An obvious statement: but nonetheless one often doesn’t appreciate how novel the simplest of things can appear to a child. I observed one toddler who made the wide-eyed realisation that receiving angpows can result in more toys; a girl who celebrated peeling open an orange for the first time; and a boy who revelled in being introduced to the great and good wearing new attire.
Even with older children, the knowledge that so much lies in store for them provides a source for optimism, especially when they articulate their own goals. One boy, practising his trombone for school orchestra, told me how he can’t yet play a particular piece because his arm can’t reach the seventh position (when the tubing is extended to its maximum length).
“This means you have something to look forward to,” I said, advising him to “always play an instrument, because it will lead to new avenues and perspectives in life”.
I have been greatly inspired by many adults – most of all my parents – who not only inculcated a love of learning in their children, but have also never stopped learning themselves; always seeking new knowledge across many endeavours and trying out new activities. However, when confronted with routines and defined responsibilities, it is sometimes difficult to seek out new experiences.
Books and documentaries are reliable and time-efficient ways to acquire new knowledge and contemplate new experiences, but even those can fall by the wayside when board papers and (not always educational) binge-worthy series come to the fore. Where time and budgets permit, travelling provides a sure way to access new experiences, though as I have discovered, you can sometimes learn more by travelling to a nearby village compared to a city halfway across the planet.
Occasionally, fantastic opportunities come around. I count the various fellowships and overseas visitor programmes over the last few years among them; and one awesome example last year was touring (and being slung off) an aircraft carrier when the USS Theodore Roosevelt was sailing nearby.
Earlier this month, I was asked to perform in a concert that commemorated both the birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar and His Royal Highness’ 10 years on the throne of Negeri Sembilan. While the overall programme was varied, I was asked to contribute two slots of 10 minutes each for performances of my choosing. Naturally I ensured the inclusion of my father’s favourites – so the music of the Beatles and Antonio Carlos Jobim made it in.
But I also wanted to ensure good representation from Negeri Sembilan, and so invited a section from Hands Percussion (whose founder grew up in Seremban and Kuala Pilah), members of the Seremban Quartet (who have achieved international acclaim in the world of classical music), and the rapper Waris (whose songs ‘Rembau Most Wanted’ and ‘This is Pilah’ have the distinction of being highly educational on the cultural traditions of the state) to join me. To complete the line-up, I also performed with Ushera (a champion of classic Malay tunes), maestro Datuk Mokhzani Ismail (the jazz-loving RTM music director), as well as the fine RTM Orchestra itself.
While I’ve had to perform at recitals from school days and concerts more recently as patron of several musical organisations, this was the first time I was involved in such a big production, with endless fancy lights, multiple television screens and smoke effects. The other performers on stage – Aisyah, Datuk Jamal Abdillah, Dayang Nurfaizah, Noryn Aziz, Hael Husaini, Poova, Syamel AF, and Adibah Noor (who was the emcee) – truly represented the best talent from across the generations of Malaysian music-makers, while the caklempong players and dancers added reams of tradition, colour and movement.
Speaking to some of the other performers, I learnt much about their hopes for the future of Malaysian performing arts; and how, in many cases, their lives are not as glamourous as many imagine it to be, but their passion for music carries them through.
Fortuitously, a few days later I received a letter inviting me to become an associate fellow of the Faculty of Music at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), with whose choir I performed last November. I look forward to contributing what I can, but certainly I will reiterate the same advice I gave to the budding trombonist: that playing a musical instrument can lead to the most unexpected of opportunities!
The Konsert Diraja Negeri Sembilan will be aired on TV2 tomorrow (Feb 23) at 8.30pm.
Hands Percussion will be performing a Unity showcase at KLPAC on Sunday (Feb 24) at 3pm.
Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin is Founding President of IDEAS