Thursday June 26, 2008
Get your phil
By N. RAMA LOHAN
The Philharmonic Society of Selangor celebrates its 50th anniversary with ... what else but a whole lot of great music.
THE uninitiated may think that the nation’s classical music pursuits began with the formation of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in 1998. On the contrary, half a century ago, the Philharmonic Society of Selangor (The Phil) had already begun its sojourn of bringing enthusiasts of classical music and performing arts together, an initiative instigated by expatriates living in the country then.
The Phil is one of the oldest and most established performing arts societies in Malaysia. From its humble beginnings in 1958 as a group of music lovers who got together to put up shows, it now counts among its successes productions like The Sound of Music, The King and I and Guys and Dolls. Classical offerings from the organisation include Rutter’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation and Orff’s Carmina Burana and contemporary treats such as Music from Movies and Musicals and In The Mood. Imagine this, it all began with eight men and three women, a dream and the then sum of RM179.44 in a bank account.
Conductor for the night, John March, leading the troupe through rehearsals (pic).
It’s not all about history lessons though as The Phil looks to celebrate its golden anniversary in style, according to Alain Boey, chairman of the movement. Hey, Mr Phil!, the first of The Phil’s upcoming productions in conjunction with its anniversary, kicks off the festivities from July 4 to 6.
“The songs are a collage of the productions over the last 50 years. It’s basically all the songs from the musicals. There’ll be some opera, excerpts from classical compositions and some modern music as well, all done in a medley sort of fashion,” Boey revealed.
“In August, we’ll have Phil It Up! – A Three Course Recital, which is basically a collage of a few genres ... classical, jazz and contemporary. This will be performed by the past members of The Phil, some of whom are very senior and returning just for the show. Over the past 50 years, the Phil has developed many talents ... like Maya Karin, Peter Williams, Adibah Noor, Doreen Tang and many more,” he continued.
Alain Boey (pic): ‘The songs are a collage of the productions over the last 50 years.’
This year looks to be a busy one for the Phil and it culminates in the staging of The Boy Friend (staged across the months of November and December and directed by Philip Chai), a particular favourite of Tan Sri Khoo Kay Peng, Group Chief Executive of the MUI Group, the main sponsor for the arts society. “For Boyfriend, which is set in the French Riviera, we’re bringing in new talents.”
While the settings for most of the productions have a more global touch to it, the Phil will be looking to giving it a feel that’s closer to home. “We’re trying to adapt some of the music into more local settings, for example, some of the medleys will be from Sound of Music, Guys and Dolls, Les Miserable and so on, but there’ll still be a local sense about it,” Boey explained.
While the Phil’s endeavours over the years have not gone unnoticed, retaining recognition hasn’t been all that simple. “In the earlier days, The Phil was the only society catering to performing arts but as the industry developed over the years, there have been many more foreign productions coming in and a lot of our talents have made it into various other productions as well. So in terms of awareness to our work, I would say it was stronger during the early years but in the 1990s, as Malaysia began bringing in more foreign productions, things have picked up.”
Naturally, this has affected the level of interest among potential members as well. “In terms of recruitment, all members have to go through a series of auditions. In terms of spectators, it’s hard to garner interest, but where singers are concerned, it is slightly challenging because there are a lot more productions these days, and too few singers to go around, especially with conflicting schedules.”
Hey Mr Phil! will be staged at Panggung Bandaraya, Kuala Lumpur, from July 4 to 6. For ticketing details, e-mail tickets@thephil.org.my or call 017-659 4583. For more information, visit www.thephil.org.my.
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