Image via Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
None of you would have ever thought that the world could come into a complete halt thanks to a single virus. For a moment there, the lockdown made it feel borderline apocalyptic.
However, as our frontliners and scientists do their best to fight this pandemic, other industries such as the entertainment line is also doing their best to keep everyone sane.
The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) started out the year just like everyone else. It was a brand-new year and they continued with their tradition of having weekly live concerts.
However, in March, they had to put full breaks into all live shows as per the newly implemented SOPs. The final live show was pianist Mikhail Pletnev and conductor Fabio Mechetti’s Power & Poetry concert.
Not wanting to let this stop them from bringing good music to all Malaysians, they moved all their shows online, namely onto Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. All scheduled live shows during the lockdown were cancelled or moved to 2021 instead.
Image via Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
They kickstarted it all with MPO At Home, a series of short videos featuring the MPO and the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO) musician performing virtually from the comfort and safety of their homes. Surprisingly, this campaign garnered an overwhelmingly positive response from the public!
The entire series garnered more than 3 million views across all platforms!
Screenshot of one of MPO At Home video. Image via Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Then, in August, they had the chance to collaborate with Orkestra RTM and National Symphony Orchestra for a special show called the Konsert Bangkit Malaysia and then later, they collaborated again with Wisma Putra for the Malaysia’s Virtual National Day 2020 Reception Concert.
The Malaysia’s Virtual National Day 2020 Reception Concert amassed over a million views and both events were featured in various local news outlets such as Astro Awani!
Malaysia’s Virtual National Day 2020 Reception Concert. Image via Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
As September rolled in, MPO launched MPOPlaysOn, a digital concert series featuring full-length pre-recorded concerts. The series also garnered positive response from Malaysians.
In December, MPO announced that renowned German conductor, Maestro Jun Märkl has been appointed as the MPO’s new Music Director, who will commence his tenure in 2021. He will be working closely with the Management on artistic planning, programming and music education activities.
With him onboard, MPO will be able to user in a whole new era of classical music.
2021 will be a whole new year, so let’s all move forward with more entertainment while staying safe. Let’s usher in the new year together with MPO in MPOPlaysOn: Digital Live Premieres — The Elegant 8th on 1st January 2021.
For more information, visit The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra’s website or Facebook page.
Filled Under :
*We reserve the right to delete comments that contain inappropriate content.