KUALA LUMPUR: Istana Budaya's Orkestra Tradisional Malaysia (OTM) entertained the public with traditional music pieces during its inaugural OTM On The Street event at Pavilion KL, recently.
The arts and culture showcase was carried out in conjunction with the Malaysia Mega Sale 2024 event officated by Deputy Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, in an effort to attract the younger generation as well as tourists.
Led by OTM conductor, Mohd Yazid Zakaria, the orchestra featuring 22 musicians presented musical pieces utilising a combination of traditional instruments that included the serunai, rebana, sape, sitar, seruling, gambus, keromong, darbuka, yanqin and caklempong, as well as mandolin and accordian.
The public performance was divided into two segments, namely a busking session and an orchestral ensemble street performance show.
This concept allowed the tourists and visitors to expeirence the traditional Malaysian instruments and sounds up close.
Aside from that, there were also flashmob dance routines by Artistana Istana Budaya dancers which allowed for visitors to join in on the fun.
The event was part of the OTM's Sounds of Malaysia Outreach Programme, in collaboration with public institutions of higher learning and private higher education institutions, to promote local traditional music to the masses.
Prior to this, Istana Budaya had staged two classical music events featuring the National Symphony Orchestra, namely the Lambang Sari Series 1 concert at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas on May 18 and the Lambang Sari Series 2 concert at Panggung Eksperimen Universiti Malaya on June 22-23.
In a recent statement from Istana Budaya, its director-general Zubaidah Mukhtar said: "Through our Gerak campaign, Istana Budaya will seek out opportunities to foster strategic partnerships with anyone with the potential to aid in our efforts to raise the profile of the Malaysian arts and culture tourism industry to the international level."