THE 6th International Festival of 24 Festive Drums and Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Competition will be held on Sept 28 at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Jalan Pinang, Kuala Lumpur.
HIGHEST STANDARD
After nearly a year of preparation, the highly anticipated Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Competition is back with a bang.
Organised by the Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Association and hosted by Hands Percussion, the competition has been the highest standard event for Malaysia's 24 Festive Drums with judging panels from various regions across the country.
Participating teams will come from six regions. namely central Malaysia, northern Malaysia, southern Malaysia, Sarawak, Sabah, and the east coast.
EAST COAST
The competition in the central, northern, southern, Sarawak and Sabah regions have been completed, and the competition in the east coast will take place on Aug 24.
Hands artistic director Bernard Goh said the gold medallists from each region would gather in Kuala Lumpur to compete for the highest honour in the grand final at the convention centre on Sept 28.
"Originally held biennially, the Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Competition was delayed for several years after 2018 due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
"This year marks its grand return after a hiatus of 6 years, attracting widespread attention within the industry."
LION DANCE
Goh said 24 Festive Drums was a drum art performance that combined 24 solar terms, calligraphy and Cantonese lion dance drums.
"Founded in 1988 by Tan Chai Puan and the late Tan Hooi Song, it became a Malaysian national heritage project in 2009 and has also formed a drum culture ecology on the international stage."
Goh said there were more than 500 24 Festive Drums teams across five continents, comprising more than 10,000 drummers, with more than 40,000 drummers.
"The Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Association aims to promote the development of drum teams nationwide, facilitate exchanges between schools, enhance students' drumming skills and promote unity in the teaching and inheritance of Malaysia's art forms, thereby strengthening and promoting the nation's cultural heritage."
ENDLESS
In conjunction with the 24 Festive Drums' 36th anniversary celebration, this year's event carries the theme of "Endless Threes, Infinite Sixes".
It coincides with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry's plans to nominate the 24 Festive Drums for Unesco's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2026, and also marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.
"For the first time, this event will be held in Kuala Lumpur, moving from its traditional home Johor Baru, where we have held it for 36 years," he said.
FIRST-TIMERS
Goh said for the first time, Sarawak and Sabah regions are part of the event.
Future participants from Labuan will fall under the Sabah And Labuan region.
Goh said everyone involved in the competition had been practising since the start of the year and that most of them were first-timers.
"Form One to Five students make up almost all of the drummers. There are eight student groups from six regions and five international groups, namely three from China, and one each from Taiwan and Singapore. This makes a total of 30 groups and 325 performers."
JUDGES
Goh said there were seven main judges who would give each team their marks. There are 25 judges in total.
"There will not be any well-known guest performers in the event, it is purely a competition that focuses on aspiring drummers."
FESTIVAL
On Hands' future plans, Goh said his team would be staging the Hands Drumming Festival 2024 in October.
The representatives for the competition are from the Jit Sin High School (northern region), Tsun Jin High School and Yu Hua High School (central), Chung Hwa High School Seremban and Foon Yew High School Johor Baru (southern), Chung Hua Middle School 1 (Sarawak) and Tshung Tsin Secondary School (Sabah).
Tickets are priced from RM198 to RM298.
For tickets, call 012-779 8009.