KOTA KINABALU: Music lovers should head to the national capital next month as it is staging a music festival that will feature a total of 120 activities.
A collection of various music and art will live up the atmosphere of the Kuala Lumpur Music Festival (FMKL) 2011 which will last for the whole month of July starting from the first.
Themed ‘Contemporary Classical Music Adventure’, FMKL is a platform to showcase local and international art in one event.
It is organised by the Department of National Culture and Arts, Ministry of Information Communication and Culture in conjunction with the Kuala Lumpur Festival.
The KL Festival will be launched simultaneously by three ministers – Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen and Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin at the KL Tower’s 1Malaysia Cultural Village today (June 25).
Coinciding with that objective, FMKL 2011 which is in the seventh year running, presents 120 activities to achieve the target of more than 700,000 visitors.
Most of the stage or performing arts events are assembled in one location which is at the Istana Budaya to attract visitors unlike the previous edition, with the participation of nine government and private agencies.
Director General of the Department of Culture and Arts, Datuk Norliza Rofli, said the real goal of organizing the FMKL 2011 is to provide space and opportunity to highlight the talents of music artists as well as to foster the interest of the public for music.
“It is a platform for music talents to highlight the creativity in their presentation to nurture and cultivate the art of music in society.
“The festival also aims to promote Kuala Lumpur as a cultural and musical location to the world,” she said.
There are five core programs that will attract visitors. They are the main concert at the Istana Budaya from July 1 to 3, Exhibition and Product Sales at Beringin and Music Artists Exhibition at the National Art Gallery.
In addition to the programs or activities handled by the government, other agencies are also involved in organizing various events to enliven the festival, including up close and personal with Anuar Zain at the Kuala Lumpur Tower on July 15 and 16.
“The performance by Anuar Zain is under the program of Menara Kuala Lumpur but we list them in FMKL with 37 other sponsors. Before this, visitors had to travel to several locations to watch the show. This time we focus on a single location which is in the Istana Budaya. Other than making it easier for visitors, it is also appropriate as the location of art and culture,” Norliza said.
A total of 62 artistic performances, 36 visual arts, six heritage arts and 14 activities will be organized to enliven FMKL.
Among the singers for the concert are Datuk M Daud Kilau, Datuk Khatijah Ibrahim, Dayang Nurfaizah, Jaclyn Victor, Aizat, One Nation Emcees, Najwa, Suki and Azlan & The Typewriter who will be accompanied by the National Arts Orchestra and Malaysian Traditional Orchestra.
Other locations that are involved in FMKL are the Kuala Lumpur Tower, Petronas Philharmonic Hall, Malaysia Tourism Information Centre, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Angkasapuri and the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.
On the KL Fest 2011, Norliza said it is expecting 700,000 visitors at 57 festival locations, owing to increased support from the private sector and local youth.
“Out of 39 event organizers, 19 are from the private sector. And that is a significant achievement, up from just four in 2006.
“More than 1,000 youth have offered themselves. This is unbelievable, but certainly a good sign,” she said.
In its sixth year, the KL Fest 2011 has established itself as a compelling calendar event with diverse content.
“There will be activities of greater variety and colour: everything from traditional activities to hip hop – a trend today – including our local food,” she added.
Today, youth are playing the role of custodians of Kuala Lumpur. They are also deeply involved in planning the KL Fest.
Norliza believes attempts to involve young people in the arts and cultural activities are bearing fruit. Young people are working on turning Kuala Lumpur into an attractive destination for the world, similar to Los Angeles, London and Sydney.
Youth are encouraged to interpret Kuala Lumpur the way they see it, speak their minds, and offer ideas to turn Kuala Lumpur into an exciting tourist destination.
Through promotion of its diverse cultural programmes, Kuala Lumpur can be projected as an International Cultural City, every July.
The next challenge is to extend the involvement of the young people organizing the KL Fest, to JKKN, in 2012, as well.
“This year, we encouraged the participation of youth from all over the country to support the 2011 KL Fest, making it a success. The support was overwhelming – more than we had anticipated,” said Norliza, beaming with joy as she shared their achievements.
A wide variety of cultural performances and art-displays will be organized by the private sector, non-government organizations (NGOs) and embassies around the capital city.
The participating entities include Menara KL, Malaysia Philharmonic or the MPO, The Actors’ Studio & KLPac, Central Market and the Persatuan Warisan Sarawak.
Government agencies contributing to cultural activities in July include the Ministry of Tourism, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Putrajaya Holdings, the National Library and Pos Malaysia Berhad, among others who have committed themselves to making the festival a bigger success this time.
The KL Fest 2011 will be launched today at the KL Tower, where visitors will be entertained with performing arts, visual arts, traditional games, language and literature, tourism, recreation, and food and beverages.
“This is one, if not the only festival with many varieties (of programmes) that are comprehensive. It has proven quite significant in putting KL on the national and international map.
“Although we had the actual line-up confirmed only in April, the marketing of the KL Fest 2011 by the Ministry of Tourism started as early as January. It has successfully disseminated the necessary information on the festival to visitors intending to make Kuala Lumpur their destination, July, this year,” Norliza said, complimenting the Ministry of Tourism for its cooperation in promoting Malaysia, especially Kuala Lumpur, all over the world.
The KL Festival 2011 will showcase the country’s rich art forms, cultural and recreational activities, for an entire month, for participants to experience and remember them for a lifetime.
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