An Orchestra of Past and Now – Showcase Gema Uniten 2017

On the 4th January 2017, Showcase Gema Uniten 2017 was extravagantly presented at Dewan Seri Sarjana (DSS) from 8pm – 11pm to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten). Attended by Dato’ Prof Ir. Dr. Kamal Nasharuddin Mustapha, Vice Chancellor of Uniten and Prof Dr. Mohd Zamri bin Yusoff, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Uniten, the showcase was performed by the impressive teamwork of four bodies: Gema Gamelan (Gamelan Melayu and Gamelan Kromatik), Gema Muzika, Gema Tari and Gema Suara.

A whopping number of fourteen performances were presented to the crowd, consisting of a variety of musical and artistic talents such as Gamelan, traditional dance, singing and rapping. The crowd remained impressed throughout the entire show, consisting of both Uniten students as well as students of Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah (SAS).

One of the performers under Gema Gamelan, Mahmud Zaki bin Ibrahim, stated, “I felt excited throughout this whole event as Gema Gamelan, Gema Muzika, Gema Tari and Gema Suara managed to show a remarkable chemistry between all of us during the performance of ‘Zapin Tabuh’ and ‘Assalamualaikum’. Even though we did not get to practice as much as we would like to, we managed to achieve something great together.”

Additionally, one of the members of the audience, Aisyah binti Ibrahim, gave the performers two thumbs up. “I really liked how they designed the stage. I could clearly see and hear all the performances,” Aisyah explained in detail.

Among the eye-catching performances at Showcase GEMA UNITEN were ‘Gamelan Kontemporari Dikir Puteri’, ‘Gamelan Kromatik Pandang-Pandang Jeling-Jeling’, ‘Gema Muzika Dirgahayu’ and ‘Gema Suara Alhamdulillah’. ‘Zapin Tabuh’ and ‘Assalamualaikum’ were the highlight of the showcase as these two songs were performed from the collaborative effort of all four bodies involved.

When asked about the objective of this event, Mahmud Zaki gave a firm nod. “We wanted to show everyone that every element can be combined to form one, great thing. The traditional instruments that were used by Gema Gamelan could actually play modern music such as ‘Assalamualaikum’.”

He hopes that the showcase managed to give the audience, especially those who have basic knowledge about music, some useful inputs from their performances.

 

 

Written by: Raja Noor Hafawati binti Raja Azman Shah and Ahmad Danial \’Irfan bin Husain

Pictures were taken from uniten.official Instagram\’s account.

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