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| At the 10th anniversary KVSS musicians with conductor Norman Ong |
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| The KVSS with Eugene Pook conducting |
The anniversary concert had three conductors perform namely Eugene Pook the founding member of KVSS, Norman Ong and Aaron Chin its resident conductor since 2017.
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| The anniversary conductors Eugene Pook, Aaron Chin and Norman Ong receiving their souveneirs from KVSS President Jeffrey Cheong |
Its first performance in 2010 had just 60 musicians a sharp contrast to the 100 musician who participated in the anniversary concert.
In the early days most of the musicians were made up
of students whereas currently there are more working adults.
That was the difference that ten years has made to the
community of the Kinta valley just by the vision, dedication and passion of two
men Eugene Pook the founder and Dato KK Lim who generously provided the support.
Beginnings of KVSS
Eugene Pook is an Anak Perak who furthered his music
career in the United States for eight years before returning in 2009 only to
find that Ipoh was a cultural desert.
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| Eugene Pook |
He approached Dato KK Lim with a proposal to setup an Ipoh Symphonic Orchestra which would bring back some activity to the community of Kinta valley.
The late Dato Lim Keng Kay was well known as a great
supporter of the arts and also supported the PSPA International Ensemble. It
was natural that I would approach him.
I submitted my proposal and was surprised when I was invited to his house the very next day for lunch.
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| Datuk KK Lim |
In my proposal I had mentioned the Kinta
valley societies several times so much so Dato Lim proposed that I name it the
Kinta Valley Symphonic Society.
Additionally my proposal did not indicate a coaching fee, which was for me. Dato Lim being the magnanimous person he was told me to include my fee otherwise the orchestra will have a short existence. I remained with the society for seven years nurturing till it matured before I left.
In the original discussion Dato Lim said he would
support us for two years through his SiWu Education Trust Fund after which we
would have to be self-sustaining.
With the grant from SiWu fund we bought the
bulky instruments eg the timpani, drums, tuba and cymbals.
Kinta Valley orchestra played its first ever concert in July 2010. Initially we had 60 pioneer musicians and interestingly a few musicians are still with us.
Surprisingly although KVSS is self-sustaining SiWu
Fund does come in and supports us till today.
Working Adults.
It is common for any orchestra to accept musicians
that have musical knowledge. But in the case of Chai Jin Hann, the current vice president of KVSS, he didn’t
have any musical background but was still accepted.
Chai explained that "Eugene had set up a Junior band earlier. It was
unique because it accepted people without music knowledge and trained them. I
was one of them and joined in 2016. I played the clarinet. I struggled but I
persevered and now play with KVSS”
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| The working adults come from all walks of life |
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| Resident conductor Aaron Chin..the future of KVSS |
He was its member and then went on to study music at UCSI. He became its student conductor and subsequently made resident conductor since 2017. Now at 26 he is guiding and teaching KVSS musicians and is the future of KVSS.
He said that KVSS had definitely provided a platform
and now it has become a very healthy community activity. Music enthusiasts and
working adults say it keeps their brain active besides getting together to
socialize. Making music is just part of the community.
Lim
Pui San the daughter of Datuk KK Lim and the representative
for SiWu said the KVSS has grown by leaps and bounds.
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| Sponsors Dato Lee Hau Tian and Lim Pui San with Eugene Pook |
“I especially like the community spirit and being supported by the community. A lot of them were students playing with KV on weekends with some who have now become music teachers. Now we have adult musicians.
There is so much talent and interest in music and the
performing arts it’s just wonderful. Having a community orchestra is reflective
of how far the culture has come for Ipoh and Perak”.
What was Eugene’s opinion on the anniversary day?
“It was very good. I had come a week earlier for rehearsals.
On the actual day everything was like clockwork. I was just guest conductor.
Ultimately it is important to maintain the vision of the Society which is to continue the platform for all ages to come and enjoy making music”.
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| How KVSS began |
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| The Grand Hall at SMJK Yuk Choy |
JAG
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