Plucking on strings for that playful effect

The orchestra preparing to play

Kuala Lumpur, 12 August 2010 - Mastering a musical instrument is no mean feat, let alone playing in an orchestra. Recently, UCSI University held its semesterly Orchestra Concert with a group of 39 students, conducted by Ms Cheryl Mah, a School of Music lecturer.

The students played pieces from Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, as well as full symphonies from Benjamin Britten and Franz Shubert.

In the second movement from the Simple Symphony for String Orchestra composed by Grammy-award-winning composer Benjamin Britten, the students from the string section did a wonderful job of playing the second movement which necessitated plucking on the strings of their instruments, to achieve the needed playfulness the piece required.

The Six Morris Dance Tunes by Gustav Holst was a more sedate piece, evoking scenes of folk dancing in Welsh villages. This was followed by the Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major, D.485 by Franz Shubert, which the orchestra played to a rousing finale that the piece aptly deserved.

The UCSI University community was privileged to enjoy concert music played by its students every semester. These concerts included both classical and contemporary music, as well as self compositions.