KUCHING: Local musicians have gone on to perform in the international scene through their participation at last year’s Borneo World Music Expo (BWME).
Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said the traditional Bidayuh music ensemble Madeeh and Kenyah sape artiste Matthew Ngau Jau and his group Lan Ee Tuyang had gone on to perform in Europe after being invited by international programmers from the inaugural expo last year.
“Madeeh was signed up to be represented in Europe by Jean-Herve Vidal of Zaman Productions in France while Matthew was taken on by Birgit Ellinghaus from Germany.
“This is the way forward for local musicians as they are being exposed to the international scene and in the process can improve their music so that it can be accepted by the community at large. In the process too they are introducing their indigenous culture to the world,” he told a press conference prior to the launch of BWME at Hilton Kuching on Monday.
Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Datuk Rashid Khan, BWME director Gerald Seligman and permanent secretary to the Ministry of Tourism Datu Ik Pahon Joyik were also present at the press conference.
Abang Johari said that BWME was a platform for people to appreciate one’s culture and also a platform for the creation of global understanding.
“We hope that this sort of exposure will bring forth greater understanding amongst the musicians,” he said.
Rashid meanwhile said that BWME had been envisioned to become an Asia premier world music exposition within the next five years.
“It is specifically designed to expose Asian and ethnic musicians to the international market and to help professionalise the music sector to meet the expectations and standards of the international market as they converge on here prior to the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF).”
Having organised RWMF as a leisure event for the past 17 years, Rashid said STB was now ready to move up the value chain and BWME was expected to grow the meeting and exhibition market segments related to music.
“While RWMF is about entertainment, BWME is about the trade, networking, information dissemination and business behind the entertainment industry. The expo seeks to be the market place where professionals come to present their services or to hire.
“We are doing a multiple pronged strategy to conserve music and create business and at the same time, there is a tourism angle that encourages tourists to come to the state,” he said.
Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/06/18/borneo-world-music-expo-good-exposure-for-local-musicians/#ixzz355uQEvmd
No comments:
Post a Comment