Drum Up JB kicks off opera house shows!

January 19, 2020 marked a significant date in Johor Baru when the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House, the city’s first opera house, was declared open by His Majesty the Sultan of Johor.

 

Press Conference at the Signing Ceremony
held on December 7, 2022

It was a glittering event graced by royalty, dignitaries and glamourous guests who had an experience of the spacious promenade and magnificent architecture of the opera house set to the stunning backdrop of the Johor Straits.

 

The opening event included an exciting and entertaining live show in the opera house, a fine example of how this opera house aimed to be an art and cultural hub that promotes the performing arts in Johor Baru.

 

I had the privilege to enjoy this sensational experience in Johor Baru’s first opera house and I remember thinking about how far Johor Baru had come since the early years of live shows organised by the Johor Society for the Performing Arts (JSPA).

 

The JSPA hosted the annual Johor Arts Festival for 15 years and they brought to Johor Baru, live shows by renowned artistes that were performed on makeshift stages in tents set up at hotel carparks, the field at Dataran Johor and the grounds of Bukit Timbalan which – for the first time – welcomed the public in for a close encounter with the iconic Sultan Ibrahim building, our city’s foremost landmark.

 

Event poster for Drum Up JB

The JSPA arranged inclusive programmes that featured cultural performances from our multi-cultural community, professional artistes as well as school groups, and gave opportunities to local talents to make their stage debuts.

 

The founders of JSPA did their part to overturn the sad perception that Johor Baru was a ‘cultural desert’ and they gave Johoreans the privilege to enjoy art and culture in live shows organised in their annual Arts Fest plus other fringe festivals.

 

I have always enjoyed live shows, especially musicals. Family and friends know that I would choose to watch a live performance, a musical if possible, and on each visit to London (I call Theatreland!) I would always include a live theatre show in my itinerary.

 

When quality live shows became available in our neighbouring country, I would brave the traffic to head across the causeway to catch the shows of my choice.

 

In the course of work, I had the privilege not only to watch The Jersey Boys at the Marina Sands Theatre but also to meet the artistes backstage for a chat.  

 

There was something very special about watching a live show within a theatre where the seating arrangement provides an unobstructed view of the stage and when the acoustics are crystal clear in the hushed silence.

 

A brief drumming performance by JB Drums
at the Signing Ceremony event

In mid-2019, I had the opportunity of a Media sneak peek and saw for myself, how this first opera house was taking shape.

 

So when the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House opened in January 2020, it was very significant that Johor Baru finally had our own opera house.

 

I was among the many fans of theatre shows who were dazzled by the sensational live show to commemorate the Opening of this first opera house in Johor Baru.

 

However, things changed drastically when the Covid19 pandemic reached our shores and the nation went into a lockdown, with the borders closed from 18 March 2020.

 

Dramatic drumming in the 
art of the 24 Festive Drums

As health conditions improved and group gatherings were allowed in 2022, activities that were delayed due to the pandemic, quickly resumed.

 

On December 7, I was delighted to witness the Signing Ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding between JB Drums and R&F Princess Cove to kick off the second launch of the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House with Drum Up JB, a showcase of the 24 Festive Drums to be staged at the opera house.

 

It was exciting to learn that the programme for Drum Up JB was a celebration of the art of the 24 Festive Drums that will feature JB Drums and Orang Orang Drum Theatre.

 

A drumming performance in the
art of the 24 Festive Drums

I am familiar with the 24 Festive Drums, a performing art created in Johor Baru in 1988 that used Chinese drums in a creatively choreographed drumming show as I had the privilege to document in English, the story of this proudly Johor brand that was created by two Johoreans, the late Tan Hooi Song and his co-founder Tan Chai Puan, in My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now. 

Even when the 24 Solar Terms was adopted as the inspiration for the creation of the 24 Festive Drums in 1988, the two Tans did not know that the 24 Solar Terms would one day be recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and added to their world intangible cultural list in 2016.

 

While each drum was painted with two bold Chinese characters that represented each of the 24 Solar Terms, the music and choreography were arranged to harmonize gracefully into a performing art that depicted the cycles of the 24 Solar Terms in music, calligraphy and the rhythm of life. 

In 2009, the art of the 24 Festive Drums was recognised by the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry as a Malaysian National Cultural Heritage.

 

A performance by Orang Orang Drum Theatre

This performing art of the 24 Festive Drums continues to be actively promoted by younger generation drummers and professional drum troops like HANDS Percussion, Orang Orang Drum Theatre and the JB Drums Troop.

 

JB Drums was established in 2006 as the first professional drum troop in Johor Baru to promote the 24 Festive Drums’ art of drumming.

 

From its inception, JB Drums invited drummers to continue their passion for drumming with their drum troop and developed a syllabus for drumming and coaching.

 

They now have full-time drumming coaches and appointed professional drumming coaches to Primary and Secondary schools or associations to provide professional drumming education.

 

Established in 2013, Orang Orang Drum Theatre has performed in international music festivals including the Sziget Festival 2019, the Venice Theatre Arts Festival – Venice Open Stage, the Belgian and German Dance Festival, Danse en Ville.

 

A drum show by Orang Orang Drum Theatre
on the streets of Paris, France

This professional troop had the opportunity to participate in many cultural and dance arts festivals in France, Hungary and Serbia, and through cultural exchange experiences, Orang Orang Drum Theatre found their balance between tradition and contemporary dance.

 

Drum Up JB staged at the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House, promises to be an exciting mixed percussion ensemble that combines drumming and dance in an artistic sensory experience that will feature drumming in the dramatic art of the 24 Festive Drums by JB Drums and creative performances by Orang Orang Drum Theatre.

 

Among the show highlights to enjoy must be LaguKu and The Memories by Orang Orang Drum Theatre, that will intrigue and inspire.

 

Drum Up JB is an initiative under the Downtown Johor Baru Grants Programme: Arts, Culture and Heritage, a collaboration between Iskandar Regional Development Authority and Think City, supported by Majlis Bandaraya Johor Baru, R&F Princess Cove and Malaysia Digital Districts.

 

Two shows are planned for January 2023 with the Opening shows held on Saturday, January 7 at 8pm and on Sunday, January 8 at 3pm.

 

Tickets at RM85, RM105 and RM150, are fast selling out so hurry!

Get yours now from https://www.cloudjoi.com/shows/drum-up-jb#about