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Malaysian orchestras are an important part of the country’s Asian and Western musical culture.

Because of its colonial history and its unique cultural heritage, Malaysia has a rich, vibrant and multi-layered musical culture. The country’s many Modern Chinese Orchestras are among the finest in the world. Ensembles playing music in the Western tradition are in a state of development, and are beginning to earn a strong reputation.

Modern Chinese Orchestras play music which incorporates a blend of Chinese and Western cultures. The country’s most important ensembles in this tradition are the Zhuan Yi and the Dama Chinese Orchestras. The Dama Orchestra has played to consistently full houses, and has been invited to perform at international world music festivals including WOMAD Singapore, the Rainforest World Music Festival, and the Silk and Bamboo Music Festival in China.

Malaysia boasts an impressive number of first rate virtuoso performers in the Chinese Classical tradition, although most train in China or Singapore. Conductors are trained in the Western Classical tradition, in Europe or America. Most of the music played comes from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, but a number of local composers, who incorporate elements of traditional Malay music, are becoming increasingly prominent.

The most prominent ensemble in the Western Classical tradition is the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Although it has only been established for a little over five years, the ensemble has quickly earned a strong international reputation. International music critics, and respected musicians including the great British conductor Sir Neville Marriner, have praised the MPO’s vitality and commitment to musicianship.

The MPO is the only organization which employs a full complement of full time musicians in every instrumental section, but there are a number of other amateur and professional ensembles based in Kuala Lumpur and other parts of the country. The Orkestra Kuala Lumpur, run by Kuala Lumpur City Hall, and the Radio Television Malaysia Orchestra are full time ensembles which specialize in performing popular music. The RTMO also sponsors an orchestra based in Kuching, Sarawak.

Fully amateur ensembles include the Kuala Lumpur Symphony Orchestra, the Putra Symphony Orchestra, the Penang Symphony Orchestra and Penang State Orchestra, both based in the North of the country, and the Sarawak based Orkestra Kuching. All perform concerts on a regular basis, two or three times a year.

While there is a shortage of world-class musicians trained in the Western tradition, the development of this aspect of the country’s cultural life is an important priority, and achieving equivalent standards to major European and North American Classical ensembles is a cherished ambition.

Malaysian orchestras form an intrinsic part of the country’s vibrant traditional and modern Chinese, Malay and Western musical culture.