Kuching, 23 June 2011 – One of the two Malaysia’s only representative to perform this year at the Rainforest World Music Festival is the AgungBeat from the neighboring state of Sabah.
AgungBeat is a nineteen-member gamelan ensemble from Sabah that performs new arrangements of traditional Sabahan music, as well as their own contemporary compositions. Led by composer and lecturer Roslee Haji Wahid, the ensemble’s members are from a variety of ethnic background such as Kadazan, Dusun, Chinese, and Malay, all majoring in music performance at University Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
AgungBeat has been actively performing in numerous festivals and events in the region such as the Festival Gamelan IPTA, and the Festival Gamelan Sedunia. This is the first performance of gamelan at the Rainforest World Music Festival.
The gamelan is an ensemble of metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs native to Malaysia and Indonesia. Each region has its own particular style and repertoire, with gamelan ensembles ranging in size from five or six persons to more than two-dozen performers. Depending on the region, style, and function, gamelan music can range from trance inducing floating melodies, to fiery displays of virtuosity.
AgungBeat will turn up as the first performer to heat up the Rainforest World Music Festival stage on the very first night on July 8. AgungBeat will also perform on the daily Musical Workshop at Dewan Lagenda within the festival site that involved all drummers and dancers. This unique “Drum Dance” session will be a mixer of musical performance by other musicians from Canada, Georgia, Kenya, UK and USA.
So be at the 14th edition of the Rainforest World Music Festival which has been voted for the second consecutive year as one of the Top 25 Best International Festivals by renowned world music magazine, Songlines, elevating its status in the international music scene as a festival which has well and truly put Sarawak on the world tourism map and extending its appeal to shores further from neighbouring countries.
Special promotional tickets are now offered only at the Sarawak Tourism Board’s Visitors Information Centres (VIC) in Kuching (082-410944) located at the Sarawak Tourism Complex, Sibu (084-340980) located at Jalan Tukang Besi and Miri (085-434180) located at Jalan Melayu. A 3-day ticket offers only at RM180, and this offer valid only from 20 – 26 June 2011. After this promotional period, 3-day ticket will return to its original price at RM300.
More details about the RWMF, kindly log on to www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com.
Issued by:
Corporate Communications Unit
SARAWAK TOURISM BOARD
T : +6 082 423600
F : +6 082 416700
E : [email protected]
Date : June 23, 2011
