KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — Malaysian singer Datuk Zainal Abidin recently performed for an audience of about 500 including students at his first ever ‘edutainment’ concert.

The Sound Spirit Zainalabidin: Legacy of Sounds which took place at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC) last Saturday saw Zainal taking the centre stage, joined by a horn and a percussionist section along with backup vocals and a solo harmonica player.

The 64-year-old entertainer performed eight of his hit songs including his evergreen tracks Hijau and Ikhlas Tapi Jauh as well as his latest single Tiba Masa.

Zainal however took a new approach to his concert by including educational elements to his show with heartfelt storytelling as well as sharing sessions on navigating the music industry, based on his four decades of experience.

The former Headwind frontman urged future musicians in the crowd to tap into the larger international market and show the world our own musical identity.

Industry professionals also invited to the spotlight to share their experience and tips included composer and music director Michael Veerapen, sound engineer Sunil Kumar as well as renowned percussionist Steve Thornton.

The edutainment concert saw half of the crowd made up of university students majoring in music and arts including students from Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Malaya as well as students from Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (Aswara).

At the post show press conference, Zainal revealed that he plans to bring the edutainment concert to universities across the country.

"I’ve noticed that a lot of the younger generation are more prone towards the entertainment industry.

"The industry is huge and it’s not just for being a superstar or an artist, it involves technicians, musicians, songwriters and producers and there’re a lot of pathways they could take to succeed.

"A lot of young Malaysians have an interest in entertainment, it’s just that there’re not enough pathways given to them to pursue their passion and turn it into a career,” he said.

Veerapen, who worked with Zainal on his latest single, said that currently they are in talks with Univesiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang who are willing to introduce a programme dedicated to Zainal’s artistry.

This is for students to learn about local musicians in a more structured and academic manner and Zainal himself would be present in some of the classes to give talks on his experience.

He added that another reason for the programme is to preserve the local music heritage.

"We study a lot of Beethoven, Mozart but we don’t study the music of our local talents.

"We certainly don’t study the music of the late Hamzah Dolmat, so the idea is to capture the music and artistry in an academic manner.

"There are some universities offering courses on K-Pop, that’s cool but that’s Korean. When are we going to do the same with our own talents such as Zainal, Datuk Sri Siti Nurhaliza, or Datuk Sheila Majid or P.Ramlee?” Veerapen said.

The Sound Spirit Zainalabidin: Legacy of Sounds which was supported by MyCreative Ventures and CIMB Bank and CIMB Foundation saw around 250 tickets being gifted to students who came from low-income families.”Many of these talented individuals are from the B40 community and not all of them can afford to buy the tickets to this concert.

"So I’m happy to help them out somewhat,” Zainal said.