PETALING JAYA, July 12 ― Malaysia’s Sekolah Seri Puteri Symphonic Winds Orchestra (SPWinds) grabbed the gold at the 30th Australian International Music Festival 2019 which came to a close in Sydney yesterday.
The band of the all-girls boarding school in Cyberberjaya wowed the festival jury with their unique renditions of Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin’s Cindai, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian’s Spartacus and Primavera by Satoshi Yagisawa.
The 59 students from Malaysia competed against more than 1,000 participants from Australia, US, China, Europe, Singapore, Japan and New Zealand.
The festival features all ensembles types including wind bands, orchestras, choirs and jazz bands.
The week-long festival was held from July 4 until July 11 with the aim of providing youths with performing opportunities and educational workshops at some of Sydney’s most iconic venues including the Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour and the heritage-listed Conservatorium of Music.
“On behalf of the administration of Sekolah Seri Puteri, we would like to express our utmost appreciation and gratitude to the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) of Sekolah Seri Puteri, the SP Parents Support Group, the main sponsors and those who contributed endlessly to the victory of SPWinds.
“To the SPWinds team, we are absolutely proud to see you stand in the eyes of the world,” Sekolah Seri Puteri PTA chairman Hasnal Hashim said.
Hasnal also took the opportunity to thank Malaysia Airlines for sponsoring the students’ flights from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney.
“The perseverance and dedication of all stakeholders including all partners which include Malaysia Airlines are highly commendable for making SPWINDS stand in the eyes of the world,” said Hasnal.
Malaysia Airlines group chief executive officer Captain Izham Ismail also congratulated SPWinds on their achievement.
“As the national airline of Malaysia, we proudly fly the nation’s flag around the world and this time, the students are the flag bearer of the nation in Sydney.
“We are honoured to be part of their exciting journey and our small contribution reflects our support not just in sports and formal education but also in co -curricular activities that complement academic learning,” Izham said.
