Cake cutting ceremony marks the end of the musical night (from left): Richard, Prof Ewe, Dr Teh, Tee and Dr Tan
Themed ‘Music for Hope’, the musical night featured performances by local artists, UTAR alumni and students to raise funds for the UTAR Student Welfare Fund which provides financial assistance to deserving students. The event was organised by the UTAR Department of Student Affairs as part of the year-long 10th anniversary celebration and it was held at the MPPJ Civic Hall attended by an audience of more than 500 staff, students, parents, guests and the public.
Among the VIP guests were councillors from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), Richard Yeoh Yong Woi and Cynthia Manonmani Michael Gabriel. Also present were UTAR Vice President of Internationalisation and Academic Development, Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat; Vice President of Student Development and Alumni Relations, Dr Teh Chee Seng; the Registrar, Dr Tan Kee Kong, and the Head of Student Affairs, Tee Sock Sing.
There were more than 15 key sponsors of the event which included MBPJ who sponsored the venue, MY FM who sponsored the airtime, Tongee (KL) Sdn Bhd, Schwarzkopf (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Y Image Consultancy, Magnum Cares and AHN System Distributions, among many others.
UTAR alumna, renowned artist Eser Loo Yise kicked off the performance for the night with three songs including her popular re-mixed version of Rasa Sayang. Other popular artists included Gary Yap, Chow Kam Leong , Geraldine Gan and Tha Kien Ying. The singers had the audience mesmerised with their powerful vocals and some fans wore printed T-shirts supporting their favourite singers.
UTAR student performers comprised a choir group, acapella singers (Black Muffin), a band, dancers and solo singers, all of whom had their fair share of the limelight on the same stage shared and performed by the other popular artists for the night.
Chow Kam Leong, a prominent local song composer, wrote a song especially for UTAR to commemorate its 10th anniversary and sang it during that night with beautiful lyrics reflecting the efforts, achievements and contributions of UTAR. It was a very significant ending to the year long celebrations of UTAR’s 10th anniversary.
The cake-cutting ceremony by our VIP guests and UTAR staff signalled the end of the musical night. The cake was later shared among all the performers, event crews and organising committee members.
My FM DJs Wan Wai Fun (first left) and Wayne (first right) playing games with the audience
“To perform acapella music, tacit collusion among group members is as crucial as perfect coordination and unison during our performance,” said Black Muffin acapella group leader Chow Wen Pan, a UTAR Materials and Manufacturing Engineering student. He enjoyed forming the group and assigning roles to the group members according to their talents. He has learnt a lot as the group leader. The Black Muffin acapella group performed a rendition of songs including a mix of Michael Jackson’s popular hits.
“This is my first time performing on stage in a grand hall in public with famous artists. I really appreciate this opportunity and I thank UTAR for that,” said Ng Vei Shun, a UTAR Graphic Design and Multimedia alumnus and a passionate dance performer. He added, “I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. It has been a fulfilling experience for me. I hope I can continue to contribute to my alma mater by doing charity work in the future, especially in performance.”
“Since I joined UTAR, this is the first time that I am involved in such a grand event,” said Quantity Surveying student, Foo Chia Sin, who served as a time keeper.
She added, “I am glad to serve as a helper because I learnt a lot about planning, coordinating and timing of stage performances.”
