Free Hand means free to explore, free to create, free to compose. Free from boundaries and to venture beyond conventions of traditional classical music, Malaysian composers have joined the ranks of the world's best classical composers in continuing to create new works for the piano.

 

The Malaysian Composers Collective (MCC), which has over the past decade worked tirelessly to raise the bar on the local art music scene and take our music abroad, worked with the nation's best private university UCSI University (The Star, June 7), to organise the nation's first Malaysian Contemporary Composers Piano Festival 2019 in Kuala Lumpur in 2019.

 

Bringing 9 new piano works to life was Mei Yi Foo, recipient of BBC Music Magazine's Best Newcomer award in 2013, also give insights into how to include contemporary works into a concert programme, during the festival's seminar during the day.

 

After the concert, two winners were selected from among the composers to receive a commission to write the test piece for for the finalists of the UCSI University International Piano Festival & Competition in 2020.

 

The brainchild of Boh Cameronian award winner Adeline Wong, the one-day event is planned to be a regular festival to continually provide a platform for composers to create new piano works for Malaysia's most popular instrument.

 

In 2021 UCSI University and MCC signed a Memorandum of Agreement to hold Free Hand Festival on a regular basis over the next few years,

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The event also resulted in the publication of the nation's first ever anthology of piano works, now available in the market for students and piano enthusiasts to explore new music from their homeland.

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Organised by Malaysian Composers Collective (MCC), the inaugural event in 2019 was sponsored by UCSI University Institute of Music and Yayasan Sime Darby, with extra assistance from Pejabat Pembangunan Negeri Wilayah Persekutuan, with additional support from Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai and Sonata Music & Arts Sdn Bhd.

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MCC invites other parties to come forward to join us in organising the next Free Hand Festival!