Malaysian Choral Composers Series: Juliette Lai
Juliette Lai
Bio
Juliette Lai was awarded the prestigious Federal Scholarship by the Malaysian Government to further her studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama from where she graduated, winning prizes for Best All-Round Student and for Harmony & Counterpoint.
While Head of the Music Department at the Malaysian Teachers College in Johor Bahru (Malaysia), she also served as Chairman of Committees for Curriculum Planning for Malaysian Teachers Colelges & Schools as well as the Chief Examiner for the Malaysian O-Level (Secondary School) Music Examinations.
As a conductor, pianist, accompanist, and singer, Juliette has directed and performed locally and internationally - Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, North America, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and UK.
Juliette was the Conductor of the National University of Singapore Choir (1985-1993) and Assistant Conductor of the Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Singapore (1994-2001) which was awarded the 1st Prize at the Béla Bartók International Choral Competition (2000). She was also the Music Director / Arranger of Vocaluptuous (2000-2004), Singapore’s top contemporary a cappella group.
As a composer / arranger, Juliette has had her choral works commissioned, published, and performed by numerous choirs in concerts and competitions both locally and internationally. Her arrangement of Potong Padi is published by earthsongs and used for repertoire study at various choral symposiums. Her other arrangement, Bujang Lapuk, was nominated for the Malaysian Music Industry Award. Time Ensemble (World Youth Choir Alumni) performed her arrangement of Getaran Jiwa and the Asia Pacific Youth Choir included Burung Kakak Tua as part of their concert tour repertoire.
Check out Juliette Lai’s 2019 TEDx talk, “Music Creates Possibilities”, organized by University of Southampton Malaysia.
What do you feel is the Malaysian identity in choral music?
Malaysia is a multiracial, multicultural country comprising mainly Malays, Chinese & Indians. Each of these races has its own culture. There is no 'one' Malaysian music. We do not really have a combined Malaysian identity in music, least of all, in Malaysian Choral music. But since the Malays are the majority & the official language is Malay or Bahasa Malaysia, it may be assumed that Malay music or Malay songs would be considered as typical of the Malaysian identity.
Considering so, our music identity is not 'what is' but rather 'what should be' based on its language, its dance-like rhythms, such as Joget, Keroncong, Zapin etc., its instrumentation, its style & its feel. So a choral composer/arranger would naturally try to incorporate some of these beats or rhythms into their so-called 'Malaysian' choral arrangements.
What do you feel is your role as a composer? What do you advocate for?
As a composer, I take pleasure in bringing music to the people at large - music that people can enjoy - music that Malaysian can identify with. I serve the choral community. I add variety of music for choirs to experience & enjoy.
My music must be interesting, never dull. Every voice part is important. My basses have commented that they like my arrangements because even their usually boring parts are fun!
Like Bach, I try to inject harmonic devices such as imitation, augmentation, diminuition, overlapping of parts, one melody against another & such like.
How does your lived experience as a Malaysian inform your compositional writing & output?
Having been born & bred in M'sia, I cannot help but recognise and feel the beat and rhythm of Malay music when I hear it. Exposure and live experiences contribute to my Malaysian choral arrangements. Understanding the language makes a difference. My music reflects the meaning of the lyrics and sets the mood. My imagination of the scenario also sets the scene & the feel of the song.
Example of arrangements:. Potong Padi, Suriram, Sapu Tangan, Getaran Jiwa, Burung Kakak Tua
What are the gaps/challenges in the Malaysian choral music landscape that you feel needs to be addressed?
Sadly, for some reason or other in the past, the value of Music Education in our country was never recognised and hence never really included in the education system. Music was a subject or an extra-curricular activity that was always brushed aside. Only in recent years that misconception has changed somewhat. Slowly (very slowly) but surely there is now more music activity going on in schools & communities. In particular, lots of choirs have sprung up. But -
We lack good, musically-trained teachers to guide these choirs to higher standards & achievements.
We lack encouragement, moral & financial support from both the government and the general public.
We lack platforms and halls with good acoustics to practice and perform more in order to progress.
We lack, badly, knowledge, experience & exposure to all kinds of music so that we can make comparisons & strive for improvement.
We lack, miserably, good repertoire for Malaysian music. We do have a lot of talent but we need to nurture, encourage & give incentives to our local composers to write more in order to flaunt our identity & put ourselves on the world choral map! We already are, through the hard work of a few individuals, but we need a much bigger, harder push!
The mentality or mindset of the general public towards music education needs to be changed.
How is Malaysian choral music unique/special to you?
Choral music has been around for centuries. But Malaysian choral music is relatively new.
I started writing my own choral arrangements of Malaysian songs for my own choirs when I became very involved with choirs in Malaysia & Singapore as there was hardly any one could get a hold of. Having been much exposed to Malay music, i found that I liked the lightness, the feel, the style, the beat & the rhythm. Much of it is cheerful and dance-like, eg. the 'joget' & the 'keroncong' and makes one feel like moving to the music. Other choirs liked my arrangements when they heard my choirs perform and asked if they could have them. From then on my music became popular. Many, including some composers, said they loved my 'unique' harmonies. 'Unique'? Only you, the listener, can tell.
How can people connect with you?
juliettelai@yahoo.com
List of Folk-Inspired Choral Works (as of July 2021)
(most performed works are indicated as *)
Asia Pacific Youth Choir 2019 sings “Suriram” arranged by Juliette Lai. 23 July 2019 @ Hong Kong Culture Centre. Conductor: Vivian Ip (Hong Kong).
Taipei Chamber Singers performs “Potong Padi” arr. Juliette Lai. Conductor: Yun-Hung CHEN. 2014.
“Bujang Lapuk” by Tan Sri P. Ramlee, arr. Juliette Lai. Performed by Tracy Wong, Suk Yin Lai, Aaron Teoh, Joel Wong. (2011)
Johor Bahru Chamber Choir (Malaysia) performing “Sapu Tangan” arr. Juliette Lai.
Time Ensemble performs “Getaran Jiwa” arr. Juliette Lai. Conductor: Shiak Yao LEE. Bogotá, Colombia. March 28, 2013
Asia Pacific Youth Choir sings “Burung Kakak Tua” - arr. Juliette Lai. Special Concert - World Symposium on Choral Music 10 in Seoul. 10 August 2014 @ Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall. Conductor: Jennifer Tham.