The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) will present the world premiere of Concerto for Sape’ and Orchestra at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (DFP), KLCC, on 31 October 2026, bringing a traditional Sarawakian instrument into an orchestral setting.

Composed by Vivian Chua, the newly commissioned work will feature Alena Murang, a Sarawakian musician known for incorporating indigenous musical traditions into contemporary performances. The concert will be led by MPO Music Director Junichi Hirokami.

The sape, a traditional stringed instrument associated with the indigenous communities of Borneo, takes centre stage in a programme that places Malaysian musical heritage alongside two works from the Western classical repertoire.

From Sarawak to the concert hall

Murang’s music draws on her Kenyah and Kelabit heritage, with songs performed in the endangered languages of these communities. Combining inherited musical traditions with influences from folk and rock, her work explores the relationship between ancestral stories and contemporary expression.

The performance marks her second collaboration with the MPO, following her appearance in Sounds of Borneo in 2024. Through the new concerto, the orchestra brings the sound of the sape into dialogue with a full symphonic ensemble.

The programme opens with Maurice Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin, a suite that pays tribute to French Baroque composer François Couperin. Written in the early 20th century, the work combines the elegance of an earlier musical era with Ravel’s distinctive orchestral language.

The evening concludes with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, one of the composer’s best-known symphonies, recognised for its dramatic intensity and restless energy.

Together, the three works offer contrasting musical perspectives, moving from Ravel’s reflections on the past to Mozart’s celebrated symphonic writing and a new composition rooted in Sarawak’s living cultural traditions.

Event details: Saturday, 31 October 2026, at 8pm, at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur.