Deborah Martin

Deborah Elizabeth Martin is an active music educator and budding composer in Penang. She received her B.A. in Music from Southwestern College, Kansas, USA. Her musical journey began at the piano but has expanded since then. Since young, she has been passionate about choral music and has been consistently involved with choir. Under her tutelage, she has led high school choirs to competitions and returned with outstanding results. Over the years, she has also taught private music lessons and conducted choirs. Currently, she teaches middle school band at Dalat International School. Apart from teaching, she remains an active chorister and actively performs with The Messengers Choir and her local church choir. During the pandemic in 2020 when live music performances were restricted and virtual performances took flight, she started composing and arranging music for choirs. Her first composition, Pulihkan Bumi Kita was a collaboration with Puan Sharifah Zakiah Syed Sahab, director from the Department of Environment (DOE) and Madam Khoo Hooi Lay, conductor of The Messengers Choir. The piece was later released by the DOE in honor of Earth Day 2021. The lyrics of the song were first penned by Puan Sharifah and later set to music by Martin. They continued to work together and later produced the song Suria Malaysia, released by the DOE in lieu of World Ozone Day 2025. Her most current work, A Song of Pulau Pinang, is a choral suite, written in collaboration with director of the Penang Music and Drama Players, Jayaram Menon. This piece of music is a work in progress. The first movement is scheduled to be premiered at the Penang Heritage Arts Festival (PHAF) 2026.