ASEAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL KUALA LUMPUR

As part of the ASEAN Youth Orchestra Festival Kuala Lumpur 2026, held in conjunction with the Festival Orkestra Kuala Lumpur month and supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, experience the excellent artistry of the MPYO in this FREE concert for the public. Its exciting programme includes folksongs from participating ASEAN countries, Malaysia's own patriotic Tanah Pusaka, new compositions and other pop and traditional songs. Joining our talented local musicians on stage are popular vocalists Aina Abdul, Amir Masdi, Ariana Wilson and Ruebben Chelvan, elevating the MPYO's orchestral musicianship with virtuosity and panache.

MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA (MPYO)

The initial steps towards realising the long-cherished dream of the late PETRONAS Chairman, Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin, to create a youth orchestra as a ‘stage for young talents’, alongside the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO), were taken on 13 January 2006. Some 500 aspiring musicians from across Malaysia auditioned and 110 – with an average age of 18 years – were selected to form the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO).

After a period of intensive training under mentors drawn from the ranks of the MPO, the MPYO gave its first public concert at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS on 25 August 2007. It has since established a pattern of music camps held three to four times a year, culminating in performances in Kuala Lumpur and beyond. It has since toured throughout Malaysia, and performed in Singapore, Brisbane, Hong Kong and Jakarta.

Auditions are held every year to provide opportunities for talented young Malaysian musicians to join the MPYO and participate in weekly orchestral training and performances, under the guidance of the MPO musicians as tutors.

The MPYO’s music repertoire ranges from symphonic to specially-commissioned works by Malaysian composers. In 2010, an innovative project called ‘Jazzaar’ witnessed the MPYO collaborated with jazz musicians from the USA such as Fritz Renold and Randy Brecker. In 2015, the MPYO was given the honour to perform at the opening of the 128th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Kuala Lumpur.

More than just a youth orchestra, the MPYO musicians are given consistent intensive trainings under the MPO’s Talent Development programme through the transfer of knowledge, skills and expertise including discipline, teamwork and leadership in orchestral setting, participation in masterclasses and workshops with distinguished soloists, regular performances and collaborations with other youth orchestras. This is part of the MPO’s initiative to nurture music appreciation among Malaysians.

For more information, please email talent@mpo.com.my.