In Malaysia

When I first started thinking about In Malaysia (sometime in April 2015), I immediately heard a bassoon melody playing in my mind that grew into a larger piece of music that painted my memories from my home country, Malaysia. This piece is constructed of three movements that each tells a different story of its own. "Opening" expresses the mixed emotions of flying home and seeing the surrounding clouds from the airplane window. "Panorama" is a stark contrast to the first movement where the music is in a concise form, depicting the layout and landscape of the ground as seen from the plane (e.g. palm tree plantation). "Grandpa's House," the concluding movement of this work, was written in memory of my late grandfather. Each motive represents various childhood memories at the traditional village house, such as playing the 5-stone game known as Batu Seremban with my cousins, cycling in the backyard, and jumping rope made out of rubber bands. Duration: 12 minutes