Kuala Lumpur, 15 October 2026 – The klpac Orchestra will celebrate two decades of music with a special concert honouring its late founder, Brian Tan, bringing together past and present musicians in a programme that reflects the ensemble’s evolution from a small community orchestra into one of Kuala Lumpur’s enduring performing-arts institutions.
Tribute to Brian Tan will run from 30 October to 1 November 2026 at Pentas 1, The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, as part of the orchestra’s 20th anniversary season.
The concert returns to the roots of the ensemble, which began in 2006 as The klpac Sinfonietta under Tan, its first Resident Conductor and Music Director.
At a time when Malaysia had relatively few avenues for aspiring orchestral musicians outside professional ensembles, Tan saw the need for a community-based orchestra that welcomed players from different ages and backgrounds.
That idea became the foundation of what is now The klpac Orchestra.
Building a Community Through Music
klpac Co-Founder and Executive Producer Dato’ Dr Faridah Merican recalled how Tan approached the centre shortly after it opened, offering instruments and proposing the creation of a community orchestra.
The answer was immediate.
Tan went on to lead the ensemble for five years, building a close-knit group that performed everything from Western classical works and Chinese masterpieces to opera and film music.
The orchestra debuted in 2006 with Candlelight Christmas and later grew sufficiently to help pave the way for the formation of The klpac Symphonic Band in 2009 and The klpac String Orchestra in 2011.
Tan’s final performance with the orchestra came in July 2011 at the HSBC Classics Opera Extravaganza.
Later that year, musicians staged A Concert for Brian as a tribute to their conductor. He died two days after the October concert.
The orchestra continued.
Dr Takahisa Ota led the ensemble from 2012 to 2014 before Lee Kok Leong assumed the role of Resident Conductor and Music Director in 2015.
Two Decades of Growth
Under Lee, the orchestra has expanded its repertoire, collaborations and reach.
It has worked with artists including pianist Dr Poom Prommachart and violinist Bernice Ooi, while also developing younger conductors through mentorship.
The orchestra made its debut at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS in 2025 with Yellow River Cantata. In 2026, it performed in Opera Hang Li Po and Siddharta The Musical in Concert.
The 20th anniversary tribute is designed to bring those different generations together.
The programme will open with Malaysian composer Yeo Chow Shern’s Tarian Overture, first premiered by the orchestra in 2024.
It will also include Romance from Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E Minor, excerpts from the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, Defying Gravity from Wicked, Cinema Paradiso and Amazing Grace.
Familiar Faces Return to the Stage
Long-time concertmaster Lee Hai Lin will lead the orchestra, while violinist Rebecca Ong, who joined as part of its pioneer generation, will return for the anniversary.
Several previous collaborators will also take part, including soprano Dr Ang Mei Foong, pianist Dr Elaine Yap, yangqin performer Tan Yong Yaw, and vocalists Rachel Liu, Kay Wong and Jamie Tan.
Guest artists Sam Chin and Jess Teong will also appear.
The mix of performers mirrors the concert’s central idea: remembering Tan not simply through nostalgia, but through the musicians and artistic community that continued after him.
Supporting the Orchestra’s Next Chapter
Part of the proceeds will go towards klpac’s Timpani Fund, which aims to raise RM130,000 by 2027 for a new set of timpani.
The fundraising effort adds a practical dimension to the anniversary.
While the concert looks back at the orchestra’s history, it is also intended to support its future infrastructure and musical development.
Performances are scheduled for 8.30pm on 30 and 31 October, with a 3pm matinee on 1 November.
Tickets range from RM50 for students to RM150 for Patron of the Arts seating, with concessions and selected promotional rates also available. Click Here for Tickets
The Ledger Asia Insights
The klpac Orchestra’s 20-year journey shows how community-based arts institutions can create long-term cultural value even without the scale or funding of major professional orchestras.
Its significance lies not only in performance output, but in the ecosystem it has helped sustain.
Over two decades, the orchestra has provided opportunities for amateur and professional musicians, created pathways for conductors, supported collaborations with soloists and helped broaden access to orchestral music in Malaysia.
That makes Brian Tan’s legacy institutional as much as personal.
The orchestra he founded did not stop with his passing. It continued to train musicians, expand its repertoire and create new generations of performers under subsequent leadership.
For Malaysia’s cultural sector, that continuity matters. Arts organisations often depend heavily on individual founders, making succession and institutional resilience difficult. The klpac Orchestra’s ability to carry its original community mission forward for 20 years suggests that Tan’s most lasting contribution was not simply the concerts he conducted, but the structure he left behind.
The anniversary tribute therefore functions as both remembrance and renewal. It honours the person who started the orchestra while demonstrating that the strongest artistic legacies are those capable of continuing long after their founders are gone.
