By James Wong
The Band Lab was established in 2018 to provide a platform for local musicians to enhance their musical skills and showcase their talents. Jesmond Siew, founder and president of The Band Lab, tells New Sarawak Tribune more about this community band, including its accomplishments and upcoming plans.
The Band Lab: Music for the people, by the people
A community band based in Kuching — The Band Lab — is an organisation made up of local musicians who share a passion for music.
The Band Lab was first established in 2018 to provide a platform where musicians from the local community could come together to develop their musical skills and showcase their talents.
It served as a space for local musicians to gather and experience the pleasure of music-making.
Within a year of their establishment, they obtained several accolades that helped put them on the map as one of Sarawak’s top concert bands.
These achievements included the prestigious Malaysian Wind Prize Award in 2019, gold award at the Kuching Concert Band Festival in 2019, and the overall percussion champion and gold award for mixed ensemble in the Malaysia International Virtual Band Championship in 2021.
Besides competing for the crown, they also placed significant emphasis to help nurture and grow local talents, including crossing Sarawak district borders to provide workshops for bands in Sibu and Bintulu.
Even at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, they persevered in fulfilling their mission of fostering the growth of local musicians, despite the prohibition of physical gathering.
They quickly adapted and migrated their operations online by collaborating with professional musicians around the country to conduct virtual instrument lessons, as well as engaging with local bands to exchange knowledge and experiences.
Behind the community music movement is Jesmond Siew, who currently serves as president and director of the band.
According to him, The Band Lab is the first non-affiliated youth band in Sarawak.
Their unique status of not being affiliated to any institutions or organisations is what sets them apart from other bands in the state.
However, it is not without reason.
“Having previously served and played in other bands prior to 2018, we realised that the attachment to specific institutions meant that only the community from that specific institution were benefitted.
“Also, due to differences in vision for the band, we came to the realisation there were limitations to our growth and opportunities.
“Inspired by these obstacles, the idea of a community band was born. We wanted to expand our potential beyond the institution and bring the joy of making and enjoying music to the general community at large,” he shared with New Sarawak Tribune.
After a few years of managing the band, his vision for The Band Lab has evolved and expanded since its inception.
Recognising the importance of exposure for local bands, he gradually restructured the band into an advocacy platform aimed at promoting quality music education and fostering growth for communities alike.
To achieve this, they started to provide a range of services including instrument lessons, consultancy services for bands, outreach programmes as well as performances for events, all as part of the effort to engage with the community.
By leveraging on their network of professional musicians, the band also acts as a hub for local musicians to connect with external seasoned musicians.
“As an advocacy platform, we have done a handful of educational outreach programmes both online and offline to promote music education and provide mentorship for young musicians, with the participation of external talents.
“One of our notable programmes was the Kuching Youth Band Fiesta in 2019, a four-day Wind Educational Band Program that gathered musicians around the state to learn, collaborate, and create music.
“We managed to recruit more than 80 participants from Sarawak and tutors from around the country, including Singapore,” he said.
The Band Lab’s impact on the community also involved raising awareness and appreciation for wind orchestral music in Kuching.
According to Jesmond, this will not happen if not for the achievement they have obtained throughout the years.
These accomplishments have not only brought recognition to the band but have also helped to reinvent themselves as a hub for musical talent.
“After the wins in 2019, we were fortunate to work with Sarawak Multimedia Authority to perform for their opening ceremony which was also attended by the Premier of Sarawak.
“That performance, which was aired on local TV, opened a door for us. People started to take notice of what we do, and it landed us more opportunities and collaborations.
“Subsequently, we were presented with the opportunities to collaborate and perform for Sarawak Energy, HAUS Kuching, Prodigy Music, Business Events Sarawak and shopping malls around Kuching including Aeon Mall, The Spring and VivaCity,” he said.
Not only did it create a space for collaborations, but they were also regularly invited to perform for festivities around Kuching.
In line with their goal to reach the community, they have an open recruitment system whereby anyone is free to join regardless of their background.
Moreover, not much is needed to join them, apart from a will to learn.
“We provide all the necessary equipment from musical instruments to music lessons. As long as you’re passionate and willing to learn, we welcome anyone who is interested.
“And because of that, we have become a known place for school band alumni who wish to continue their musical journey,” he added.
As of now, their membership consists of students from SM Sains Kuching, St Joseph’s Private Secondary School, SM Kai Dee Bintulu, Chung Hua Middle School and Borneo International School, among others.
Nonetheless, there are certain drawbacks to managing a community band and spreading the words of the existence of such movement.
“In Sarawak, because the number of bands are relatively low compared to west Malaysia, there is a much smaller audience that we can reach out to.
“To add to that, the art form is still finding its footing in Sarawak, and therefore it is still not a priority for many institutions, which means less funding for the local concert band scene.
“To overcome this, we have spent a considerate amount of effort into amping up our social media strategy by creating relevant and interesting content such as music videos, YouTube vlogs, Facebook educational series,” he said.
With an iron will and an interest in videography, Jesmond is also responsible for the band’s social media content, producing instrumental covers on Instagram and YouTube that garnered well over 165 thousand total viewership.
When asked about upcoming plans for The Band Lab, he revealed that the band is currently planning a series of events in conjunction with the fifth anniversary of The Band Lab this year.
“The band is currently gearing up for more outreach programmes across Sarawak in the second half of the year.
“We are also excited to bring back the Sarawak Youth Band Fiesta this December, and this time we are anticipating about 150 participants throughout Malaysia,” he added.
Additionally, they are also working on organising Sarawak’s inaugural anime-themed orchestral concert, which is scheduled to take place in October.
Right now, the band holds their weekly practice sessions on Sunday afternoons, with each member fully committed and dedicated to honing their skills to present their best self for the upcoming competition.
“To me, every moment is meaningful, and every practice session is like a collaboration with musicians to reach a common goal.
“There are good times and bad times, but it is heartening to witness their dedication to work collaboratively towards creating a cohesive sound. All their hard work culminates into a harmonious whole,” he said.
