PETALING JAYA, Nov 12 — As the National Symphony Orchestra of Malaysia marks its quarter-century milestone, its music director and conductor Datuk Mustafa Fuzer Nawi says the orchestra’s biggest challenge is a lack of funding.

"We have no money to put up concerts. We are the resident artistes here but we can’t have regular concerts,” he said.

NSO music director and conductor Datuk Mustafa Fuzer Nawi says the orchestra does not receive enough funding for concerts.

Mustafa spoke to Malay Mail ahead of the NSO Malaysia 25th Anniversary Concert taking place this Saturday at Istana Budaya where classical favourites will be performed including Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Tchaikovsky’s Overture 1812 and many more.

The concert will also feature P. Ramlee songs and singer Jaclyn Victor will make a special appearance.

But for the 25-year-old orchestra, the upcoming concert is a rare occasion these days, compared to its formative years, when concerts were held every month.

The NSO was formed in 1993 with the objective of being a resident orchestra in the national theatre and to represent Malaysia in the classical music arena.

Its mission includes providing a stage for Malaysians who wanted to become full-time musicians and to promoting local content.

The orchestra is managed by Istana Budaya which is under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

Mustafa was appointed Concert Master of the NSO in 1993 after returning from Germany’s Hochschule für Musik und Theater where he studied the violin. He assumed the position of Conductor and Music Director in 1999.

Under his leadership, he staged Istana Budaya’s first opera, Puccini’s Tosca in July 2003 and Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow the following year and participated in various orchestra festivals around the world.

"We have achieved the objective but there’s still a lot of work to be done. For example, there aren’t enough young musicians who want to become professional musicians,” said Mustafa.

"We need more young musicians to be employed as soon as possible to prevent an artistic brain drain.”

The NSO currently has 41 full-time members and a round of auditions have just been conducted where an additional 10 musicians will join the orchestra next year.

The process, Mustafa said, was confined by red tape which he believes inhibits growth.

"It’s not that we don’t have talents, the bureaucracy hampers artistic freedom sometimes,” he said.

Unlike Europe or the US where the arts are heavily subsidised and viewed as a priority, Mustafa blamed the culture of ‘freebies’ that lower the economic value of the arts.

"As long as Malaysians have this mentality of ‘Why must we to spend so much on the arts when you can get it for free’, things won’t change,” he said.

"If you don’t believe in spending on the arts, you are killing it. Which is why I think the NSO should charge minimally since we aren’t that heard of.”

Mustafa told Malay Mail the NSO needs at least RM1 million a year for it to have monthly concerts and maintenance.

"RM60,000 to RM80,000 a month goes to paying our artistes. The more in-house musicians we have, the less budget we need for concerts as we don’t have to spend money hiring guest musicians from around the region,” he said.

Asked what initiatives need to be considered in policymaking for the arts, Mustafa said it was imperative for relevant ministries to listen to artistes.

"The ministry has to give artistes under its wings adequate funding and listen to those who have the artistic knowledge and skill set.

"The new government must look into their cultural wealth — these are their treasures,” he said.

Catch the NSO Malaysia 25th Anniversary Concert on Saturday, November 17 at 8.30pm, Istana Budaya. Tickets are priced at RM50, RM80, RM100 and RM150, available here or call 03-4026 5555.

There will an open rehearsal concert on Friday, November 16 at 8.30pm for students at a flat rate of RM10.