ALOR STAR: SMK Sultanah Asma, Kedah's premier girls' secondary school, took home the Northern I Zone preliminary rounds of Malaysia National Band Competition (Natcomp) title at Stadium Sultan Abdul Halim here recently.
Band leader, Izza Afiqah Ahmad Jasri, 17, said she never expected to win but was extremely happy that the band's efforts had paid off.
She described the preparations, which included an intensive eight hours of daily training, as very rewarding.
During its performance, the 118-member band wowed the crowd with the popular Mulan-theme tunes. They also dazzled with their unique and fancy formation.
School principal Kartini Zakaria said she was proud that her students had performed very well.
She commended them for practising very hard for the competition.
Kartini said there was stiff competition from Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid and agreed with Izza Afiqah that the outcome was unexpected.
Present at the event were Natcomp organising chairman Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Yusof, Yayasan Pekema chairman Datuk Zainuddin Abdul Rahman and Kedah Education Department sector head Mafeezul Mohamad.
Besides last week's achievement, SMK Sultanah Asma's brass band also won the top prize at an international music festival in Giulianova, Italy in 2004.
The school also took home the National Inter-school Band Competition title in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2009. Although Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid was not tops in the competition, the premier secondary school, based on the scores it collected, was also chosen to compete in the final round of the coveted Natcomp at Cheras Stadium in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday.
Last year, SMK Keat Hwa of Kedah won the championship, while SMK St John's Institution of Kuala Lumpur and SMK Hwa Wei Sin of Terengganu was first and second runners-up respectively.
SOURCE: NST
