Zubir Said (1907–87) gave Singapore its national anthem, “Majulah Singapura”, and its official Children’s Day song, “Semoga Bahagia”. Working with theatre company Wild Rice, music director Julian Wong put together a critically acclaimed production on the life of Pak Zubir that mixed history, music and memory in a moving show, Don't Call Him Mr. Mari Kita. Performances were sold out in 2022 and 2024. In this episode, Julian tells us the challenges of putting up the show, including the research and transcription, and reveals if he’s a Swiftie.
Julian Wong is a composer, arranger, music director, educator and performer. He has composed for Wild Rice, including An Inspector Calls, Pinocchio, Tartuffe: The Imposter, etc. As music director, he has helmed overseas assignments such as Liao Zhai Rocks! (Shanghai) and Spotlight Singapore (Mexico City), as well as home-grown projects such as Hossan Leong’s Hossan-AH! 50, Pam Oei’s Faghag and The Theatre Practice’s If There’re Seasons. Additionally, Julian has conducted and arranged for Joyful Strings, Ministry of Bellz, Orchestra of the Music Makers, Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, and many more. Julian graduated from Berklee College of Music, where he received the Professional Music Excellence Award and Alex Ulanowski Award. In 2023, he received the Young Artist Award, Singapore’s highest award for young arts practitioners.
What Julian Talked About
- 03:07 – How the show Don't Call Him Mr. Mari Kita came about
- 05:17 – Julian’s research into the life of Pak Zubir Said
- 08:04 – Performing the show during Covid
- 10:13 – How Julian arranged his version of “Semoga Bahagia”
- 12:35 – Difficulties of researching Pak Zubir’s life
- 13:40 – The most interesting discovery about Pak Zubir
- 15:49 – A touching story about Pak Zubir
- 17:50 – Continuing the legacy of teacher-student collaborations
- 18:59 – How “Majulah Singapura” was conceived
- 22:44 – What Julian learnt about Pak Zubir from his teacher Iskandar Ismail
- 24:42 – Julian’s relationship with his teacher
- 26:37 – Mentoring students budding musicians at ITE
- 27:57 – On winning the Young Artist Award by the National Arts Council
- 29:43 – Favourite song from Don't Call Him Mr. Mari Kita
- 31:36 – What he’s working on
- 32:54 – Julian’s favourite musician
- 34:06 – Is he a Swiftie?
Transcript
- Read the transcript: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/podcast/life-and-legacy-zubir-said-julian-wong/transcript/
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This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by Doppler Soundlab. The background music "Di Tanjong Katong" was composed by Osman Ahmad and performed by Chords Haven. This version of “Semoga Bahagia” was composed by Zubir Said, produced by Julian Wong and performed by Wild Rice. Special thanks to Julian for coming on the show.
BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library of Singapore.