Rentas: TempOdyssey

“The oud should not only be looked upon as just a musical instrument. It is an instrument of expression with the capability to convey your inner emotions.”
– Azrin Abdullah  

Azrin Abdullah started learning the acoustic guitar at the age of six. He gave his first musical performance when he was nine and never looked back since. Azrin began his love affair with the oud, an Arabic lute-type stringed instrument, in 1999 when he was tasked to learn the exotic instrument as part of an endeavour to master traditional Malay music.  

Although he has faced considerable challenges and difficulties in learning to play the oud, Azrin continues to believe in sharing his valuable knowledge so the oud can be made accessible to all.  
 

In 2014, Azrin was sponsored by the National Arts Council to pursue an advanced course at the National Conservatory of Arts in Kuala Lumpur to further his knowledge of the oud. After completing the course, he went on to produce the first Singapore Gambus Conference, which was held at the Malay Heritage Centre from 25-30 October 2016 in conjunction with the Malay Culture Festival. The well-attended event saw speakers and gambus enthusiasts from Singapore and around the world gather to share their knowledge of the instrument.  
 

Azrin was also instrumental in forming Singapore Oudists (SGOudists), an online oud community that provides local oud players from all walks of life with a platform to get together and share techniques and playing styles. Azrin is currently an adjunct teacher with School of The Arts (SOTA) and President of Oudists Association of Singapore.  

Noryn Sazali, a recent Diploma graduate from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) under the tutelage of Matthias Oestringer, is currently the Concert Master of Orkestra Sri Temasek. Tracing back to her classical roots, she has taken part in masterclasses by Yuri Zhislin as well as Lucy Russell, faculty from Royal College of Music London and also Pisoot Saay Op Oua, the Concert Master of Bangkok’s Symphony Orchestra. Noryn has performed in many NAFA concert series such as Viva Verismo, NAFA 80th Anniversary Arts Festival Concert, NAFA Project Strings The Last Serenade and The Complete Sibelius Symphony Cycle. She also engages with many external orchestras in Singapore such as The Philharmonic Orchestra, Orkestra Melayu Singapore, yIN Harmony, ADDO Arts Company and occasionally with Singapore Pocket Opera Theatre.  

Noryn’s talent and excellence were recognised through the Anugerah Belia Cemerlang awarded in 2018. She perform actively in the local and international music scene. She was selected to perform for the Singapore Embassy in Vietnam in 2019, and represented Singapore in the 60th International Folklore Festival in Lefkada, Greece, in 2022 and in Namur, Belgium (Festival de Folklore de Jambes) and Haguenau, France (Festival du Houblon - Rythmes et couleurs du monde) in 2023. Noryn was immensely proud to be sharing her culture and traditions with an international audience, waving the only Asian flag amongst many other European countries. Locally, she has also shared the stage with notable artists such as Hady Mirza, Sufie Rashid and Jatt Ali for their concert Fenomena at Esplanade back in May 2022.  

In November 2019, Noryn performed at the Anugerah MENDAKI 2019 for the guest of honour, Dr Maliki Osman as well as chairman Minister Masagos Zulkifli. Noryn has performed alongside the MENDAKI alumni past award winners for MENDAKI’s 40th Anniversary Award Ceremony in 2022, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as the guest of honour. She has also been given the opportunity to perform for then President Halimah Yacob during the commencement of Bulan Bahasa 2019 and most recently in July 2023 for MENDAKI’s Masyarakat Gemilang Conference.