Syafiqah is also a passionate advocate of traditional Malay music and is a self-taught accordionist in this genre. She is the music director of Gendang Akustika, a Malay traditional-contemporary music ensemble in Singapore. She teaches the Malay Fusion Ensemble at School of the Arts Singapore, and has given lectures about traditional Malay music in various schools. In 2018, she was appointed as a residency artiste and composer in “Rentas”, a residency programme dedicated to innovations in traditional Malay music as part of a larger festival called “Gemadah – Traditional Malay Music Festival” jointly organized by Esplanade, NAC and the Singapore Traditional Malay Music Consortium. In the same festival, she also conducted an accordion masterclass that showcased the stylistic performance of urban Malay folk music on the otherwise Western instrument.
In 2018, Syafiqah co-founded a syncretic ensemble called Open Score Project (OSP), a product of her enthusiasm for new music and the traditional arts. The ensemble comprises of musicians from various musical backgrounds and cultures in Singapore with the objective of achieving what could be a “Singaporean sound”. Syafiqah’s arrangements and compositions were pivotal to the creation of the ensemble’s musical identity. Although she is no longer part of the ensemble, Syafiqah continues to work collaboratively with other ethnic musicians on a quest of exploring common grounds for process and birthing new creations.
