Teen musician Maisarah Ukulele’s other passions include ballet, the English language, Mandarin and art
SHE may have attached her favourite musical instrument the ukulele to her name but teen musician Maisarah Faizal’s talents go beyond music.
The 16-year-old singer-songwriter from Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, has been in showbusiness for six years, and has just released a self-titled album with seven songs, two of which she wrote and composed.
However, music was not her first love; instead it was dancing, specifically ballet, which she learnt at the age of three.
“My parents love music and this rubbed off on me but I was initially fascinated with the acrobatic and graceful movements of dancers that I saw on television,” said the bubbly student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman Tun Dr Ismail in a recent interview at Balai Berita.
BALLET AND GYMNASTICS
“With my mother’s encouragement, I took up ballet lessons when I was three. I was hyperactive and she thought I could channel my energy into something creative,” said Maisarah, the daughter of concert producer Liza Kadir.
Maisarah’s love of ballet also extended to gymnastics, which some of her dance classmates excelled in.
In total, she had eight years of ballet lessons. While in Standard Two, Maisarah also learnt gymnastics from one-time national champion Sarina Sundara Rajah.
“I was an active child, so my mother enrolled me in Sarina’s classes. I was soon executing flips in school gymnastics events. One day during training at 11, however, I tore a back muscle.”
But there was a silver lining. During that time, Maisarah’s mother got acquainted with veteran choreographer and dance instructor Farah Sulaiman.
Farah encouraged Maisarah to take up modern dance and along the way, the latter developed a greater appreciation of music, especially Broadway tunes.
“Despite my injury, I was fortunate that I could still move to the beats of modern dance, and therefore joined Farah’s classes for three years.
“They were very stimulating and I soon took part in a musical, Broadway Bites,” said Maisarah, who also danced in the concerts of Datuk DJ Dave and Francissca Peter when she was 11.
Maisarah reckons her interest in music was nurtured by her frequent participation in concerts, organised by her mother, during the school holidays.
“During one concert, when I was 13, I danced at Datuk A Rahman Hassan’s show. He must have been impressed because he suggested to my mother that I Iearn to sing and perhaps play a musical instrument or two,” she said.
INSTRUMENTAL CREATIVITY
Maisarah’s friends also encouraged her a lot. “I have a few musically-inclined school friends and when I was 14, I learnt to play the guitar with their help,” she said.
“But the guitar was a little big for my liking and so they suggested that I try the smaller ukulele. So here I am!” she exclaims.
Maisarah’s parents concurred, as they felt that it would make her stand out as a musician and singer, “not another Yuna wannabe”.
But it was not smooth sailing as stage fright became an obstacle.
“This happened each time relatives asked me to go on stage, especially at weddings and birthday dinners. Thank God my parents were there to support me. They told me to imagine that the audience was an illusion. Gradually I got used to being on stage,” said Maisarah, who has 44,000 Instagram followers.
SHE LOVES LEARNING ENGLISH TOO
Now that Maisarah has released an album, she is determined to be a household name some day.
However, she rules out becoming a full-time artiste as she believes in having a “daytime job”, a notion that her parents believe in too as it’s not easy to “survive on music alone”.
“I love singing but it’s a pastime for me. I want to further my studies in either graphics design or excel in the English language,” she said.
“I used to draw cartoons, following the style of comic strips. In fact, I painted my bedroom walls with them too,” she revealed, laughing.
“Right now, I’m studying graphics design and I’ll be taking it as a subject in my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) next year.
“I see myself doing graphics design for books, TV programmes and even film sets in the future, besides singing, composing and songwriting.”
As for her love of the English language, Maisarah says she’s a “big fan” and would love to be an English teacher too one day.
With the coming year being her SPM examination, Maisarah will be cutting back on her public appearances, but “will be involved in musical projects that are close to my heart”.
She is also planning to release a single in Mandarin next year. “I’ve been taking lessons in the language for three months now,” said Maisarah.