From Zero to Hero and from adagio to crescendo, this music director and conductor has orchestrated his global career journey with musical precision, passion & perseverance
Music Magician Making Meaningful Music
His is the path less travelled and the joy from this journey has led Eugene Pook to perform internationally while training and grooming the next generation of musicians
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“In our AI-driven world, life can easily become artificial. AI may make things faster and more convenient, but music is what makes us human and music is what makes life meaningful,” Eugene Pook, Founder, Music Director and Conductor of the Selangor Symphony Orchestra, Selangor Symphony Youth Orchestra, and Ipoh Philharmonic Orchestra
By Yvonne Yoong
If anyone believes wholeheartedly in the power of music to change the world, it’s Eugene Pook. Not only has music the power to mesmerise and inspire but its role is becoming more and more relevant now with the advent of AI. The Founder, Music Director and Conductor of the Selangor Symphony Orchestra, Selangor Symphony Youth Orchestra and Ipoh Philharmonic Orchestra whose life’s passion is music opined that music has become more fundamental now than ever as AI gains ground.
“In our AI-driven world, life can easily become artificial. AI may make things faster and more convenient, but music is what makes us human and music is what makes life meaningful,” said the conductor known for his passion of creating performances that resonate with diverse audiences while pushing boundaries and maintaining a high level of musical integrity. The spate of recent devastating incidents in Malaysia involving young children he stressed, is a wake-up call of how easily the digital world can pull them in the wrong direction.
“Constant online influence leaves many young people distracted and disconnected. This is why music matters now more than ever, and why it would be wrong not to give our children access to music. Music offers children a healthy community, discipline, teamwork and a true sense of belonging. When they play in an orchestra, they gain purpose, confidence and genuine human connection,” he emphasised.
Holding steadfast to his belief that music is a “meaningful avenue for individual growth for young children”, his passion to share music education with youths and underprivileged organisations has seen him develop orchestra programmes for local schools and various orphanage organisations.
Since 2009, Eugene has also helped raise funds for the Alzheimer Disease Foundation Malaysia, Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, Dementia Society Ipoh, National Stroke Association Malaysia, Make-A-Wish-Malaysia, Assunta Palliative Care Center and Perak Palliative Care Society. His selfless contribution to the music industry has benefitted youths and communities of all races and backgrounds locally and globally. In 2012, he also received the 10 Outstanding Young Malaysians Award for his cultural contributions and achievements in Malaysia and is currently on Board of Trustee of Alzheimer Disease Foundation Malaysia.
His credentials are impressive having studied aboard at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada), University of Missouri – Kansas City (U.S.A), and the Eastman School of Music (USA). His mentors include Professor Jane Carl (clarinet) and Brad Lubman (conducting). But, this was not always the case in his lacklustre early years.
His success today is quite unfathomable as juxtaposed in the early years, as now, in addition to conducting music – he is also a professional clarinet performer and instructor. His clarinet recitals are so sought after that he has performed at prestigious venues such as the Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Malaysia Embassy (Washington DC, USA) and the European Union Embassy (Washington DC, USA). He also emerged the winner of the Concerto Competition of at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (USA) where he performed Copland’s Clarinet Concerto with the University’s Conservatory orchestra and has also performed and toured with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra and Eastman Wind Ensemble.
PERSISTENCE AND PASSION FOR THE JOURNEY
Named the “WOW” Icon of Orchestral Brilliance by the Branding Association of Malaysia (BAM), he shared about his humble start to his musical journey which started when he stumbled into joining his secondary school band. As fate would have it, he was assigned to play the clarinet – which he enjoyed immediately. It was not so much just for the music at first – but of the entire experience of performing on stage in a group setting,
“I loved performing in concert halls across different states, and the applause after the concert gave me a strong sense of fulfilment. I looked forward to every rehearsal because it meant spending time with friends who shared the same passion,” he said, relishing wearing the concert attired which boosted his confidence.
“Even the smell of concert halls became comforting to me which eventually felt like my second home. Later, I found a dream — a dream to become a professional clarinet player and to perform this instrument on world stages,” he said.
However, the road to realising his dream to perform locally and globally wasn’t all roses and cream at the start. Instead, the path to greatness in his case was littered with repeated discouragement and disappointments.
AGAINST ALL ODDS
Growing up in Ipoh some 40 years ago when much of the state and country was not yet culturally developed, he was told that in order to become a professional classical musician, there were four practical requirements: “First, you need to start learning an instrument at a very young age. Second, you need to grow up in a big city where you have access to good music teachers and the arts. Third, you need financial support — for lessons, instruments, and opportunities. And lastly, music must run in the family and you need to be born with “musical genes” to succeed. I had none of those,” he shared, noting that he possessed none of the above.
Undeterred though, after finishing high school, he decided to relocate to Singapore — the nearest place surrounded by the arts, working as a waiter at a restaurant to pay for his music lessons. However, his clarinet teacher in Singapore told him that he didn’t have potential because he “started too late and also played badly” – concluding that music was not for him.
Discouraged, with no mentorship, he returned home to Malaysia after nine months.
“But I didn’t stop. I kept learning and I kept planning. So, again, I decided to make a change. And this time, I wanted to go further, to the Western world – Canada.
I told my parents I wanted to go overseas to study music.
“My father was totally against it but my mother, with immense courage, used all her savings and even borrowed money from friends to send me to Canada. In Canada, life was tough. I had to work three jobs a day in Chinatown just to survive and to
pay for my music lessons,” he recalled.
A legendary musician agreed to teach him but during one lesson, he stopped and told Pook that he didn’t possess talent and should instead be a plumber since he could make 40 Canadian dollars an hour – dissuading him from pursuing music.
WHEN THE STUDENT IS READY, THE TEACHER APPEARS
“It was heartbreaking and, that could’ve been the end for me. But, I didn’t give up. So, I kept learning and planning. And, I worked harder than ever. So, I decided to make a change and I went to America,” he said adding that there, he finally met a teacher and mentor who wanted to help him.
“Professor Jane Carl from the University of Missouri in Kansas City changed my life. She saw something in me, accepted me as her student at the University, and she rebuilt my playing from the ground up,” he reminisced.
“After those transformative years, I was awarded a full scholarship to one of the world’s top music schools – the Eastman School of Music in New York which became my turning point,” he stressed.
“Since then, I’ve been blessed to perform on stages around the world as a clarinet
soloist and orchestra player fulfilling the dream I had as a child. And one day, I made one of the most important decisions of my life — to return home to Malaysia.
Even now, he is driven by a deep desire to contribute to the growth of the music scene to share his knowledge and to guide the next generation of musicians a inclusivity is key.
“I don’t believe talent is everything — because I had none. I don’t believe in the so-called ‘practical requirements’ for becoming a musician — because I had none of them. What matters is passion and perseverance. As Steve Jobs once said this during his commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005: ‘The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle,’” he said in his raw sharing of failure, and triumph and of joy that followed, and of this key decision to return to Malaysia 15 years ago.
Since then, he has worked to build bridges between the Western music world and also the local scene by bringing numerous international artists here. He has so far, established music festivals, a community orchestra, a professional orchestra, a youth orchestra and various music programmes for underprivileged children since he believes that “music can empower everyone”.
“Today, I still hold firmly to one guiding principle: Keep Learning and Keep Planning,” he affirmed during his presentation at the WOW Conference 2025 of which he was bestowed with the WOW Icon of Orchestral Brilliance.
“One day, a legendary musician agreed to teach me. But during one lesson, he stopped and said, “You have no talent. You should be a plumber instead. You’ll make forty Canadian dollars an hour. Music is not for you.”
“It was heartbreaking — that could’ve been the end for me. But, I didn’t give up.
So I kept learning. I kept planning. And I worked harder than ever. And, I decided to make a change and I went to America.
Despite his towering achievements, Pook remains humble and as determined as ever – planning to bring orchestral music to wider audiences and communities while breaking traditional boundaries with refreshing and innovative concert programmes. “I plan to educate students and parents about the immense benefits that orchestral activities can offer to their children,” he said.
“Today, I remind myself that, no matter how successful we may become, challenges will always come — rejection, obstacles, and moments of doubt. That is simply life. What truly matters, is becoming stronger and wiser so we can face them. For me, that strength and wisdom come from studying God’s Word and staying close to Him.
“No matter what we achieve and how successful we are, we remain very tiny in this vast universe. This reminds me that our purpose in life is to live well, to contribute, and to make the world a better place, even in small ways.”
As if to put his music into action, he ended his presentation on a crescendo thanking the parents of the Selangor Symphony Youth Orchestra for their support and belief in what they do after an exhilirating presentation by the students with him conducting the orchestra to the musical scores of La Paloma and Por una cabeza.
@Paparazzi360
