Syafiqah 'Adha Sallehin (b. 1990, Singapore) is a music composer, performer and educator. She graduated from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YST) with a Bachelor’s degree in Music (with Honours) in 2013 and a Masters of Music in Music Composition in 2016. Her creative aesthetic is a unique voice that is shaped by her foundation as a classical-trained musician and a traditional Malay music practitioner. She enjoys composing intercultural works which involve the syncretisation of ethnic elements and instruments. To date, Syafiqah’s works have been performed both locally and internationally by esteemed musicians, ensembles and orchestras. Syafiqah is a Malay music accordionist and music director of Gendang Akustika, an urban-based Malay folk music ensemble in Singapore. She also serves as the instructor of the Malay Fusion Ensemble at the School of The Arts, Singapore and is an Artist Faculty at YST.
Syafiqah was involved with several Maya Gallery projects. She was the music director of “Konsert Gurindam Jiwa” (2018). a musical tribute to the late Wandly Yazid, composer of the well-known Asli song, Gurindam Jiwa, from a movie of the same name, by Cathay-Keris Film Productions. In this concert, she conjured the idea of an angklung orchestra supported by a string quartet, accordion, keyboard, electric bass and percussions, across generations. The concert featured a total of 10 songs and film soundtracks that were all composed by Pak Wandly, specially arranged for the unique orchestra and the vocalists involved in the performance. Her apt writing and musical sensibilities gave a breath of fresh air in the revival of Pak Wandly’s music in the Singapore music scene.
During Covid-19, Maya Gallery engaged Syafiqah to compose music for their virtual exhibition space, Alam Maya. Set in a virtual shophouse, “Jeffrey Wandly: Building Whisperer” (2020) is an online solo exhibition by Jeffrey Wandly, featuring paintings that explore the concept of home and heritage. Syafiqah's music composition reflected Singapore’s multicultural society with an instrumentation comprising the tabla, bansuri, guzheng, accordion and cello. Her music gives a sensory experience as one explores the interior space in the Singapore shophouse and views the artworks on display.
Syafiqah composed for another virtual project, mayaspace. mayaspace allows audiences worldwide to interact with artworks in an immersive environment, utilizing virtual reality (VR) to bridge art and technology. Anchored in the Art Ark, which is a visionary museum with eight exhibition galleries, Syafiqah’s electronic music pieces filled the virtual spaces of the building in its first exhibition, “Virtual Encounters” In (2022). She took meticulous care in encapsulating the aura of the museum and that of the four featured artists’ paintings in the opening exhibition. She was also open to suggestions and feedback and improved on the musical pieces where necessary to accommodate to the technical limitations of the project. This greatly showed her strength as an artistic collaborator, adding value to the whole creation process.
