Syafinaz Selamat
Datuk Syafinaz Selamat; (Jawi: صافيناز بنت سلامت; born 11 January 1973) , is a Malaysian singer who sings in Malay, English, Italian, Spanish, and German. She is a reputed soprano soloist; well known as a voice teacher, vocal coach and a lecturer in universities and private classes; a leading voice master in adult and children choir groups; and often appeared as a professional jury or critic in local singing competitions and reality programmes. Early life. Syafinaz Selamat is the youngest child out of 11 siblings, and was born in the Pontian District of Johor in Malaysia. Syafinaz began her  singing journey as a child singer at the age of 7 in events around her hometown in the Batu Pahat District. At the age of 9, Syafinaz was recommended to join a talent search hosted by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) by her sister who worked there. Syafinaz soon became a regular singer alongside her duet partner Eliza in RTM radio segments, and RTM national television's children's programme that was aired during festive seasons. Syafinaz landed her first record deal at the age of 15, and her first album titled after her own name, "Syafinaz" was launched in 1989 . Artistry. Aside of beginning her singing journey at the age of 7, Syafinaz also enrolled in the electric organ lesson and the piano lesson respectively at the age of 7 and 10. Syafinaz then continued her music education in the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Music. She is also a classically trained singer under the tutelage of Siti Chairani Proehoeman (voice), Muzaffar Abdullah (piano), as well as veterans in the Malaysian music education and classical performance scene. Syafinaz also took initiative by completing a short course in Germany with Heidrun Maria Hahn, a  German opera singer, before taking on a commitment as a soprano singer. Syafinaz's operatic soprano voice fach is dramatic coloratura soprano, making her suited for repertoire and arias from composers such as Mozart, Puccini, Bellini, Delibes and Verdi. She was chosen to play the role of the soprano solo in Carl Orff's opera "Carmina Burana" with 100 choir members and the National Symphony Orchestra of Malaysia, conducted by Roland Peelman. Career. Singer. Syafinaz officially started off as a child singer with RTM when she was only 9 years old alongside a duet partner, Eliza. Syafinaz continued her singing  journey by going solo at the age of 15 and produced her first album, "Syafinaz" launched in 1989. She then kickstarted her singing career as a pop singer by releasing "Bersamamu" album in 1999, followed by "Syyh" in 2001. Her career achievements as a pop singer include a Gold Medal in the R&B/Pop/Rock/Contemporary category during the 1999 World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in Los Angeles. Additionally, she's been nominated twice in Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) for Best Female Vocal for her albums "Ingin Bersamamu" (1999) and "Syyh" (2001), a nomination in Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita  Harian for Popular Female Singer in the year 1998/99, Sri Angkasa Award and Anugerah ERA 2002. Nowadays, Syafinaz is better known for her lyrical soprano singing in classical numbers. Between 2001 and 2020, Syafinaz collaborated in producing two featured singles respectively with Dennis Lau entitled "Mahkota" "(Crown)" in 2009, and Frank Scott Hew entitled "Terpesona" "(Enchantment)" in 2010. She also released a Raya single featuring her former protégés from Mentor 7 (Ranisha and Lazarul) entitled "RahmatNya" "(His/God's Grace)" in 2019. In 2021, Syafinaz released a new single entitled "Persis Salju" "(Like the Snow)", which is a ballad song  infused with classical elements. Teaching. During her final year as a student in the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Syafinaz was trusted with the responsibility as a lecturer assistant by Siti Chairani Prohoeman. She was then immediately recruited as a lecturer in the UiTM right after her graduation in 1995. Today, Syafinaz does not only lecture in UiTM, but also in The National Arts Academy (ASWARA) as well. In addition, Syafinaz was elected as one of the board of director at ASWARA in 2020. She is also an advisor, vocal master, director, and a conductor for the National Choir of Malaysia , and Genius Seni Koir Group (formerly known as Permata Seni Koir). Under the leadership of Syafinaz and the other teaching staffs of JKKN, the National Choir of Malaysia have won two gold medals for Vocal Group category and Mix Choir category in the 4th Bali International Choir Festival 2015. Syafinaz was also invited to conduct the Vienna Boys' Choir during the group's tour in Malaysia in 2011. Moreover, Syafinaz also provides private voice tutoring and known to have tutored several well known local singers including Misha Omar, Khai Bahar, Ernie Zakri, Hael Husaini, and many more. She was the  music advisor for the reality programme Audition II, and a vocal coach in Malaysia national singing competition Bintang RTM 2018. She was also chosen as one of the mentors in the reality show Mentor for the show's 7th season installation, Mentor 7 2018. In Mentor 7, Syafinaz was the only mentor who managed to keep both of her protégés (Lazarul and Ranisha) up to the semi-final until Lazarul was eliminated in the semi-final. Syafinaz also managed to maintain the youngest and only female protégé (Ranisha, 18) from the beginning towards the final of Mentor 7. Jury/critic . Syafinaz has extensive experience as a jury in numerous local singing competitions and reality shows, including Akademi Fantasia Season 3 and 4, Who Will Win, Mentor, One in a Million (OiAM) Season 1, 2 and 3, Pop Krew, The Band, Bintang Kecil RTM, Bintang RTM, AF Megastar 2017, Separuh Akhir Muzik-Muzik (SFMM36), Gegar Vaganza season 6, and 7. Her partnership with her co-jury, Paul Moss in OiAM landed them a nomination for Best On-Screen Chemistry Award in Shout! Awards in 2009. What makes Syafinaz one of Malaysia's celebrated jury and critics in local singing competitions are  her motivating encouragements, constructive remarks and pointers from the academic point of views. Special events and appearances. Due to her reputation as the region's leading soprano, Syafinaz is often invited as a special celebrity guest to do classical performances in local and international prestigious events, including private functions, fashion shows and product launches. Some of her international shows include the closing ceremony of the 2007 meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, a special appearance in Expo 2008 in Zaragoza, the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane, the 2010 Islamic Fashion Week in Monte Carlo performing before Prince  Albert, the 2011 World Islamic Economic Forum in Kazakhstan, and in the Malaysia Day Expo 2020 in Dubai. Syafinaz also made a performance alongside Rosnan Rahman, Zainal Abidin and Jaclyn Victor during Barack Obama's official visitation to Malaysia during his USA presidency in 2014. Personal life. Syafinaz's late father has always been supportive of her ever since she embarked on her singing journey, but he also wanted Syafinaz to have a secure future with government job guarantees. So he asked Syafinaz to further study in medical education after she obtained excellent SPM examination results, and a scholarship to  do English as a Second Language (ESL). However, Syafinaz was very determined to pursue music as a career; therefore, vehemently rejected her late father's plannings for her. This disagreement has caused a great dispute between them and made Syafinaz run off to one of her sisters in Johor Bahru. After that, she decided to move to Kuala Lumpur to live with her other sister and further study in music at the UiTM. She performed consistently well throughout her studies which not only earned her Dean's List awards and a bachelor's degree in music, but also the approval  and blessing of her late father who later became her even bigger supporter. Despite being in the entertainment industry for decades, there have been rarely any controversial tabloids relating to Syafinaz surfaced on the media gossip. Syafinaz said that her focus and daily busyness on work commitment was the main reason she found it difficult to socialize freely, therefore rarely becoming the target of media gossip. In addition to that, Syafinaz admitted to still being single. Syafinaz has a reputation for being a stern and intolerant person. She however dismissed the speculations and said that she behaves sternly only during  her working hours as she finds it important to ensure her students understand her teachings correctly and completely. As for the speculation of her being an intolerant individual, Syafinaz admits to being a perfectionist which often made it difficult for her to feel satisfied with the outcomes of her work. However, she also added that her perfectionist nature did not make her a completely intolerant person, but only in work related matters. Outside of working hours, Syafinaz is often described as amiable, warm and courteous by her students (including ex-students), fans, co-workers/artists as well as interviewers who  interviewed her. Though admitting to the importance of social media accounts as one of the means to keep entertainers relevant in the industry, she also firmly stated that she never had any social media accounts due to her daily hectic schedules and routines. However, due to her commitment for Mentor 7, she announced her decision in creating an Instagram account with the initial intention of promoting her protégés; Lazarul and Ranisha. Since then, Syafinaz has been utilizing her social media accounts not only for brand building and fan interaction, but also as a platform in sharing her knowledge on voice  art. Syafinaz is among the fighters for the country's art industry. She argues that art is not just a mere hobby and interest, but also a respectable profession. She strongly thinks that knowledge and academic background in music is important for all musicians if they intend to lead the local art industry towards better progress to be more seen and seriously accepted among the society, as well as being one of the contributors to the country's economy. Awards and honours. State honourific. To honour her contributions in education, entertainment, art and performances for three long decades, Syafinaz was  awarded a Panglima Mahkota Wilayah (P.M.W.) medal of honour by Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King), Sultan Muhammad V during the Federal Territory Day in 2018. This honour gives Syafinaz an official Datukship title; Datuk Syafinaz Selamat.