Tabi basa & greetings everyone. In this post, I’d like to share about the recently concluded third edition of Bengkel Seni Talent Vocal (BSTV) held at Genesis Coworking Space at Taman Pelita, Miri from 27 until 28 September 2025. It is the first time BSTV done for two days in Miri.
Prologue
The man behind BSTV, the one and only – Yudhi Seriestha, fondly called Cikgu Yudhi by his students, is a passionate man in the art of singing. Thanks to him, over 3000 students were coached by him in the art of proper singing techniques ever since he started this singing workshop in 1992.
Interestingly, according to Cikgu Yudhi, 70% of his students are from Iban community. In Sarawak, Iban music scene can be considered the most active, and each year, new songs are being produced. My personal favourite is Masterpiece, with hits such as Ngarapka Nuan Nikal Pulai, Renjan, Redak Seribu and many more.
Bengkel Seni Talent Vocal (BSTV) 2024
You can read about last year’s BSTV here:
About Cikgu Yudhi & Dewi
Cikgu Yudhi himself is a great singer, and he is known internationally. His latest achievement to-date was Winner of SANREMOSENIOR AWARD 2022, which he gladly shared with his. He said, age is not a barrier for someone to achieve excellence, as what he proved at Italy a couple of years ago. He shared his video on the morning part of 2nd day BSTV Miri 2025.
Meanwhile, Cikgu Dewi, or many knows her as Dewi Liana Seriestha, was the first Malaysian to win Miss Talent Award at the Miss World 2014 pageant. In the video that was shared to us on 2nd day, all of us were impressed by her talent in singing.
But it was no magic as she has been honing her skill since a very young age, thanks to her father that understood the simple fact of life: to master something, start young.
Preparation for BSTV’25
This time, unlike last year, there were no homework that we need to do. We just need to show up during the training on 27 Sep. Many of us singers already have a favourtie song that we often sing when we are having karaoke, or simply alone at home.
For me, I like oldies song because those song really put emphasis on my baritone vocal. I also sing rock from time to time, but not all the time.
Like any muscle exercise, it is important to give it a rest too after a strenuous exercise. So, I decided to rest before the training and had an early night sleep.
Day 1
One the first day of training, upon my arrival, I was greeted by Moon who was smoking outside the premise. I went up and met Lyn, Norell & Penny. Those were the familiar faces that I met throughout my singing journey in Miri.
There were few new person as well whom I know I’ll get acquainted too as we progress through the class. As time goes by, more participants coming in, including Jay, Justin, Jennifer, James and many more. Quite a number of the participants are recording artists. But all of us are here for one mission – to improve our singing talent.
Cikgu Yudhi started the class first and gave his sharing about singing. For those who know him, they will know that Cikgu Yudhi is passionate about singing.
Then we were asked to introduce ourselves and sang a bit. Since I sat in front, I introduced myself first: Claudius, from Serian, likes Oldies, and sung Unchained Melody as the introductory song.
After that, one by one introduced themselves.
Then comes Cikgu Dewi, where she introduced herself and shared to us about her singing journey.
She continued on with evaluating eac singer’s singing technique and the common mistake that they often do.
It is good to have someone professional to assess our singing techniques as this will help to us further improve. Cikgu Yudhi assessed my singing too, which help to identify which part of my singing that needs to be fixed.
The second half of first day was spent with singing the song of choice.
Being an emcee, I played my part and called upon the name of the singers, as if we were having a musical show of our own.
Also, Cikgu Dewi also had her own surprise birthday celebration during that time. Thanks for the delicious cake!
Day 2
For 2nd Day, I didn’t take a lot of pictures, because I was focusing more on taking video. You can see the 2nd Day’s video here.
But in essence of the second day, we started the second day with analysing the other professional singer’s performance, followed by our individual performance and feedback session.
Catwalk Lesson, Kuntau & Dayang Bintang
Catwalk is where Cikgu Dewi shine, and she was generous with the knowledge so that we can present ourselves better. As for Christian, he also did some kuntau session with an accompaniment of Bidayuh music.
We also did some joget-joget session. As for me, I sang Dayang Bintang by Mawat. Penny, Lyn and even Cikgu Yudhi was actively asking the crowd to join in and have fun, and joget-joget. This was without any drinks. Just image ife those peoples have some drinks at hand. They will be much more happening.
Certificate & Token of Appreciation
This is where we receive the certificates from Cikgu Yudhi & Cikgu Dewi. The most important take away from the whole workshop was to continue to improve. The significant change occurs in the beginning, but as we improve, it takes a lot more effort to achieve excellence. With the right mindset, it is possible.
We also gave token of appreciation to Cikgu Yudhi & team for coming to Miri & gave such and invaluable lesson. Also, Lyn and Jay J received a special awared because they helped to organise the workshop until its completion.
Time To Say Goodbye
After the certificates were given away, it is time to a lot of pictures. Lots of pictures.
Keep Our Environment Clean
After the session was completed, it was also equally crucial to keep the environment clean. I was on my way to throw the rubbish at the back of the block. Jacklyn, one of recording artists under Jenny Tan’s Golden Pearl Recording Studio accompanied me to throw the rubbish. It was a hot Sunday afternoon indeed, and I was drenched in sweat.
Epilogue
It is indeed a blessing for the almighty God to be able to attend Cikgu Yudhi’s workshop. I am not kidding when I say that it is a life-changing experience, especially for the two young participants – Victor and Franklin.
Thank you Cikgu Yudhi, Cikgu Dewi, Christian & Mr Louis for taking your time, coming all the way to Miri and shared your passion in singing with us. Thank you also to Jay and Lyn for organising this workshop for all of us to attend.
Your Tukang Rantek & Singing Emcee,
Claudius
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