Indonesia's harp ambassador<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
When she was only 15 years old, Heidi Awuy decided that she
\nwanted to become a professional harpist. At the time, her father
\nasked her why, because the harp was still an oddity in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"I told him that was exactly why I had chosen the harp, so
\nthat I could introduce it to the Indonesian people,\" she said,
\nadding that since then her family had supported her decision.<\/p>\n
Born into a musical family -- her mother, Paula Awuy, is a
\npianist, and her brother, Eric Awuy, a trumpeter -- the 39-year-
\nold Heidi is perhaps the first harpist in Indonesia and one of
\nonly three professional harpists in the country. The other two
\nare Maya Hasan, who was her student, and Ussy Pieters.<\/p>\n
Her father's profession as a diplomat also helped nurture
\nlittle Heidi's passion for music, and she fully enjoyed the
\ncultural experiences of living in places such as Bonn, Geneva and
\nBangkok.<\/p>\n
Heidi started her musical education on the piano, at the ripe
\nold age of four, and only showed interest in the harp when she
\nhad reached 8 years old.<\/p>\n
The first time she heard the sound of the harp was on
\ntelevision during her stay in Geneva.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know who was playing, but the first time I heard the
\nsound of the harp, I felt it drawing me. I felt that this was the
\ninstrument I was meant to play,\" Heidi said.<\/p>\n
But it was only seven years later that this Indo-Canadian
\nwoman was to have her first formal training with the harp.<\/p>\n
When the family moved to Bangkok, Heidi was fortunate to have
\nthe chance to attend a recital of harpist Lieve van Oudhesden,
\nwho later became her tutor and mentor.<\/p>\n
\"She (Oudhesden) was the one who explained to me what the harp
\nwas all about, she made me want to discover more about it,\" Heidi
\nexplained, adding that because of it, Oudhesden was the one
\nteacher that she always remembered and looked up to.<\/p>\n
\"Other tutors were there because I wanted to hone my skills,
\nbut my first teacher made me love the harp,\" Heidi explained.<\/p>\n
Her stay in Bangkok brought her more than just a love of the
\nharp, but also reunited her with an old friend, Glenn Tumbelaka,
\nwho later became her husband.<\/p>\n
\"When we got married, her father asked me to never forbid her
\nfrom playing the harp,\" Glenn recalled of their wedding day.<\/p>\n
Some 14 years and four children later, Glenn still faithfully
\naccompanies Heidi to concerts, recitals and rehearsals, acting as
\npart of the \"crew\", as he puts it.<\/p>\n
It was at a rock performance in 1982 at the Jakarta Convention
\nCenter (JCC) by Glenn's university band, Solid 80, that Heidi
\nmade her Indonesian debut. She played the harp in Queen's Love of
\nMy Life.<\/p>\n
Heidi recalled that the morning after, as she was attending
\nclasses at Pancasila University's School of Law, one of her
\nfriends approached her, bragging that she had watched a harpist
\nplay.<\/p>\n
\"She hadn't realized it was me playing,\" Heidi said laughing.<\/p>\n
After only one semester at Pancasila University, she moved to
\nOttawa University in Canada to study Performance Harp. Since
\nthen, she has studied at the Institute de Musique Jaques Dalcroze
\nin Geneva and the Trinity College of Music in London.<\/p>\n
Heidi has also studied under world renowned harpists such as
\nSebastian Lipman, Maria Rosa, Calvo-Manzano, Alex Bonnet and
\nSusan McDonald.<\/p>\n
When Heidi plays the harp, the audience fades into the
\nbackground, and she is fully immersed in the music she is making.<\/p>\n
Heidi's lean fingers dance across the strings, creating sounds
\nso beautiful that it has been compared to the sound of falling
\nwater.<\/p>\n
Despite her experience, though, Heidi admits to having the
\njitters every time she has to perform.<\/p>\n
\"I'm always nervous when I have to perform. But the difference
\nbetween the first time and now is that I know how to deal with my
\nfear,\" she said, adding that all her fears and nervousness
\ndisappear once the first notes are played.<\/p>\n
Mistakes also happen, even to the best of them. Heidi
\nremembers the mistake she made in choosing a costume for her
\nfirst ever appearance, which was at the British Council in
\nBangkok.<\/p>\n
\"I chose a dress with long buttoned-up sleeves. The sleeves
\nwere so tight that when I raised my arms to play they hurt. I had
\nto grit my teeth to keep on playing,\" she recalled. From then on,
\nHeidi always tested her costumes prior to every concert.<\/p>\n
Heidi has performed at various local and international venues,
\nsuch as at the British Council in Bangkok, Tabarett Hall in
\nOttawa, and at the Graha Bhakti Budaya in Jakarta, and with
\nvarious orchestras including Twilite Orchestra and the Royal
\nBangkok Philharmonic Orchestra.<\/p>\n
These days, Heidi divides her time between solo performances
\nand teaching at her music school Bina Bakat Belia and at her home
\nin Cipete, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
She does not teach the harp exclusively but also the piano and
\nthe recorder. More importantly, Heidi teaches her students how to
\nappreciate music.<\/p>\n
Her students include harpist Maya Hasan who has made a name
\nfor herself in the Indonesian music scene, and Heidi is confident
\nmore will follow. Recently she introduced two of her students at
\na weekly Sunday Opera Brunch organized by Alila Hotel.<\/p>\n
Heidi will also be speaking and performing at the eighth World
\nHarp Congress to be held in Geneva between July 21 and July 28.
\nIn 1990, she was appointed Indonesia's harp ambassador for her
\ndedication in introducing the harp to Indonesian people.<\/p>\n
\"I will speak about the development of harp music in
\nIndonesia,\" she said. She will also perform two Indonesian
\ntraditional compositions, Bungong Jeumpa from Aceh and O Ina Ni
\nKeke from North Sulawesi, which she arranged the music for.<\/p>\n
Of her own children -- Gabriella, 13, Helena, 10, Arnold, 7,
\nand Ariel, 4 -- Heidi said that Helena and Ariel had showed
\nparticular promise and sensitivity to the harp.<\/p>\n
\"But I'm not sure yet. They can all play lots of different
\ninstruments, but none of them have yet shown an interest in a
\nparticular instrument,\" Heidi said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesias-harp-ambassador-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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