JP\/20\/THOBY<\/p>\n
Thoby Mutis the singing rector<\/p>\n
Bona Beding
\nContributor\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Senior lecturer-cum-economist Thoby Mutis is a reputable expert,
\nbut few know as a productive songwriter and praiseworthy crooner.<\/p>\n
He once performed with Trie Utami in the parking lot of
\nTrisakti University -- where he is a rector.<\/p>\n
The event was the release of an album by Thoby, who has an
\nOscar Harris-like voice, and a number of prominent musicians,
\nincluding the high-pitched Trie, drummer Gilang Ramadhan, Kiboud
\nand Ireng Maulana, The Fly, Wayang and many others.<\/p>\n
Timely, the album, Senandung Untuk Kedamaian (Songs for
\nPeace), was released recently to welcome the new leadership in
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
\"We want to spread peace among people from all walks of life.
\nAnd I believe music is the most effective way to reach them,
\nincluding politicians who are bustling with each other for
\npower,\" said Thoby.<\/p>\n
Thoby takes his music career seriously, not just for
\ncommercial gain but as a way of bringing into the open the amount
\nof political horse-trading done in the name of the people.<\/p>\n
Once chairman of the outspoken Rectors Forum, which frequently
\nissued significant political statements, Thoby changed course and
\ntook a more mellow approach to making political statements.<\/p>\n
Long before he wrote songs laden with peace messages, Toby
\ncomposed at least 280 gospel songs, producing his first gospel
\nalbum in 2002. It was followed a year later by a second album of
\nthe same genre.<\/p>\n
\"I have to place God first before other interests, so I write
\nsongs to praise Him before writing other types of songs. My
\npraise is also a manifestation of my gratitude for the talent He
\nhas endowed me with,\" Thoby said in an interview at his residence
\non Jl. Kecubung Raya, Duren Sawit, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Of the 10 songs in the new album, eight of them were composed
\nby Thoby.<\/p>\n
Drummer Gilang Ramadhan, in a separate interview, said he was
\nimpressed that Thoby had produced the album. He suspects Thoby
\ntried to overcome strong emotions related to what happened on his
\nuniversity campus in May 1998.<\/p>\n
Four students were fatally shot during an anti-Soeharto rally
\nat Trisakti University. The students' deaths fueled massive
\nprotests that led to widespread riots, after which Soeharto
\nresigned.<\/p>\n
\"I met him on a night of vigil to observe 'gray' May (this
\nyear). I guess Prof. Thoby has deep wounds if he recalls the
\ntragedy,\" Gilang said.<\/p>\n
The album tells how Indonesia is a peace-loving country,
\nexcept that some people taint its image and resort to violence
\nand dirty practices to gain power for their own interests.<\/p>\n
\"Freedom and peace are like two faces of the same coin. In
\nfreedom there is a responsibility to create peace, which in turn
\npromotes freedom,\" Thoby explains.<\/p>\n
In the wee hours when most people are still asleep, Thoby
\nwakes up, and starts strumming his old Yamaha guitar to create
\nsongs.<\/p>\n
He inherited his music talent from his paternal side. \"Because
\nof his profound love of music, my father had most kinds of
\nmusical instruments and he was very strict with me about learning
\nhow to play them when I was a second grader,\" he reminisced.<\/p>\n
Potong Padi (Cutting Paddy), traditional songs Bolelebo, Sisi
\nKolesisi, Benggong and Nina Noy are songs from his childhood that
\nstill thrill him, as they always remind him of his father.<\/p>\n
Music and crooning are not his only passions. He also ponders
\na lot about developing cooperatives and soccer.<\/p>\n
When he attended Syuradikara high school in Ende, Flores,
\nThoby excelled in music and soccer -- he had a band and a soccer
\nteam.<\/p>\n
\"But how was I to make a living from music? It was not a
\npromising option at that time. So when my father found out that I
\nintended to make a career out of music, he flatly said no. He
\nwanted me to continue my studies and even promised to sell his
\ncows to pay my school fees,\" said Tobby, who once worked as a bus
\ndriver while still at university in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Thoby, father of 26-year-old Fransiskus Paschalis, has spent
\nmore than half of his career developing cooperatives, and helping
\nsmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) people's economics and
\nmarginalized people.<\/p>\n
To realize the development of cooperatives and SMEs, in 1976,
\nafter bagging an economics degree from Trisakti University, Thoby
\nchose to study organizational development and specialized
\ncooperatives. In 1984 he got a doctoral degree from the Southeast
\nAsia Interdisciplinary Institute (SAIDI) in Manila, the
\nPhilippines.<\/p>\n
Living a peaceful life, Thoby says he thanks Him for his
\nnumerous blessings.<\/p>\n
\"My obligation, and I think everybody's, is to share their
\nhappiness, luck and kindness received from others, just like
\npaying back God,\" he said.<\/p>\n
His fourth album, blending East Nusa Tenggara traditional
\nmusic and Spanish, will be released next month. Thoby worked with
\nSpanish crooner Carlos Blanco Fadol on the album.<\/p>\n
\"I pray to God that He allows me to continue pursuing my
\nfavorite hobbies.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp20thoby-1447899208",
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