Bali hosts major art shows and festivals
Bali hosts major art shows and festivals
JAKARTA (JP): Bali, known as one of Indonesia's prominent art centers, hosted two major international art and music gatherings this year, the International Bamboo Festival and the Pacific Music Rainbow (Pacific Harmony), the historical meeting of some of the world's most famous music composers.
These two festivals further prove that music and art are something felt and difficult to measure. Both are unifying forces that could bring together people of all cultures.
The four-day bamboo music festival in Ubud in June offered a breakthrough to the music world. Hundreds of participants demonstrated that there is no limit to what you can do with bamboo.
The festival was mainly aimed at promoting bamboo musical instruments for international recognition. So far, these instruments are only used by traditional musicians from various tribes in Asia, Australia and Africa.
Through this rare event, people have started to accept bamboo musical instruments as part of "modern" music.
Twenty-six music groups, 15 of them from Bali, performed during the festival, which was part of the Fifth International Bamboo Congress. Six ensembles came from outside of Bali, such as the Bamboo Orchestra of Manado, North Sulawesi, and the Gumarang Sakti and Dance group from West Sumatra. A large number of international artists also attended with their various traditions, such as Australian didgeridoo player Alan Dargin and Japan-based flutist John Kaizan Neptune.
During this festival, the musicians gathered at Linda Garland's idyllic 30-hectare hilltop hideaway in Ubud. Garland is a highly-acclaimed interior designer who dedicates her life to the promotion of bamboo as an architectural item, as well as musical instruments.
Also present was famous musician Peter Gabriel, a former lead singer of British rock group Genesis, who is an avid lover of traditional music.
Pacific Music
Another rare and unprecedented music event was a songwriters summit in October of the Pacific Music Rainbow. Dozens of composers from Indonesia, the United States, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore gathered at the Bali Cliff Resort in Jimbaran, south of Denpasar, Bali.
The idea for this special gathering emerged from a friendly chat between Indonesian musician and producer Chris Pattikawa and Finn Antero Pavalainen during a music market in Cannes, France, one-and-a-half years ago. Antero, chairman of the Pacific Songwriters Summit, offered the idea of holding a songwriters meeting in Indonesia, similar to the those he helped organize in Moscow, in 1988, and Rumania, in 1994, where local composers met with international composers, especially from the United States.
Some of the participants were well known to music lovers in Indonesia, including teenage-idol Tommy Page, German-based rock group Scorpion's Rudolf Shenker and Klaus Meine, and American saxophonist Dave Koz.
Songwriters behind celebrated singers attended, including Allan Rich, nominated for Oscar and Grammy awards for his song Run to You, sung by Whitney Houston in the film Bodyguard.
Brenda Russel, composer of hits sung by Tina Turner, Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, also attended the event. Also actively taking part in the gathering were Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw, songwriters for such super-groups as Damn Yankees; Alan Roy Scott, winner of many international song festivals; Garry Burr, a celebrated country songwriter; Jeff Lorber, a renowned jazz fusion artist; and Lisa Fischer, a famous U.S. jazz and fusion songwriter.
The Indonesian musicians included Titiek Puspa, Rinto Harahap and Farid Harja. Others who joined in were Tito Soemarsono, Youngki Soewarno, Bartje van Houten, Chacken M, Dadang S. Manaf, Januar Ishak, James F. Sundah, Ekki Soekarno, Oddi Agam, Ebiet G. Ade, Irianti Erningpraja, Amin Ivo's, Franky Sahilatua and Ireng Maulana.
The collaboration between the Indonesian composers and their foreign counterparts gave birth to a number of compositions, including Moonlight on the Water, by Candra Darusman, and America's Harold Paine and Brenda Russels, You Don't Have to Say Goodbye and Touch Me There Again.
Credit should go to Medco Oil Company, which sponsored this unique gathering. It was an important opportunity for Indonesian musicians to be able to upgrade their musical skills and increase their professionalism.
It is expected that in the coming years, local musicians will be able to hold more collaborations with world-class artists, to enable them to enter the global music industry. (raw)