Bali to host first world music festival

Bali to host first world music festival

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Bali is gearing up for the maiden World Music Festival-Bali
2002, to be held from Aug. 17 to Aug. 18.

Behind the scenes is a group of highly motivated young people
toiling into the night to prepare for the international event.

Their driving force is their belief that music is a universal
language that is capable of releasing humankind from the evils of
prejudice and hatred of people according to their race, ethnicity
or religion.

"It has been an exhausting job but we feel that the work is
rewarding. We are thinking of making the event an annual one if
we get a positive response," the chief of the organizing
committee, Wiwin Suyasa, said on Friday.

The four-day festival will give music enthusiasts on the
island resort a good opportunity to catch a glimpse of this
country's rich and diverse musical treasures, and a whole lot
more.

"Hopefully, the festival will not only serve as a musical
event, but also as a medium, during which the artists and the
audience can reflect on and celebrate the rich cultural diversity
of our beloved country, thus stimulating the birth of that noble
sense of brotherhood among mankind," Wiwin said, referring to the
festival's main theme "The Indonesian Sounds of Freedom".

Wiwin explained that they got the idea for the festival when
young people from various backgrounds were sitting together,
discussing the predicaments befalling Indonesia. Much to their
surprise, they found that they shared the same concern for the
various problems and came to similar conclusions.

"With all the threats of disintegration, ethnic conflict and
religious clashes in the backdrop, we tried to create a better
picture of Indonesia.

"Although Indonesia is a vast country, it's full of paradoxes.
It is a big country with hundreds of ethnic groups, and with
incomparably abundant natural and cultural wealth. Its elite
speak so passionately about things such as globalization and
multiculturalism, yet at the same time its people are deeply
divided among interest groups, political parties and various
ethnicities, races and religions."

The young people agreed to initiate the festival out of their
concern that Indonesians had failed to make the best of the
nation's diverse wealth and that the country's integration was
threatened.

They chose music as the medium to try to mend the situation.
They believe that music is a good medium to unite people who fall
into these divisions.

The first night of the festival will feature Batuan Ethnic
Fusion, featuring Bali's talented guitarist Balawan. He will
collaborate with traditional gamelan player friends from his
childhood. Then the Sarabag group out of East Java and the
Sitermania group of West Java will take to the stage.

The Yogyakarta-based Sonoseni Ensemble, featuring the
eccentric Wayan Sadra, will start off the second night, and will
be followed by the Telago Buni group of Padang, West Sumatra. The
Bali-based Duo Tones will close the night.

The night of Aug. 17, which coincides with the 57th
anniversary of Indonesia's Independence, will be commemorated by
the performance of the Oyot Suket group, led by one of
Indonesia's noted musicians, Sawung Jabo. The Jakarta-based
Kahanan group, and an eight-year-old guitarist, Krisna, will cap
off the night's events.

Performing on the last night are the Suara Sama group from
Medan, North Sumatra, and the uncanny artist, KH Sujiwo Tejo.
Prior to the performance, the local chapter of the Indonesia
Performing Arts Community (MSPI) will hold a discussion on ethnic
music.

"We will give the audience a special time and space after the
end of each night's last performance for a jam session.
Hopefully, it will stimulate a dialog among them," Wiwin said.

The festival is expected to cost around Rp 1 billion and will
hopefully attract an audience of 2,000 people.

All performances will be held in the amphitheater of the
Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) cultural park, some 20 kilometers
south of here.

Tickets are available at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Jakarta,
and at Pulu International Travel Network, Bali, 0361-755187)