Daniel Inbal, born to lead an orchestra
Sonitha, Contributor, Jakarta
Born to a musical family, Daniel Inbal recalled that he was always exposed to music from the day he was born. With music in his blood, it comes as no surprise that at the age of 30 he has now achieved international acknowledgment of his talent.
Inbal started to learn piano as his first instrument and studied at the Musik Hochschule Hanover, Germany. By the time he was 21, his interest shifted from playing a single instrument and he chose to follow in the footsteps of his father, Eliahu Inbal, already famous as a conductor of orchestral music.
Inbal learned conducting in Vienna, Austria, from Leopold Hager. His studies were completed by a performance of Symphony no.9 by Shostakovich, with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Apart from becoming a conductor, Inbal also took a master class with Gianluigi Gelmetti in Chigiana Academy, Sienna, where he received a "diploma di merito" degree.
In 1996, Inbal became the conductor for Wilschutz of Lortzing together with the Vienna Youth Orchestra on their tour of Germany. Following the successful tour, Vienna Music School offered Inbal the job of conductor in a production of The Turn of the Screw by Britten, in 1997 and in Mozart's Lucio Silla, in 1998.
Inbal was also involved in the formation of Opera National du Rhin in Strasbourg. Afterwards, he was asked to conduct in a production of Ariadne of Naxos, composed by Strauss, which brought Inbal great success in his career.
With all his accomplishments, Inbal has continued to work with a range of different orchestras, such as the Sofia Festival Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra Szeged, Staatphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and Staatsorchester Brauncsheweig.
In 2001, Inbal recorded Martinu's Symphony no.3 and Bartok's Dance Suite with WRD Sinfonieorchester Cologne, and during the Schonberg Festival in Vienna, he performed Schonberg's Pierrot Lunaire and Kammersymphonie op.9.
One of his tasks in 2002 was to conduct the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra. This summer, he will visit three cities in Asia, including Jakarta, Kao Shung and Taipei.
Leading 70 musicians is no easy task, but Inbal admitted that he was dealing with highly skilled and motivated young musicians.
"Although we are large in terms of the number of nations involved, we speak one language -- music," he said confidently.
Assisted by eight music coaches, Inbal and the orchestra will have eight rehearsals before the performance. A full day's concentration and stamina are required to create perfection in musical interpretation.
As Inbal is due to perform the song Nyiur Hijau (Green Leaf) in Indonesia, it is on his agenda in Jakarta to meet Twilite Orchestra conductor Addie MS, to share his knowledge and experience in conducting Indonesian songs.
With all his efforts directed toward producing the best performance, Inbal is certain that the concert on Aug. 3 will not only be a success both for him and the orchestra, but also for the world of music and peace.