Jakarta's street children treated to classical concert

Jakarta's street children treated to classical concert

JAKARTA (JP): The city's street children will get a rare treat
of quality classical music at a charity concert at Erasmus Huis,
Kuningan, South Jakarta, next week.

The show on Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. will present a violin-piano
recital by Finland violist Oliver A.P. Halviala and Indonesian
pianist Ary Sutedja.

Organized by the Proseni Foundation, a nonprofit foundation
promoting the arts and helping in the development of various
cultural activities here and abroad, in cooperation with the
International Music School, the duo will present compositions by
world renowned composers in the two-hour concert.

Fifty street children will be invited to the event which,
according to Proseni's Debra Yatim, is the first charity
classical concert in 2000 to be held in Jakarta.

Proceeds of the show will go to Susila Dharma Indonesia, a
social institution working with orphanages and street children.

Ary, who set up Classical Nuances, a unique quartet comprising
piano, oboe, clarinet and viola, with three other women: Sharon
Eng of the U.S., Soun Youn Yoon of Korea and Karen Ellis Chong of
the U.S., said the concert would help street children to at least
have the opportunity to hear classical music.

"We can't expect them to be able to play music, but hearing
the music live will be a good start," explained the pianist, who
obtained her master's degree in music in 1992 at Towson State
University, Baltimore, Maryland in the U.S.

"In the long term, my dream, our dream, is to give
opportunities to all children to get in touch with art and
cultural activities. It can be music, puppet shows, dance. Things
that not all children can enjoy now."

Ary won a number of awards while at Towson University,
including an Outstanding Achievement in Music and winner of the
Talent Award Competition. While in Germany, she toured with the
Bremen Opera Theater under Kapellmeister Gunther Bauernschenk.

Halviala, who received his first violin lesson at the age of 7
from his father -- a professional viola player and a recognized
teacher, explained that most of the compositions to be performed
here were special compositions for him.

For the recital's opening, the duo will present three
compositions, including a Rumanian folk dance by Bela Bartok and
a light composition by famous Germany composer Johannes Brahms.

The artists will then feature various light and short pieces,
including the works of composers Claude Debussy, William Kroll
and Henri Wieniawski.

"Through the selected pieces, we will get in touch with at
least eight different cultures," said Halviala, who studied at
the Conservatory of Turku, Finland, the Royal College of Music,
Sweden, and received his master's of fine arts in 1991.

The violist's debut solo performance with an orchestra was at
the age of 12 and since then he has performed works by Bach,
Vivaldi, Mozart, Sibelius, Tschaikowsky and Saint-Saens with
different orchestras in Scandinavia, Germany and the Netherlands.

In 1993, he set up his violin school in the Netherlands, where
he developed his own method combining traditional violin school,
the Russian violin school with a modern approach to teaching.
(ste)