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)