Making beautiful music

Mehru Jaffer, Contributor, Jakarta

Maya Hasan, 29, will do anything to bring the music of the harp to as many people as possible. She is prepared to play at shopping malls, pose with the magnificent instrument for glamour magazines and entertain politicians if it means introducing more people to the soothing sounds of the harp.

She returned to Indonesia in 1993, looking forward to a musical career after having studied harp performance at Willamette University in the U.S. But the response she received was underwhelming, to say the least.

At the mention of the word harp, Maya found that audiences would simply shrug. They seemed unfamiliar with the framed instrument with a broad, deep sound box hewn from one block of wood.

The result was that Maya was often left alone to pluck the harp with her slender fingers, each string producing a brilliant, ringing sound. This was a difficult time for her, but it made the musician feel protective of the instrument, and she vowed to restore the harp to the popularity she felt it deserved.

Despite her love of the instrument, it was quite by accident that Maya came to be a harpist. At different times, she had toyed with the idea of becoming an airline stewardess, a florist and working in hotel management.

She was fresh out of high school and what she wanted above all was to travel to America. When her parents agreed to let her go, they insisted that while there she should get an education.

Still uncertain about her exact calling in life she agreed to study music, harp performance in particular. At the time, she thought she was taking the easy way out.

"As long as I was given permission to live in America, I was prepared to do anything," says Maya.

She was just 18 years old but music was already in her blood, having grown up with four older siblings who were always playing some instrument or other. She had taken some piano and violin lessons, but admits she was not very good at either. Instead she enjoyed playing the recorder, but it was mostly for fun.

Recalling for The Jakarta Post the moment her formal lessons in the harp began, Maya sounds almost ecstatic. Her entire life changed she says, as teachers like Laura Zaerr and Carol McLaughlin hypnotized her with their immense knowledge of the instrument. It was like a door had suddenly swung open, exposing her to numerous exciting paths.

But once she was back in Jakarta, she found little opportunity to play the harp, and between 1993 and 1996 she almost never touched the instrument. It was during this period, while she toyed with the idea of changing professions, that she gave birth to two children, with Alexandra, the eldest, now eight years old.

But by 1997 her mind was made up about remaining a musician. She discovered that the only other two harp players in the country, both older than her, were busy teaching. So, with a decided lack of harp performances here, Maya decided to step in and fill the void.

"It was tough to make a niche for myself," says Maya. But she enjoys the challenge of trying to share her joy for the music with audiences.

Today Maya enjoys so much success that she is barely able to snatch four hours of sleep a night. But she has no plans to slow down. She feels that it is perhaps healthy for her children to see how hard she works in life.

She acknowledges that the field of western classical music is very competitive, especially in a country that seems to appreciate traditional arts more. But with her talent, and a carefully thought out marketing strategy, she continues to enjoy greater and greater success.

Before she even started to give public performances, Maya had designed her marketing strategy. She decided to shelve the somber black gown traditionally worn by women harpists, who perform with their hair tied up in a stern knot above the neck and are covered down to their toes in Victorian modesty.

Instead, Maya chose to appear on stage with her hair down, her blue-black tresses covering her often bare back. She prefers to wear funky clothing by top designers that allow her to reveal much more than just musical notes. In this way, Maya's stunning looks are contrasted with the very imposing gold-colored instrument in front of her.

And Maya carries her image, and her harp, not just to formal recitals, but also to cafes and other public places like art galleries.

"I have decided that it is important for me to first attract as much visual attention as is possible, until such time that the harp has become a household name," she smiles, adding that of course she is commercializing classical music.

How else, asks Maya, is this kind of music expected to reach the masses?