New Jakarta Ensemble to perform in New York
New Jakarta Ensemble to perform in New York
JAKARTA (JP): New Jakarta Ensemble will make its North
American debut with a unique mix of East and West at the Asia
Society in New York next week.
Using drums, wood blocks, Tibetan singing bowls, bells,
flutes, gongs and other instruments from Indonesia and beyond --
including the Arabic region, China, the Caribbean and Africa --
the group will perform on May 21.
This group of traditionally trained musicians from West
Sumatra, led by internationally acclaimed composer Tony Prabowo,
performs new music that combines both Eastern and Western
elements.
The concert will include a work-in-progress excerpt of Empty
Tradition/City of Peonies, a dance theater piece featuring a
special guest, Chinese-born American choreographer/dancer Yin
Mei, according to a statement from the Asia Society made
available to The Jakarta Post.
While indigenous musical cultures are faltering in many Asian
nations, in Indonesia, traditional music is flourishing. As a
result, there are relatively few composers writing new
contemporary music. Among the most prominent is Tony Prabowo.
Born in Malang, Indonesia, in 1956, he became involved with
music at the age of eight. Ten years after he began to study
violin, he started composing, including a collaboration with
Slamet Abdul Sjukur, the acclaimed senior Indonesian composer.
In the 1980s, Tony worked intensively with dancers and
choreographers in Indonesia and Japan. He also composed music for
theater, including The Ritual of Solomon's Children at the New
York International Festival of the Arts in 1988. His composition
Dongeng Sebelum Tidur (A Tale Before Sleep) was given its
American premiere by the New Julliard Ensemble in 1996. It also
premiered his most recent work Autumnal Steps: Homage to
Takemitsu, in February, 1997.
The New Jakarta Ensemble was formed in 1996 when choreographer
Linda Hoemar asked Tony Prabowo to compose a percussion piece for
her dance performance Lalu? (So?).
Tony asked Epi Martison, a choreographer and percussionist
specializing in traditional music of West Sumatra, to join him.
Four other young traditional West Sumatran percussionists,
Musliwardinal, Armen Suwandi, Anusirwan and Demal Hendri Caniago,
also became involved.
All of them received formal training at the Academy of
Traditional Music in Padang. The group first performed during the
Indonesian Dance Festival in Jakarta in 1996. In May, 1997, the
group was invited to perform at the Sufi Music Festival in London
and was joined by the extraordinary vocalist Nyak Ina Raseuki.
The New Jakarta Ensemble performs contemporary music created
through a process of directed improvisation led by composer Tony
Prabowo. In this way their traditional music training shapes the
music while it is still being "composed" in rehearsal. The music
is then set and finely honed to the most minute detail.
"We use the traditional oral approach of conveying the text to
the players," the composer said. "There is a basic concept on
which they build, with oral interactions setting the tone and the
role of each musician.
"Western music is a world of composers, but the traditional
Eastern one is of players."
Rachel Cooper, assistant director of performing arts at the
Asia Society and director for the project, said: "Tony Prabowo is
unique in his ability to write new music for western music
ensembles as well as traditional Indonesian musicians. The music
of the New Jakarta Ensemble does not fall into a single category
of East or West or traditional music. It is something completely
new."
For one segment of their performance at the Asia Society, the
Ensemble will feature a sneak preview of an evening-length dance
theater Empty Tradition/City of Peonies.
The project was commissioned by the Asia Society through a
grant from Meet the Composer. The full production will be shown
in October.
The dance theater's commissioning is made possible in part by
a grant from Meet the Composer/International Creative
Collaborations program, in partnership with the Ford Foundation.
(sim)