RI to host meeting of composers

JAKARTA (JP): Music is not just an art but also a physical and spiritual phenomenon, according to noted composer Slamet A. Syukur.

This is the message that Indonesia hopes to promote when it hosts the Asian Composers League (ACL) conference and festival in 1999, Slamet said on Friday.

The theme of the conference, the 19th to be held by the league, will be Maha Suara (Eminent Voice), he said.

Slamet, known as a composer of contemporary music, is chairman of the East Java chapter of the Association of Indonesian Composers. He also led the Indonesian delegation to the 18th conference in Manila last year.

The message of the conference is that every sound is related to one's hearing which is equally important to sight, Slamet said.

Hearing precedes and concludes one's life, he added.

Slamet said the league is a non-commercial, non-political group aimed at strengthening unity among musicians in the region.

The league is also a useful forum for exchanging knowledge. "The organization is our front door to the world," he said. (12)