YPM marks jubilee with concerts

Tania Budihardjo, Contributor, Jakarta

Yayasan Pendidikan Musik (Foundation for Music Education, YPM), one of Indonesia's premier music schools, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month through October 2003 with a vast plethora of concerts.

A few upcoming recitals will feature YPM students, famous duo Iravati Sudiarso and daughter Aisha A. Pletscher, and prominent pianist Jaya Suprana.

With the passage of time, YPM has increasingly become a cornerstone of musical education in the nation. It currently boasts around 2,000 students, a solid sign that more Indonesians than ever are valuing music education for their youth.

The institution traces its humble beginnings back to October 1952, when YPM was born in a few studios at a building owned by a women's organization in Jakarta.

Franz Szabo, a renown Hungarian pianist, took the lead as YPM's first director. Szabo was succeeded by eminent violinist Hendrik Tordasi in 1959. Four years later, Rudy Laban, a respected pianist fresh out of a music conservatory, replaced Tordasi.

The connotation of YPM is not only its famous faculty, but also its highly successful alumni like Jahja Ling, Aisha A. Pletscher and Idris Sardi, all of whom call YPM their alma mater.

Not all YPM graduates choose to solely become musicians, however. According to Iravati Sudiarso, the school's director of academic affairs, YPM produces many doctors, lawyers and even an astronaut, most of whom combine their love of music with their passion for other fields.

"They have sometimes two or three professions because they have this discipline that has been instilled into their being, through music ... they can do many things," explains Iravati.

Why does YPM work? Iravati says talent is the leading criteria in admission, making it far easier to graduate than to actually be accepted by YPM. Couple talent with strong personal relationships between dedicated teachers, students and parents, and one has a formula for gold.

Although YPM certainly has cause to celebrate, the festivity can only conceal the year's worth of hardship. A flood in February destroyed many of YPM's supplies and pianos, which had been accumulated over the years. The catastrophe cost YPM approximately Rp 200 million.

Nevertheless, YPM's path to a brighter future continues with plans to move into its own building in Bintaro Jaya.