Concert and a Celebration of Friends and Family

Last Saturday night, I had the privilege to attend Avip Priatna's last of the "50 Years of Blessings" concert series at the Kertanegara Recital Hall (Balai Resital Kertanegara) in Kebayoran Baru, and in my opinion, this could be one of Avip's most intimate concerts he has ever given during his tenure as the artistic director and principal conductor of the award-winning Batavia Madrigal Singers (BMS).

Criticism vs. Pride

During my stay in Yogyakarta (and I'll be flying back to Jakarta this Thursday), I heard many interesting stories from my mentor, Asep Hidayat. Quite a quirky fellow whose passion for music remains undiluted. He told me of a story about how he was playing first chair cello in a fairly well-known orchestra in Jakarta. During one of the rehearsals, he was constantly distracted by the conductor's audible foot-tapping.

Too many music schools, too little collaboration?

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is swamped with many music schools. On the one hand, access to music learning has become easier, and both parents and prospective students can shop around, looking for places that suit their needs and meet their expectations. Even my boyfriend's close friend is soft-launching her new music school in a few months, in a fairly densely populated area where there are already four or five existing music schools.