About Batavia Madrigal Singer

Batavia Madrigal Singers (BMS) is one of the leading vocal ensembles in Indonesia . In 2001 BMS won three awards from the distinctive international choir competition. FLORILEGE VOCAL DE TOURS , France : the champion of “Free Program” category, the third prize in “Vocal Ensemble,” and a special award from Minister of Culture of France for the “Best Interpretation of French Composition.”

Founded by the alumni of Paduan Suara Universitas Katolik Parahyangan (Unpar Choir), BMS is now open for singers who share the passion in performing choral music literature. Currently BMS has about 40 singers, professionals and skilled amateurs, who were selected by a competitive audition. With its wide range of repertoires, from Renaissance to Contemporary, BMS was given opportunity to perform the newest compositions of Slamet Abdul Sjukur and Tony Prabowo, Indonesia eminent composers.

Avip Priatna has been the conductor and music director since BMS was formed. BMS’ initial performance was in February 1997 concert, held by Yayasan Musik Internasional, commemorating the bicentenary of Schubert’s birth and the centenary of Brahms’ demise. Performing French compositions, BMS had its debut at Yamaha Music Center , Jakarta , two years after the first performance. Ever since the debut, BMS has continuously illustrated its competence and reputation as one of the best choirs in Jakarta , as was confirmed by the positive responses from classical music enthusiasts, critics, and mass media. In the same year, BMS was invited to perform in the opening concert of Asian Composers’ League at Kesultanan, Yogyakarta .

In 2004, BMS was invited to take a part in the 6th International Choirs festival in Taipei, Taiwan. On that occasion, BMS was specially requested to sing in the opening ceremony. Since establishment, BSM always regularly perform one or more Concert in a year. In the year of 2005 BMS was trusted to perform in Concert of Doa Persembunyian, performing Toni Prabowo’s masterpiece, including the Opera Kali, which is the 1st performance in Indonesia.

In 2004 BMS was invited to take part in the 6th International Choir Festival in Taipei, Taiwan. In that particular occasion, BMS was requested especially to sing in the opening ceremony. A year after (2005), BMS was trusted to collaborate and perform “Doa Persembunyian” (Prayer in Hiding), a masterpiece of Tony Prabowo, as well as to premiere his “Opera Kali” (River Opera) in Indonesia. Following the positive responses, in 2006 BMS staged the opera “Samson et Delila” by Saint-Saens, at the newly built Nusa Indah Auditorium in Jakarta.

In October 2006, BMS was invited to do series of performance which started in Singapore, performing at the University Cultural Centre of the National University of Singapore with the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, a multicultural orchestra from the Kanawaza Prefecture, Japan. This was followed by another performance with the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa at the Macau International Music Festival then followed. In that Festival, BMS also did a concert with the highlight of various Indonesian Folksongs.

The journey in the second half of the year continued with BMS direct departure to Polyfollia, a worldwide festival and arts mart for choral singing in Normandy, in which BMS was requested to take part in the Polyfollia Opening Concert. Having performed with numerous choirs there, BMS embarked France to take part at the Tolosa European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Spain and took part in 2 categories.

Their newest achievement was in 57th Habanaras Competition Torrevieja, Spain, 2011. They successfully won 5 prizes: Prizes of the Habanera category “Juan Aparicio”, “Intercontinental Prize”, “The Public Award”, “Francisco Vallejos” Award for best interpretation, “José Hódar Talavera” prize for the best conductor, Avip Priatna.

Avip Priatna

Avip Priatna is acclaimed to be one of the most accomplished Indonesian young conductor now. He started his music education by taking piano lessons from some of Indonesia ‘s most respected musical figures: Rosaline Tambunan, Oerip Santoso and Trisutji Kamal.

After completing his studies in architecture at Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung , he continued his education in Austria where he was accepted at the Hochschule fur Musik and Darstellende Kunst Wien ( Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna ) under scholarships from Austrian Government and the Rotary Club. He studied choir conducting with the renowned conductor Gunther Theuring and orchestral conducting with Leopold Hager.

Upon completion with distinction ( Ausgezeichtung) in 1995, Avip was appointed assistant of the Wiener Jeunesse Chor and became the member of the Wiener Singverein and the Wiener Hochschule Kammerchor . In 1998 he completed his Magister Artium in choir conducting under the guidance of Gunter Theuring with a scholarship from the Parahyangan Catholic University

Currently, Avip is the music director – as well as conductor – of the Parahyangan Catholic University Choir, Batavia Madrigal Singers (BMS) and Jakarta Chamber Orchestra (JCO).

Avip lead the Parahyangan Catholic University Choir to win at some of the most prestigious international choir competition in Arnhem, the Netherlands (1995), Arrezzo, Italy (1997), Choir Olympic in Linz, Austria (2000) and recently achieved the “1 st Prize of Achievement Level 1” and Gustave Chalier Preis for “The Best Interpretation of Sacred Choral Works” for the song “Gloria” (composed by a Korean composer, Woo Hyo Wan) at the “8 th International Chamber Choir Competition” in Marktoberdorf, Germany in July 2003.

He also brought Batavia Madrigal Singers to victory at the international choir competition 3eme Florilege Vocal de Tours in France (2001) by winning 3 prestigious award, including “Special Prize for the Best Interpretation on French Musics” from the French Ministry of Culture.

Under his baton, both choirs perform their regular annual concerts, performing various repertoires from renaissance era to the 20 th century music. The repertoires performed in their concerts in Bandung , Jakarta and also in some cities in France , Germany , Austria and Italy include various a cappella compositions and vocal symphony such as Handel’s Messiah , Faure’s Requiem , Mass in C minor by Mozart and Stravinsky’s Mass.

In 1999 Avip founded Parahyangan Chamber Orchestra, which later in 2002 transformed into Jakarta Chamber Orchestra (JCO). With JCO, Avip aims to bring the symphony music – both orchestral symphony and vocal symphony-closer to the public.

News Source: shaksfin.de

Square Enix Interested to Publish Indonesia Studio Work

Manufacturers of video games from Japan, Square Enix, expressed its readiness to publish the mobile game that made from Indonesia studio. These opportunities could be a valuable opportunity in getting the international recognition of the video game industry in Indonesia.

Square Enix is known in Indonesia as a producer of games for consoles with a Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest that’s already sold 300 million copies internationally. Takahashi confirmed that they actually also producing mobile games.

In collaboration with a Society of Creative Industry Information and Communication Technology, Square Enix held a competition of ideas for games studios in Indonesia. Of the approximately 200 participants, three titles will be selected and circulated in Indonesia. It is not possible; the title could be circulated outside the country if given a positive response. “Square Enix choose Indonesia exclusively because the population is large and dominated by people who are literate with a smart phone,”
said Senior Manager of Business Development Square Enix, Sachiko Takahashi, Tuesday (08/09/2011).

Takahashi explained that he was interested in developing mobile games in Indonesia because the condition is almost the same as in Japan. In addition to cheaper cost of production, mobile games are more affordable by Indonesian society. According to data from Admob Mobile Metrics Report 2010, At least there are 180 million telephone users from the total Indonesian population of 230 million people. Takashi Tokita, Senior Manager of Mobile Business Division Square Enix, revealed that Square Enix wanted to bring the game in Indonesia with content generated from Indonesia studio. Currently it has just launched a mobile game for the Final Fantasy Legends with a content that can be downloaded regularly.

“Indonesia has long enjoyed the game from Japan, so we concluded that these two countries enjoy the same games,” he said.

Before visited the road show in Bandung Institute of Technology, Tokita visited the game studio in Bandung, Agate and Kojo Anima Studio. He commented that the situation was similar with 20 years ago when Square Enix began it career in the video game industry. According to the plan, the idea of this game competition road show will also held in two other cities ie Jakarta on August 11 and Yogyakarta on August 12.

News Source: Kompas
Image source: videogamecreators.com

Posted on Good News From Indonesia by Yulita Saumsinar

Hollywood Filming in Jakarta

A group of Hollywood actors, actresses and filmmakers who recently shot a movie in Indonesia said that despite certain challenges of nature like sandstorms and scorching heat, their experience in the country was “beautiful” and eye-opening.

But there was one unnatural challenge that was seen as particularly demanding: the traffic in the country’s capital.

“Jakarta traffic is a difficulty because we have to get around it and we have to leave extremely early in the morning to get to the studio and end up getting home late in the day…” director and scriptwriter of the movie The Philosophers John Huddles said last week after a press conference.

The Philosophers, which features James D’arcy, Bonnie Wright and local stars Cinta Laura Kiehl and Natasha Dewi, and which had 200 Indonesian crew members, was produced by George Zakk and Cybill Lui. It is slated to be released in May or June of next year.

The movie, made in cooperation with local television station SCTV, was shot in a variety of locations in Indonesia: Belitung in Sumatra, Bromo in East Java, the Prambanan Temple in Central Java and in Jakarta.

Huddles said approximately one-third of the movie was shot in the country’s traffic-ridden capital.

“Traffic has been an interesting thing that we are trying to fight all the time. I don’t think anybody was quite prepared for the amount of Jakarta traffic,” producer Lui said.

The traffic even managed to surprise most of the cast members who came from big cities.

The Frost & Sullivan Journey Experience Index, from a survey conducted from September 2010 to February 2011, reported that Jakarta’s satisfaction index was one of the lowest among 23 cities in the survey.

The city scored an average of 30.5 points while Copenhagen, which topped the index, scored an average of 81.5. One of the factors for the dissatisfaction was the traffic.

The Jakarta Transportation Agency said earlier in 2010 that traffic cost the city Rp 46 trillion (US$5.4 billion) in 2010, up from Rp 35 trillion in 2009.

Nevertheless, the gushing comments on the rest of the filmmaking experience were flattering.

“It has been spectacularly beautiful filming in Indonesia… this is the most beautiful country I have ever visited in my life,” D’arcy said.

Hope Wilson, a cast member from Nigeria, said Indonesia reminded her of her homeland.

“Before I came here, a lot of people told me it was a little bit dangerous and you better be wary of where you are going but ever since I have been here, everybody’s so great… people just smiled… I had such a great experience,” cast member Tasser Hassan said.

Producer George Zakk said one of the pivotal figures that encouraged him to choose Indonesia as a location was businessman Eddy Sariaatmadja.

“[Eddy], with great enthusiasm and childlike energy and tenacity, he traveled to the Toronto Film Festival and Los Angeles over six, seven times, to convince us [to shoot the movie in Indonesia],” he said.

“This is the second result of our journey to promote Indonesia as the shooting location for the world’s movies. The first was Eat Pray Love, starring Julia Roberts… We can see the director is quite famous, the director is bona fide, and the movie stars are good,” Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said during the press conference.

He added that the ministry had two targets. The first was to promote Indonesia as a shooting location for the world’s movies and the second is to market Indonesia as a tourism destination by using the movies shot here.

“This is a low-cost, high-impact method,” Jero said.

to Jero, he promoted Indonesia as a shooting location when he went to the Cannes Film Festival in 2005. The ministry even made a special book, which he said he had sent to various international producers, for that purpose.

Jero added that Belitung, known for its beaches, was targeted as a new international tourism destination.

He said at the press conference that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had requested a meeting with the cast and makers of The Philosopher, to which Zakk replied that they “graciously accept”.

The Philosophers, classified as a PG-13 thriller, tells the story of a number of students at an international school in Indonesia who were challenged by an eccentric teacher to an experimental test.

Lui said that there might be a chance for a premiere in Indonesia.

“Everyone would love to come back, absolutely,” she said.

News Source: The Jakarta Post

Cupumanik to Join the Festival Envol et Macadam

After beating other four Indonesian band participants on Sunday (16 / 7) night at Fame Station, Bandung, finally grunge band from Bandung, Cupumanik, was selected to represent Indonesia performing in the international alternative music festival named Envol et Macadam in Canada on 29 September to 1 October later.

Previously, Cupumanik also had excelled in the internet voting and when the competition was held, vocalist Che explained, about 50% of the audience determined their victory, including three judges who chose Cupumanik as the winner. The jurors were Takeshi, a music promotor from Japan, Panji representing Heaven Records and Maruli as a Bandung independent music figure.

According to a press release received by Rolling Stone Indonesia, Planetrox is a band competition in the world whose mission is to find the best new bands and expose them to a wider international audience.

This year, Envol et Macadam has expanded its network throughout the world by inviting a variety of alternative bands from 15 different countries enrolled at Planetrox, auditioned them and the opportunity to perform at the festival Envol et Macadam in Quebec, Canada.

“As a band whose songs in Indonesian, in fact, it was not an obstacle in determining the quality of the band into an international festival,” Che said when contacted by Rolling Stones Indonesia via BlackBerry Messenger.

He explained that following a competition like this for Cupumanik can be used also as a small-scale research to determine the strength of their band, support the mass of fans, their enthusiasm and the quality of the gig.

Being the winner of this competition makes Cupumanik going to Canada later will be fully financed by the promoter there.

“It is Planetrox responsibility from round trip airfare, four-star hotel in Quebec. Temporary visas and passports will be our own responsibilities, ” Che explained. He is also the vocalist of Konspirasi, his grunge band with Edwin, guitarist of Coklat and singer Marcell Siahaan.

Cupumanik plans to play a few songs of their own whose lyricis in Indonesian at the festival and. they also plan to translate the two songs “Maha Rencana” and “Grunge Harga Mati” into English for the concert.

“All we want is to give our best later in Canada. By performing optimally, hopefully this festival will always target bands from Indonesia because it has international quality, “he added again.

There are many international artists who’ve performed at festivals Envol Et Macadam including Bad Religion, Mastodon, Sum 41, Pennywise, and Bloc Party. great to see how Cupumanik succeeded to perform there, right?

News sources: Rollingstones.co.id by Wendy Putranto

Translated and re-written for Good News From Indonesia by Wisnu Widadi
Edited by Farah Fitriani

GRUP ROCK GOD BLESS LIVE (ON AIR) DI RRI

written in Good News From Indonesia by Roy Wicaksono

Roy Wicaksono/Tangerang Selatan. Sebuah kabar terdengar dari kicau twitter, yaitu pada malam tanggal 21 Juli 2011, sekitar pukul 21.00 WIB, sebuah grup band legendaris Indonesia God Bless akan Live on air di radio yang legendaris pula, RRI 105.0 Pro 2 FM Jakarta dan 91.2 Pro 1 FM seluruh Indonesia. Sebuah kombinasi yang hebat, bahwa grup band God Bless –saat ini- yang beranggotakan Achmad Albar sebagai Vokalis, Ian Antono sebagai Gitaris, Donny Fattah sebagai Bassis, Abadi Soesman sebagai Keyboardis, dan terakhir Yaya Moektio sebagai drummer akan menggelar pertunjukan musik yang disiarkan di RRI seluruh Indonesia, langsung dari auditorium RRI Jakarta.

Grup ini merupakan pionir musik rock di Indonesia, yang usia rata-rata personelnya sudah diatas 50 tahun. Sungguh membanggakan, karena para pemusik yang sudah dibilang senior ini masih konsisten berkarya demi kemajuan musik Indonesia. Penantianpun sudah saya lakukan sejak kabar tersebut dikicaukan di twitter sore hari, dengan anggapan apa yang akan disuguhkan mereka nanti di RRI merupakan suatu hal yang fenomenal, sebuah grup band yang ditunggu-tunggu oleh para penikmatnya dikarenakan grup God Bless merupakan salah satu anak bangsa yang menorehkan karya luar biasa dalam bidang musik.

Acara musik yang secara on air yang menampilkan God Bless sebagai bintang utamanya di RRI muncul sekitar pukul 10 malam WIB. Dibuka dengan lagu yang sudah tak asing lagi bagi para pecinta grup ini yaitu salah satu lagu di album pertama mereka, album God Bless di tahun 1976 “Huma Di Atas Bukit”, lalu ditengah lagu mereka memedley dengan lagu lainnya yang tak kalah hebat dan fenomenal yaitu “Musisi”, lagu dari album kedua mereka di tahun 1980, album Cermin. Setelah menyelesaikan lagu kedua, mas Iyek –nama panggilan Achmad Albar- segera menyapa para penonton yang menonton langsung di auditorium RRI Jakarta, maupun para pendengar di RRI dan tak berapa lama Ia segera melanjutkan lagu ketiga dan keempat yaitu “Bla Bla Bla” dan “Kehidupan”, khusus lagu yang terakhir disebut merupakan salah satu lagu yang cukup dikenal oleh masyarakat Indonesia, bahkan dalam satu polling yang pernah dilakukan oleh salah satu majalah musik di Indonesia dalam 150 lagu Indonesia terbaik, lagu “Kehidupan” masuk ke dalam peringkat 10 besar.

Lagu berikutnya dengan intro yang sudah tidak asing lagi berkumandang di dalam RRI, yaitu intro lagu “Menjilat Matahari” yang aslinya terdapat di album ke empat mereka, album Raksasa. Sejauh ini dari lima lagu yang mereka bawakan, vokal mas Iyek (Achmad Albar) masih terdengar jelas, meski tidak bisa dipungkiri, banyak nada-nada yang sudah berbeda dari lagu aslinya karena faktor usia. Namun dengan stamina dan semangat yang Rock N’ Roll lah tidak bisa dipandang sebelah mata dari sosok Achmad Albar dan kawan-kawan. Semua lagu-lagu nya dibawakan secara prima dan sebisa mungkin menyerupai versi aslinya di album studio. Salut untuk om-om di God Bless ini! Yang dalam usia yang tak bisa dibilang muda, namun masih tetap berkarya, dan tetap konsisten dengan musik yang dibawakan. Cukup membanggakan bahwa Indonesia masih memiliki grup band seperti mereka.

Tidak lupa mereka membawakan satu lagu dari album paling baru, album 36 yaitu lagu “Nato” serta sebuah lagu balada yang pernah dipopulerkan oleh Achmad Albar sebagai solois yaitu “Syair Kehidupan” dan “Panggung Sandiwara”, kendati demikian, dua lagu tersebut tidak pernah absen dibawakan God Bless disetiap konser. Terdengar bahwa mas Iyek, termasuk orang yang tidak suka basa-basi setiap jeda pergantian lagu ke lagu. Ia biasa hanya berucap terima kasih saja dan langsung melanjutkan ke lagu berikutnya yaitu “Rumah Kita”. Lagu yang sudah sangat melekat di tubuh God Bless. Dengan lirik yang menceritakan tentang nyamannya tinggal atau hidup di “rumah sendiri” yang bisa di analogikan nyamannya hidup di rumah Indonesia. Walaupun hanya beralaskan tanah dan beratap jerami, tapi semua itu milik kita sendiri. Lagu yang sangat nasionalis dengan lirik yang indah dibawakan oleh God Bless.
Total lagu yang dibawakan God Bless di RRI ini sebanyak 13 lagu, termasuk lagu “Nato, Bara Timur, Menanti Kejujuran, Bis Kota, Dunia Gila, Bis Kota dan Rumah Kita”. Kita sebagaoi generasi muda, haruslah mengikuti semangat mereka yang tidak ada kenal lelah selalu berkarya dalam bidangnya yaitu musik. Usia mereka boleh saja tua, namun semangatnya tetap muda. Cukup membanggakan bahwa Indonesia masih memiliki mereka sebagai pemusik yang tak kenal lelah dalam menelurkan karya yang indah-indah. Semoga Achmad Albar, Ian Antono, Donny Fattah, Abadi Soesman dan Yaya Moektio selalu diberkati. God Bless GOD BLESS! Jayalah Musik Indonesia!

A Rockin’ Time In Jakarta

This year’s Java Rockin’ Land is set to take place July 22-24 to bring an epic lineup of international headliners to the Big Durian:

30 Seconds to Mars
American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars will be making its first trip to Indonesia to perform on the first day of the festival. Hailing from Los Angeles, California, the group was founded in 1998 by frontman Jared Leto, who also plays rhythm guitar, and his brother Shannon on drums.

Mars released its self-titled debut album in 2002, producing two singles “Capricorn (A Brand New Name)” and “Edge of the Earth,” which started the band’s mainstream success. They released their second album three years later entitled “A Beautiful Lie.” Their latest studio album, “This Is War,” was released in 2009. The album’s first single was “Kings and Queens.” The band is planning to go on a long hiatus after finishing their current tour.

Good Charlotte
The festival is the first Jakarta show for many of the anticipated bands, but not for the pop-punk’s Good Charlotte, which visited the capital in 2007.

Founded in 1996 by identical twins Joel (vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar), the band features Paul Thomas on bass, Dean Butterworth on drums and Billy Martin also on guitar.

Good Charlotte’s second album, released in 2002 and titled “The Young and the Hopeless,” produced the singles “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” and “Anthem” and introduced them to the mainstream.

Their third album, “The Chronicles of Life and Death,” came out in 2004. In 2007, they released “Good Morning Revival,” while their last album “Cardiology” was released late last year.

Neon Trees
Neon Trees will also take a bite of Jakarta’s heart with their energetic tunes. The Provo, Utah, alternative rock band is motored by Tyler Glenn (vocals, keyboards), Chris Allen (guitar), Branden Campbell (bass guitar, vocals) and Elaine Bradley (drums, percussion, vocals).

Their debut album, “Habit” was released last year, producing the platinum-single “Animal.”

The Cranberries
Now, get your flannel shirts, ripped jeans, Dr. Martens boots and corduroy jackets, ready, because Java Rockin’ Land is set to flash back to the 90s.

The festival will showcase seasoned band The Cranberries, who will be taking the stage on the second day of the festival. The Irish rock band first came to international prominence in the 1990s with their debut album “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?”

During their stint in the music industry, the band has produced top singles such as “Linger,” “Dreams,” “Zombie,” “Ode to My Family,” “Salvation” and “Promises.”

Currently, the band, which is run by Dolores O’Riordan (vocals), Noel Hogan (guitar), Mike Hogan (bass) and Fergal Lawler (drums), is working on an all-new album.

Also on the lineup of music industry veterans are English band Happy Mondays and Australian group Frente, who will be playing on the last day of the festival.

The lineup also includes many Indonesian bands, including Sheilaon7, a popular band hailing from Yogyakarta. They would be playing on the mainstage, alongside the famous international bands aforementioned. GNFI caught up with them and ask, how does it feel to be playing on the same stage with all these famous bands, and this is what they say “Yang pasti excited, bangga & suatu kehormatan bisa perform & kasih kontribusi rock versi Sheilaon7 di salah satu festival rock berkualitas terbesar. Rock adalah musik yang universal, semoga musik So7 bisa menambah keragaman java Rockin’land” (It is an honor for us. We’re certainly excited & proud, to be able to perform & showcase Sheilaon7’s version of rock in one of the biggest rock festival. Rock is a universal music, may SO7’s music add to the diversity of Java Rockin’land”

Good luck boys! And to all the other Indonesian bands performing at Java Rockin’land, rock on dudes! Make us proud!

Info
What: Java Rockin’ Land
When: July 22-24?
Where: Carnaval Beach, Ancol, Jakarta
Price: Rp 320,000 to Rp 1,250,000
Schedule and ticket box: www.javarockingland.com