On the picture jazz singer Dira Sugandi.
By Roy Lie A Tjam.
The auditorium of the internationally renowned Royal Conservatorium was too small to contain the great Indonesian artist Dwiki Dharmawan and his collaborators.
Dwiki Dharma wan, is not new to The Hague, he performed here before at the North Sea Jazz Festival. The group put on a dazzling show. As Mr. Ibnu Wahyutomo, Charge d’ Affaires a.i. of the Indonesian Embassy indicated in his welcome address, Dwiki Dharma wan was to show a different Indonesia.
No batik gamelan or other traditional stuff but a contemporary Indonesia. This is exactly what happened the evening of 20 November.
The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in The Hague in collaboration with the Indonesian Cultural House (Rumah Budaya Indonesia/ RBI) organized “Indonesia Jazz Night” at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag, the birthplace of young and talented musical artists in the Netherlands.
In a welcoming remark, Mr. Ibnu Wahyutomo – Charge d’ Affaires ad interim of the Indonesian Embassy highlighted the flourishing musical interests and the growing number of rich talented Indonesian jazz musicians, who are known for fusing the archipelago’s rich traditional music and modern jazz instruments.
While music is as a universal language, Mr. Wahyutomo pledged to make similar events an annual event in the Netherlands. Among the popular artists who performed during the “Indonesia Jazz Night” are Dwiki Dharma wan, Towpath (guitarist), Dira Sugandi (jazz singer).
For the opening song, Dwiki Dharmawan and friends performed his song of Jazz for Freeport. Along with a talented young Indonesian guitarist Tohpati and jazz singer Dira Sugandi, they played 12 songs such as Frog Dance, Lukisan Pagi (morning painting), Whale Dancer, Bubuy Bulan (traditional Indonesian West Java song), Lamalera’s Dream, Arafura and Spirit of Peace.
Dwiki Dharmawan is an award winning musical artists and is the founder of a world famous Indonesian jazz band of “Krakatau”. Whilst being a cultural and peace activist, he launched World Peace Orchestra (WPO), which fosters social harmony and global awareness.
Tohpati, one of the many young talented Indonesian jazz guitarists and songwriter, has several recorded musical albums. Dira Sugandi, is an Indonesian singer and actress and in 2011 performed a duet with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli during a concert in Jakarta.
During the side-lines, Indonesian young Papuans performed Sajojo Dance (Friendship Dance) as well as Indonesian students from Eindhoven played musical pieces – “New York New York” and “Love” out of Angklung instruments. Angklung is a musical instrument from Indonesia made of two to four bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame.
Indonesia Jazz Night filled up the Conservatorium Hall and was attended by various diplomats, Dutch officials, musicians, students and the Indonesian community in The Netherlands.
