Note Worthy

Earlier this year the virtuosic Japanese - American violinist Shunske Sato, who has performed with major orvhestras across the US and Europe, made his London debut. Ordinarily you might expect an artist of his calibre to perform at, say, the Barbican of Festival Hall. Indeed, when Sato next plays here, it will be at Cadogan Hall, which has a capacity of nearly 1.000. Last April's concert, however, took place in the elegant and expansive drawing room of Sir Vernon Ellis's London Home before an invited audience of 100 or so friends, philanthropists and figures from the music world. 

For those privileged enough to be there, it was a rare chance to hear chamber music in the sort of intimate setting for which it was intended. For the soloist, it was an opportunity to try out a fiendishly exacting programme, culminating in Paganini's showstopper Moto Perpetuo, which he had never previously attempted before an audience . (How we applauded Sato's panache and bravura speeds.) And for the academy of Ancient Music, the orchestra in whose music director, Richard Egarr, also performed, it was a platform from which to launch its 2011/12 season of concert and appeal to raise 75,000 towards underwriting it. 

Best known for his longstanding role  as international chairman of Accenture, Sir Vernon Ellis is one of the UK's leading supporter of the arts, with gifts totaling more than 7m in recent years, and was knighted "for service to music" in this year's New Year's Honours. He was inspired to start hosting concert at home, he says, principally by the idea of being able to give performers a platform early in their careers - an opportunity to play before a responsive audience . But it was also a way to enable arts organisations to fundraise. 

Similarly,  Bob Boas, The Former MD of the investment bank SG Warburg, who, with his wife, Elisabeth, has been hosting private concert at their London home for the past decade.Their two storey apartment can comfortably seat up to 75, and has a near perfect acoustic .  In some  months they host as many as 10 concerts , often in aid of organisations that support young musicians. The calibre of the artists, from soloist to chamber orchestras such as Manchester Camerata and the Gabrieli Consort, is invariably outstanding, and the breadth of repertoire eclectic. 

For the musicians , these concert offer an opportunity to get closer to their audience. Ask any musicians about such an experience and they will use the world "rapport" for live music is to a great extend about communication. And if opening one's home in this way can be leveraged to raise many too, than so much the better.

House Music :

- Academy of Ancient Music, 01223-301-509;www.aam.co.uk

- Classical Opera Company, Britania House, 11 Glenthorne Road, London W6 (020-8846 9744; www.classicalopera.co.uk)

- Florian Leonhard, 3 Frognal Lane, London NW3 (020-7813 3307;www.florianleonhard.com).

- London Music Masters, 3 London Wall Buildings, London EC2 (020-7216 4737; www.londonmusicmasters.org). Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust,www.nocholasboastrusts.org.uk).

- Vernon Ellis Foundation, www.vef.org.uk

Source: howtospendit.com

Kado Kejutan Ulang Tahun Goenawan Mohamad ke 70

Goenawan Mohamad (GM) yang berusia 70 pada tanggal 29 Juli 2011, diberikan kado kejutan oleh sahabat sahabatnya, sebuah buku. Buku ini bukan biografi, melainkan sebuah catatan aneka kegiatan GM oleh orang orang yang mengenalnya cukup dekat, baik secara pribadi maupun aktifitasnya di berbagai bidang.



Jilal Mardhani memberikan kata sambutan

GM akan dilihat dari lima jurusan: sebagai penyair, wartawan-esais, aktifis politik, dramawan dan sebagai kawan. 

Ide buku ini dicetuskan oleh M. Jilal Mardhani dan dikerjakan hampir dua bulan oleh editor Hamid Basyaib. Hermawan Tanzil dan tim LeBoYe yang ikut menyeleksi dan menyusun flow foto dan mendesain sampul untuk menangkap "persis" sosok GM. Buku tebal dengan 211 halaman ini diberi judul "Goenawan Mohamad enak dibaca dan perlu" , dicetak di kertas Curtis Retreeve, Eco White, 104 gr dari Paperina. Gambar sampul foto Oscar Motuloh dari sketsa karya Srihadi Soedarsono.



Cover Buku Goenawan Mohamad



Dibarengi dengan foto-foto hasil karya dan kurasi Oscar Motuloh yang memuat ide dan kejituan pandang, terdapat 31 tulisan (6 diantaranya merupakan wawancara) dari kontributor yang sukarela menyumbangkan tulisan di buku ini antara lain : Marsillam Simanjuntak, Ciputra, Arifin Panigoro, Bambang Harymurti, A.Mustofa Bisri, Boediono, Putu Wijaya, Fikri Jufri, Leila S. Chudori, Jakob Oetama, Bondan Winarno, Marco Kusumawijaya, Todung Mulya Lubis, Sapardi Djoko Damono, dll.



GM & DSP

Acara syukuran sekaligus pemberian kado kejutan ini diadakan tanggal 25 Juli 2011 di Griya Jenggala, Jakarta Selatan. Diawali dengan doa oleh Fikri Jufri, pemotongan tumpeng, makan malam dan diakhiri dengan penandatanganan buku oleh GM.



Fikri Jufri & GM



Fundraising Concert with Aura Quartet

Pada tanggal 22 Juni 2011, bertepatan dengan Ulang Tahun DKI ke 484, Yayasan Musik Sastra Indonesia bekerjasama dengan Classic Corp, mengadakan Fundraising Concert di Restaurant PEPeNERO, Graha Energy, Jakarta Selatan.

Malam itu tampil memukau Aura Quartet dari Swiss, mereka memainkan karya Beethoven dan Dvorak. 4 Musisi Aura Quartet yang terbentuk tahun 1992, Adam Taubitz, Roger Pyne, Christian Vaucher, Conrad Wyss.

http://www.auraquartett.ch/

Aura Quartet

Konser ini diadakan untuk menggalang dana bagi 4 pemain biola remaja dari Bandung, yaitu Agung Pujiana Nugraha (biola), Dewi Noergina (biola), Kiki Abdul Haqqi (biola), dan Eki Satria (cello).

Mereka mendapat beasiswa setahun penuh untuk tinggal dan melanjutkan pendidikan musik di Toulouse Perancis akhir tahun 2011, atas bantuan Classiccorp, sebuah usaha nirlaba yang mendukung kegiatan musikal remaja dengan program Bandung Music Camp.
Konser dihadiri oleh 150 orang dari berbagai kalangan pencinta seni.

Bali Emerging Writers Festival 2011

Bali Emerging Writers Festival (BEWF) 2011, diadakan pada tanggal 27-29 Mei 2011 di Serambi Arts Antida, Jl. Waribang No. 32, Sanur Denpasar. Didukung penuh oleh Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati)


Bali Emerging Writers Festival (BEWF) sebuah festival bagi penulis muda, merupakan gagasan Janet De Neefe, pendiri Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.

BEWF dirancang untuk menjadi wahana dialog dan saling berbagi pemikiran bagi para penulis muda Bali, dan juga diharapkan akan mampu menjadi ajang pendewasaan diri bagi para penulis muda Bali serta media untuk menularkan kecintaan mereka terhadap sastra kepada para pelajar dan mahasiswa.

Sarapan di Sanur Beach Hotel dengan Dorothea Rosa Herliany

Dorothea Rosa Herliany, lahir di Magelang 20 Oktober 1963. Karyanya dimuat disejumlah media di Australia, Jerman, Jepang, Korea, Vietnam, Usa, Italia, Inggris. Menerima penghargaan dari Menteri Lingkungan Hidup RI (1994), buku puisi terbaik Dewan Kesenian Jakarta (2000). Pengarang terbaik Pusat Bahasa (2003), serta penghargaan seni dari Kementrian Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata RI (2004).



Akar Narwastu

Akar Narwastu aktif melatih musik untuk musikalisasi puisi, menyanyi & berteater. Karya yang telah ditulis diantaranya Mei, Suara Hati, Kopi Pagi Ini, Sayap-sayap cahaya, Cindel Jepit, Ibu Pelacur, dll

Suasana diskusi dengan Harian Bali  Post & Majalah Rolling Stone

Minum teh sore di Sanur Beach Hotel dengan Iyut Fitra (kiri)

Iyut Fitra penyair terkemuka dari Payakumbuh. Buku kumpulan puisi yang sudah terbit, Musim Retak (2006). Sangat fasih membacakan sajak Alm. Chairil Anwar yang juga sekampung dengan Iyut di Payakumbuh.

Ayu Diah Cempaka (kanan)

Ayu Diah Cempaka lahir di Gianyar 18 Juli 1993, peserta termuda di Festival. Mengenal sastra & jurnalistik sejak bergabung dengan teater lingkar dan team sekolah SMP 2 Denpasar. Saat SMA aktif di Madyapadma Journalistic Park yang juga mengenalkannya pada film dokumenter. Tahun 2010 meraih The Best Documentary Film HIV/AIDS The Bodyshop Documentary Film Competition.

The Passion within Dedi Sjahrir Panigoro

Source: Aero Life, The Magazine From Aerowisata Hotels & Resort, 20th Edition, May-June 2011

When someone is passionate about something, age doesn’t become a limit. At the age of 64, The Chairman of Medco Holdings is still highly active in various business companies, social and cultural organizations and still spares some time to write in his online blog which provides an insight to the things he deems most important: music, architecture and family.

For Dedi, there are a lot of ways to express his passion in music. In his 60th birthday, he produced a compilation CD filled with his favorite songs including “Smile” by Tony Benett and “Fly Me to the Moon” by Nat King Cole and George Shearing. Apart from enjoying classic-jazz and a little bit of keroncong in his free time, the casual piano player helped raising Ruth Sahanaya and Andien to their current popularity. His “Orkes Symphony Nusantara” specializes in classical music and performs six times a year in Jakarta.

This music enthusiast cares a lot about aspiring musicians who are often unable to explore their talents to the fullest. As the Chairperson of “Yayasan Musik Sastra Indonesia”, he had gathered donations from various companies and individuals for the cause. The organization had taken a hawker who loved to play melodica onto receive a scholarship in France. As a form of support to traditional music, the organization also enrolled Jithron Pha, a sasando player from East Nusa Tenggara who entered the “Indonesia Mencari Bakat” competition in national television, into a bachelor degree program.

As a man who loves travelling, Dedi had seen a lot of architectural grandeurs and found himself attracted to them. “I love classic-modern style which is not too minimalist and also not too intricate,” Dedi answered when asked about his favorite style. He once invited a Thailand architect, Lek Bunnag to design his establishment in Bukittinggi, resulting in a Minangkabau atmosphere with an Islamic architectural concept and complemented beautifully with the landscape design from Bill Bensley.

But nothing completes life more than the existence of a family. Dedi met his wife in Bandung Insitute of Technology (ITB) who blessed him with a daughter and a son, and all of them show constant support to Dedi. The fact that he has just returned from a trip to India and Melbourne with his family proved just how much he enjoys spending time together with them. His classic-modern home and vast lush garden holds numerous painting collections of all styles and two more family members: an oddly domesticated Rottweiler and a Terrier dog. “I’m not born to be solitary,” Dedi Sjahrir Panigoro said. “I always need someone to talk to.”