H

undreds of students in formal evening wear ran around the halls of the SME Tower in South Jakarta, preparing for their music concert on Saturday evening.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of SMA Kolese Gonzaga and Wacana Bhakti Minor Seminary, the schools held a “Gonz For Earth In Music Concert” to endorse green living. The event saw participation from a number of Catholic schools from all over archipelago, the Philippines, Hong Kong and New York.

According to Gonzaga’s vice principal Romo Alis Windu Prasetya, the event is a part of the school’s lustrum celebration, that included sports and art competitions participated by number of schools in the city.

“The whole series of events were held to express our gratitude and we wanted to share it with the community,” Alis told The Jakarta Post. “We chose earth as our theme this year because it has been a major concern for us, especially regarding waste management in the country. We’ve been trying to increase green living awareness among our students.”

Singer and green activist Agustinus Gusti Nugroho, known as Nugie, also performed at the event. The longtime volunteer for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) sang “Jika Bumi Bisa Bicara” (If the Earth Can Speak), a song he composed to raise funds to save the environment.

The event also included a play directed by Arswendo Atmowiloto, an Gonzaga alumnus, which brought up the recent student brawls in Jakarta and preserving Papua, among its topics. At least 160 students participated in the orchestra and choir, including students from SMA Kolese Gonzaga, Wacana Bhakti Seminary, SMA Kolese De Britto in Yogyakarta, SMA Kolese Loyola in Semarang, Mertoyudan Seminary in Magelang, SMA Kolese Kanisius in Jakarta, Fordham Preparatory School, US, Wah Yan College in Hong Kong and Ateneo de Cebu in the Philippines.

“We had been preparing for a few months. We sent them [the students from overseas] the scores and the materials so they could practice the music on their own, and then they came to Jakarta a week prior to the concert to practice together,” Alis said.

Liam Morrissy, 14, from Fordham Preparatory School, said the event was very exciting for him. “It’s fun, I like how all of the schools are coming together, and each of the schools have their own thing to show.”

Fordham Preparatory School president Kenneth Boller said the event showed the students that the world could be united with music as its common language.

“Some of our boys are experiencing their first international music performance in an international music concert. This is a great chance for them to gain more experience, especially when they are staying with local families,” Clare Cheung, the companion teacher from Wah Yan College, Hong Kong, said.

The concert was attended by around 1,600 guests that included the schools’ students and alumni. (nad)