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Yo-Yo Ma to perform in Indonesia for first time in December
Yo-Yo Ma is to bring the Bach Project to Jakarta for his first-ever Indonesian concert on Dec. 6.
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French-born Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma plays during a concert at the Metropolitan Theater in Medellin, Colombia, on May 9. (AFP/Joaquin Sarmiento)
W
orld-renowned musician Yo-Yo Ma is to perform in Jakarta in his first-ever Indonesian concert on Dec. 6 at the Jakarta International Theater in JIEXpo Kemayoran.
The show is to be part of the Chinese-American cellist’ Bach Project, which is a series of musical concerts, dialogues and collaborations conducted since August 2018 in 36 locations across six continents.
The performance by Ma is to feature Johann Sebastian Bach’s six suites for solo cello. On his website, the musician noted that Bach’s 300-year-old music is an extraordinary example of how culture connects people and how it can help us to imagine and build a better future.
Alongside each concert, the cellist is to be involved in a collaborative event called a Day of Action, when he is to partner with local artists, cultural leaders and community organizations to encourage dialogue and artistic expression. In Jakarta, the Day of Action is to be held on Dec. 7. The organizers, Shoemaker Studios and GoImpact, have yet to confirm the details apart from saying that the event would involve traditional fabrics.
In a press conference held in Jakarta on Thursday, a Shoemaker Studios founding partner, Prajna Murdaya, said: “It has been our dream to bring a world-class classical musician to Jakarta. The Yo-Yo Ma concert will be a historic event as this will also be the first show held in the new Jakarta International Theater.”
Read also: ‘Bach in Bali’ fosters love for classical music among youngsters
The solo performance by Ma is expected to last for 2 hours and 15 minutes and would not involve any sound systems or microphones.
“This is the opportunity to witness Yo-Yo Ma performing in the most honest situation, with prime acoustic means. We will not feature any effect or lighting whatsoever; it will be beautiful just as it is,” said Harmoko Aguswan, another of Shoemaker Studios’ founding partners.
Tickets for the Jakarta show are available from Traveloka with prices starting at Rp 715,000 (US$50.91). More information is available here.
The 64-year-old Ma has recorded more than 90 albums and received numerous awards in his career, including 19 Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. Along with his classical repertoire, Ma has collaborated with musicians from a variety of genres, such as Argentinian tango composer Astor Piazzolla and American jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin. (wng)
