Kompas/Courtesy of Lea Simanjuntak

Lea Simanjuntak’s voice has made the gospel singer and soprano a source of inspiration for teen songstress Gita Gutawa. And, her latest role as struggling teacher Muslimah in the musical version of Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Warrior) has not only made Lea more popular, but has also allowed her to try out acting.

Gita, who is the daughter of noted composer and arranger Erwin Gutawa, once said, “I have wanted to be a singer ever since I heard Kak Lea Simanjuntak singing. I later told my father, ‘Dad, I want to be a singer like her’.” As an expression of her admiration, Gita even asked Lea to perform at her solo concert in February.

Lea may not be a familiar name, but once you listen to her voice you will instantly agree with Gita.
Born in Singapore on July 7, 1979, Lea found her passion in singing when she was five and joined a church choir, where she was often named a soloist because of her voice. Since that time, she dreamed of becoming a professional singer.

When Lea turned 13, she began to spread her wings by taking part in a number of singing competitions, including in Tenda Mangkal, a program organized by local radio station Prambors FM.

1998 was important for Lea as it was the year she entered the Indonesian music scene, when she started singing back-up for Erwin Gutawa and late legendary singer, Chrisye.

Lea said she found comfort in classical music after taking a three-month classical singing course at the Jakarta Arts Institute under the supervision of renowned soprano Catharina Leimena.

“I like classical music. It’s so challenging and requires high-quality techniques. But, basically, I want to try many things,” said the sister of actress-cum-singer Sophie Navita, who is the wife of former Jikustik member Pongki Barata.

Lea’s singing talent took her into a new world: musicals. She has a perfect combination of Broadway-style with a wide vocal range that fits musicals.

Lea started her career in musicals in 2001 when she joined the Jakarta Broadway Singers Theater Company, which produces performances from Broadway shows like The Sound of Music, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, West Side Story and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, as well as dinner theatre and cabaret.

After gaining experience with western-style musicals, Lea took a chance and took part in the musical version of Laskar Pelangi, an adaptation of Andrea Hirata’s best-selling novel that tells the story of Muhammadiyah elementary school students and teachers struggling to survive.

Three years after the novel was published in 2005, director Riri Riza and producer Mira Lesmana brought the story to the big screen, elevating the book’s popularity as the film was a huge success.

The movie has been screened in more than 20 international film festivals on five continents and has earned a number of awards, including the Signis Award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2009, the Special Jury Prize – Silver Dolphin Award at the 2009 Festroia International Film Festival in Portugal and the Best Picture Award at the Asia Pacific Film Festival, also in 2009, in Taiwan.

For the 120-minute musical version, Riri and Mira got together again with150 artists.

Erwin Gutawa is the person behind the music, bringing his complete orchestra to play together with lyrics penned by Mira, while Jay Subyakto is the artistic designer and Hartati the choreographer.

In the musical, which runs from Dec. 17 to Jan. 9 at the Jakarta Theater at the Ismail Marzuki Arts Center in Central Jakarta, Lea portrays the teacher Muslimah, popularly known as Bu Mus. She alternates playing the character with singers Eka Deli and Dira Sugandi.

“[Muslimah] is a real fighter. She fights her own way. She provides inspiration and an example for the children and others. She never loses her spirit. She chooses to stay in school, doing anything that she can do,” Lea said about her character.

Even though she has been in a number of musicals, joining the ensemble cast of Laskar Pelangi has given Lea a new perspective.

“This is a new thing for me, playing in a musical that is based on Indonesian culture. My character, Muslimah, is depicted as a kampung woman who is way different from a Lea,” Lea said.

“I’ve got no problems with acting, mimicking or stage blocking, but when it comes to conversation, I had to learn more about the accent.”

She also had to learn traditional dance and the culture and traditions of Belitung, where the novel is set, as well as adjust to wearing the traditional Sumatran baju kurung.

“During trainings, the three of us [Lea, Eka and Dira] had to wear baju kurung so we could get used to it,” she said.

The most difficult thing was when she had to learn traditional dancing, she said.

“It was hard because we didn’t have any experience with Malay dance. Dira, for instance, is influenced by West Java’s jaipong, while Eka is more into modern dance,” Lea said.

“And even though I’m familiar with Batak dance, the dancing routines in Laskar Pelangi are so different. It took a lot of practice to master the moves.”

In terms of her solo singing career, perhaps not many know Lea already has three albums under her belt.     
Her debut solo record titled Bangun (Wake Up) came out in 2004, which included her first single “Jangan Katakan Cinta” (Don’t Say You Love Me). She also wrote some of the songs on the album and collaborated with noted musicians like Pongki, Tohpati and Riza Arshad.

After her first album, she released a gospel and Christmas album. Not only familiar with pop, gospel and classical styles, she now even experiments with jazz. Lea learned about jazz when senior jazz musician Idang Rasjidi asked her to join him on stage during performances.

In 2009, she decided to join forces with young pianist and composer Irsa Destiwi, a talented pianist. They have been best friends since they studied together at Atmajaya University in Jakarta.
Together, they formed a duo called Bandanaira after an island in Maluku.

“Bandanaira is a beautiful island that shows the beauty of Indonesia. There are some local bands that also use Indonesian islands as their names like Krakatau and Karimata,” Lea said.

“We wanted to have a band name that really represented Indonesia. Then we founded Bandanaira.”

The duo launched their debut album that same year titled The Journey of Indonesia, a compilation of patriotic songs from legendary composers like H. Mutahar‘s “Hari Merdeka” (Independence Day); Ismail Marzuki‘s “Indonesia Pusaka” (Indonesia the Heritage) and “Sepasang Mata Bola” (Beady Eyes); Cornel Simanjuntak‘s “Maju Tak Gentar” (Press on bravely); and W.R. Supratman‘s “Ibu Kita Kartini” (Our Mother Kartini).

In the duo’s hands, the songs were rearranged in jazzy tunes with a whole new modern mood to attract listeners, especially youngsters, and to inspire patriotic feelings about the country.

“This was part of our goal in using national songs. We toured some cities in Indonesia to promote the album last year. Our manager plans to have us go on more tours in more cities next year,” Lea said.
Currently, Lea is busy finishing her fourth album, to be released next year.

“My first solo album was so girlie. In my upcoming album, I want to show a more mature Lea,” she said.

The fourth album will still be pop and talk about love, with little classical influence she said.

“I haven’t found someone who seriously intends to make such album. If there is a musician who really sees me as a competent classical singer and is willing to produce a classical record, I will definitely say yes.”

In the future, Lea said she wants to pursue both music and acting.

“I want to be an arranger and a noted songwriter,” she said.

Her recent participation in the musical Laskar Pelangi has also shown her that she can act, and she hopes to get more serious acting roles.

“I was once offered a starring role in a horror movie, but I refused because I thought the role did not suit me. Besides, I did not know much about the filmmaker,” she said.

“But, someday, if I’m offered a role that really fits me, I might take the opportunity.”

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