Wilson Chu (Photo by Jason Leonardi)

Music enthusiasts crowding the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) in Glasgow, the United Kingdom, were recently confronted with a rare yet intriguing piano composition.

Wilson Chudiharja, a 23-year-old Indonesian pianist, was on the stage presenting his six-minute creation, “Paraphrase on a Javanese Theme.”

The song exudes a distinct Javanese quality from start to end. In fact, the melodically rich repertoire is wholly rooted in gamelan (traditional orchestra) scales, enchanting the international audience with a unique musical experience.

“Gamelan music normally consists of several instruments, played by several people. I played a gamelan arrangement with one instrument — by one player,” Wilson told The Jakarta Post.

The pianist was awarded a slot in the Mondays at One: Keyboard concert on Oct. 9 after winning a student musical competition at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).

“Paraphrase on a Javanese Theme” is a mesmerizing embroidery of gamelan melodic lines and instruments, such as the kenong (small gong) and saron (xylophone).

Wearing a long-sleeved batik shirt, Wilson dynamically moved his fingers across the keys; the low notes on the left were to resemble a gong, while the middle and high notes sounded like the melodies of gendèr (Javanese metallophone) and saron.

“Wilson has a distinguished touch of the keyboard. The combination of the main melody with the complex rhythmical structures in the left hand made the biggest impression on me,” said pianist Edyta Mydlowska from Poland, who was among the audience.

In action: Wilson performs "Paraphrase on a Javanese Theme." (Courtesy of YouTube)

Wilson’s gamelan composition was also innovative, complex and harmonically rich.

The performance, available on his YouTube channel, started with a slow tempo, which grew faster from the middle to the end.

“The piece was not only demanding technically, but also extremely challenging from the musical point of view,” Mydlowska told the Post, adding that she had come to the concert with zero knowledge about Indonesian traditional music.

After the show, however, she was eager to learn more about gamelan.

“Wilson’s performance had a huge impact on me,” Mydlowska said. “I had never heard gamelan at all. It was the first time in my life to get to know these incredibly fascinating tones. I was so touched after his performance that I went back to the library to search for more [information on gamelan]. I couldn’t stop thinking of it.”

Wilson, who hails from Medan, North Sumatra, has indeed made it possible for gamelan to cross borders, geographically and musically.

“I want to help make Indonesia’s unique musical identity become more popular overseas,” he said.

Wilson said he tried to make a musical breakthrough through his piano, knowing that not many Indonesian musicians composed music with gamelan notes on Western instruments such as keyboards, violins and guitars.

“My ultimate dream is to collaborate with Indonesia’s top composers and musicians to perform gamelan music in a Western-style orchestra, and promote Indonesia’s identity in the global musical scene,” he said.

Wilson is currently pursuing his Master of Arts at RCS, which is fully funded by scholarships. He also earned his Bachelor of Music from RCS, which is ranked third in the world in the Performing Arts category, according to the 2017 QS World University Rankings.

Musicians at heart: Wilson (left) poses with other performers — Daniel Hart (Piano), Alena Bulatetskaya (Accordion) and George Todica (Piano) — at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, the United Kingdom.(Courtesy of Nor Basid)

Wilson is currently the only Indonesian student at the conservatoire.

“I wrote ‘Paraphrase on a Javanese Theme’ when I was studying at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore. I actually dedicated the song to Valentina Lisitsa,” he said, referring to the world-renowned pianist from Ukraine.

Despite his young age, Wilson already has a reasonable amount of international experience under his belt, appeared in concerts and recitals in Amsterdam, Beijing, Edinburgh in Scotland, and Singapore.

Some of his recent achievements include winning the 2017 Tony/Tania Webster Russian Piano Competition, securing the 2016 Lamond Prize at RCS and coming in fourth at the 2015 Golden Key International Piano Composition Competition in Vienna.

Wilson also dedicates his musical skills to religious services by serving as a resident pianist in the Robroyston Church of Scotland.

“I also introduced gamelan compositions to gospel songs,” he said.

Nor Basid Adiwibawa Prasetya, an Indonesian Ph.D. student at the University of Glasgow, said he was amazed and proud to see Wilson’s performance.

“As a Javanese myself, I was curious to see gamelan music performed on a piano. I love to listen to Javanese music played on gamelan, seruling [traditional Indonesian flute] or other Indonesian instruments, but never on a piano,” he said.

He said he could hear the Javanese influence from the composition’s first notes.

“I felt like I was home,” Basid said, recalling Wilson received a long applause for his performance.

He said only two Indonesians had managed to buy tickets for the concert because they were sold out in a few days.

The way Wilson promoted Indonesia through modern musical arrangements was effective, Basid added.

“Music is a universal language and it was evident [during Wilson’s concert]; multinational performers also attract a multinational audience,” he said.