While our brethren in faith in Java, Indonesia played the music of peace and love, bombs exploded only 250 kilometres away, killing many people. A report on a concert with trembling hearts and hands follows below.
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Photo: Danu Setyawan
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Photo: Danu Setyawan
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Photo: Danu Setyawan
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Photo: Danu Setyawan
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Photo: Danu Setyawan
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Photo: Danu Setyawan
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Photo: Danu Setyawan
“Love is the future” — such was the motto of the concert performed by 86 musicians from the church district of Surakarta (Java, Indonesia). On Sunday, 13 May 2018 they gathered on the streets with their voices and their instruments in Southern Indonesia in the city of the same name, which is home to some 600,000 inhabitants, on an automobile-free Sunday. This was already the second occasion on which the group had made music under an open sky, as the organisers explained. Already back in 2016, the group had gone to work in similar fashion in the streets of Klaten.
Making music with heart
The organisers were also delighted that the group had again showcased such diversity: the musicians were comprised of members from the congregation of Surakarta as well as the “Surakarta School of Music”. In total there were 33 adults, 32 young people, and 21 children making music together.
They played their violins, charmed listeners with choral music, and entertained onlookers with theatre pieces. And naturally, the large Angklung group also had its work to do. The familiar bamboo instruments so typical of the country always find a delighted audience to captivate.
Donating blood with heart
At the same time as the concert—and in cooperation with the Red Cross—another campaign was underway in the street, namely a blood donor clinic. Over the course of the day, volunteers filled a total of 43 bags with blood—critical support for saving lives.
“The two events were aimed at spreading a message of love and peace,” reported Danu Setyawan, a brother from Indonesia. And this could be clearly heard in the music, seen in the theatre pieces, and experienced in the blood donor clinic. The musical highlights of the event included “Heal the World”, “When You Believe”, “You Raise me Up”, and “Amazing Grace”. Beyond that, a number of church hymns also resounded on the streets.
Terror attack in Surabaya
During the concert, our brothers and sisters learned of a terror attack on three churches in the city of Surabaya, some 250 kilometres to the east of Surakarta. Many people lost their lives in the attack.
“With sad and trembling hearts, the musicians dedicated the entire concert to the victims and their families,” explains one of the organisers.