School of traditional Chinese music: An oasis in the desert

The Jakarta Post, Soeryo Winoto

Motorists passing crowded Jl. Tentara Pelajar may not be aware that a school of oriental music is operating in one of the shops lining the Permata Senayan complex in Central Jakarta.

The Jakarta International Oriental Music School (JIOMS), which teaches traditional Chinese music, exists there like an oasis in a desert.

Very few Indonesians are familiar with traditional Chinese music, which is very rarely performed in the country.

The political turmoil of Sept. 1965 contributed to the absence of traditional Chinese music for several decades in Indonesia, where Chinese-related art and cultural performances were prohibited for political reasons.

Discriminatory regulations against ethnic Chinese were lifted gradually following the fall of the New Order regime in 1998, which led to the acknowledgement of the Chinese New Year as a national holiday.

Many Chinese-Indonesians expressed joy over their new freedoms by forming groups that played traditional Chinese music, which had been a secret activity for decades.

Li Sen is one such traditional Chinese music group, which is based in the Glodok area in downtown Jakarta. The group's members enjoy playing traditional Chinese music together once or twice a week.

Mother-of-three Lia Lau's love for traditional Chinese music inspired her to open JIOMS in Nov. 2005.

Her passion for keeping traditional Chinese music alive is apparent through her initiative to establish the school, which currently has almost 100 students.

"My vision and mission is to preserve traditional Chinese music, which is becoming rare and almost forgotten among the younger generation in Indonesia," said Lia, who masters several musical instruments, in particular the ga zheng or Chinese harp.

"Contributing to Indonesian culture with this kind of music is another goal," she said.

The school offers private classes and several study packages, with monthly tuition fees ranging from between Rp 300,000 to Rp 600,000, with each lesson lasting 45 to 75 minutes.

Students learn basic playing techniques for the traditional musical instruments of their choice and are taught how to play classical Chinese songs.

"I don't know if there are similar schools open in Jakarta. But, this school is the first of its kind and we hire professional teachers from China."

The school, she added, hires three teachers from China, thanks to cooperation with the School of Art in China's Fu Jian province.

"We apply an international curriculum based on the methods used in China and graduating students get an international certificate issued by China's School of Art," Lia said.

Lia expressed hope her students would become professional musicians in the future and help preserve the art of traditional Chinese music.