USU PR - The Ethnomusicology Study Program of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) of the Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) with Nicolas Fink and the Consolatio Choir successfully held a 9-Conductor Masterclass Concert. The concert was held at the USU Auditorium on Friday (21/10/2022).

The 9 Conductor Masterclass Concert is a sound art performance in the form of singing combined by the conductor with piano and cello instruments. According to USU Rector Dr. Muryanto Amin, S.Sos, M.Si, this performance provides its freshness for the audience. Therefore, it does not rule out the possibility performances that contain acculturation values or cultural exchanges that are useful for students can continue to be carried out continuously.

The performance of the 9-Conductor Masterclass Concert impressed the Director of the Goethe-Institut for Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, Dr. Stefan Dreyer. This is because the conductors and choir successfully performed an extraordinary performance despite only practicing in a short duration. Dr. Stefan Dreyer said he was very happy and grateful for the extraordinary cooperation that had been established with USU.

According to Dr. Stefan Dryeer, music is a unifying art, so he expects a good future for the choir team, including working with different conductors and finding an enthusiastic audience for their performances.

The music performed at the concert was classical music by Rheinberger, Brahms, Parry, and Bach's BWV 230, Conductor Nicolas Fink said that it took a while for the choir members to get used to the music as it used an unfamiliar language and musical style. On the other hand, Nicolas Fink has always been impressed with the vocal range of the Batak ethnicity, according to him the Batak ethnicity was born to sing because they have beautiful voices.

On the same occasion, the Head of the 9 Conductor Masterclass Concert Committee, Dra. Rithaony, M.A. said that they initially collaborated with the Goethe Institute in Jakarta, where the Goethe Institute had a conducting masterclass program, and in this program, Nicholas Fink became a conducting master. Then, this program was offered to USU, which collaborated with Ir. Tony Siagian to foster conducting shows.

“With the collaboration with Ir. Tony Siagian trained the show participants for 3 months, and is now a guest lecturer at the USU ethnomusicology department,” he concluded.

He explained that for this event, the committee prepared a comfortable and safe place for the conductors to perform and invited various groups to watch the conductor masterclass concert.

“For the audience itself, Goethe Institute targeted 1,000 spectators, but during the event, there were around 1,200 spectators who attended, and they all enjoyed the event until the end,” he said.

Rithaony, who is also the Head of the Ethnomusicology Study Program, also hopes that after this event is over, that the ethnomusicology study program can collaborate with other international institutes to collaborate with USU, especially ethnomusicology.

“Yes, we hope that in addition to working with the Goethe Institute, we can work with other international institutes because that is also the hope and support of the USU chancellor,” he said.

Author: Bambang Riyanto - Public Relations

Interviewee: Dra. Rithaony MA. - Head of the Committee

Photographer: Irsan Mulyadi - Public Relations