On Monday, February 19th, Select Choir members participated in a workshop with Ade and Tommy Monareh on Indonesian music.
The ConVal choirs are currently preparing a program of choral music titled “Island Songs”. Three of our school choirs are each learning traditional songs from different island nations. Throughout this process, students have engaged in learning about the geography, history and culture this music comes from. Select choir is studying three choral pieces from Indonesia, “Siksik si Batu Mannikkam” and “Soleram” which are both from the island of Sumatra, and “Nuru ai Pani” from Papua.
Ade and Tommy shared about Indonesian culture and musical traditions, coached the singers on their pronunciation, shared stories of their childhood in Jakarta and brought along their Angklung for the students to play.
The Angklung is a traditional Indonesian instrument made from bamboo. The students performed the melody to the piece popular song, Soleram, which they are currently learning an arrangement of.
ConVal Choirs will present their annual spring on Tuesday, March 20th at 7:00 pm in the Hancock Congregational Church.