Young Composers Southeast Asia – A Highly Influential Project
Competition with vast reverberations
It was the second competition for young composers launched by the Goethe-Instituts in the region of Southeast Asia in 2011 within the scope of Culture and Development. It accented promoting young talent and direct skill enhancement for artists and media professionals. In cooperation with Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia in Bandung, young Southeast Asian musicians were invited to submit their compositions. The instrumentation should include both western and Indonesian (West Javanese) gamelan instruments. The project’s reverberations revealed the great regional importance of the project; over 70 submissions were received. An international jury made up of renowned musicians from Germany and Southeast Asia chose the best ten compositions from the submissions.
Workshop and successful concerts
These young composers were invited to take part in a ten-day workshop in Bandung in autumn 2011 under the direction of Dieter Mack, professor of composition at Lübeck Conservatory, and the international jury. The Berlin ensemble mosaik and the Bandung gamelan ensemble Kyai Fatahillah also participated. The further training aimed at conveying applied and practical content in addition to promoting networking of the composers within the region and with the international music scene. The best works were chosen at the end of the workshop and awarded prizes. Finally, two concerts in Bandung and two more in Jogjakarta and Jakarta presented the work of the young composers as well as the commitment of the Goethe-Institut in contemporary music to a surprisingly large audience. More than 1,000 listeners attended the performance in Bandung alone although contemporary music is something of an exception in Indonesia.
Foundation stone for broader local development
The success of Young Composers Southeast Asia, the high degree of participation, the lasting networks (the composers continue to be involved in lively dialogue), and the great media response confirm an overall coherent project scheme. Young Composers Southeast Asia’s influence is to a large part the merit of Professor Mack, his expertise in contemporary music, his close ties to Indonesia, his valuable network, and his dedication. “With this event and its dedication, the Goethe-Institut has laid a foundation stone for broader local development in an exceedingly productive and complex region,” Professor Mack said, emphasizing the regional significance of the project and indicating the importance of the cooperation between western and Asian musicians. “In this case, development does not mean development aid, but first and foremost critical dialogue, which offers stimulation for the further development of all of the participating partners.”
In order to keep the promotion of talent systematic and sustainable, the competition will be continued in Manila in 2013.
Project data:
Artistic director: Prof. Dieter Mack
Programme coordinator: Katrin Sohns
PR coordinator: Christiane Jekeli
International jury:
Michael Asmara - Indonesia
Bernd Asmus – Germany
Jonas Baes - Philippines
Chong Kee Yong – Malaysia
Dieter Mack – Germany
Tran Kim Ngoc – Vietnam
Anothai Nitibohn - Thailand
Thomas Oesterdiekhoff – Germany
Chung Shih Hoh - Singapore
Ernst Surberg – Germany
