Jakarta Concert Orchestra Presents 25 Repertoars Involving 200 Performers At An An Anime Symphony Concert

Jakarta Concert Orchestra exercise for An Anime Symphony concert (Ivan Two Men/VOI)

JAKARTA - Jakarta Concert Orchestra (JCO) will hold a concert titled An Anime Symphony at the Jakarta Theater Building, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Central Jakarta on Saturday, December 9.

Avip Priatna as Director of Music and Conductor for Jakarta Concert Orchestra said a total of 25 repertoires from well-known anime would be displayed involving around 200 people who appeared alternately.

"In some numbers, we carry scoring anime, which is not a song. But most of what is being performed are famous songs from anime which will later be performed by the orchestra," said Avip Priatna during a press conference in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, Thursday, December 7.

Meanwhile, the repertoire to be delivered comes from the 1980s anime, but JCO is quite selective in song selection.

Avip, who admits that he is not a fanatic in following the anime, has discussed a lot with the closest people who are younger and understand Japanese anime. He wants to present songs that are not only influenced by classical music, but also those that are known to many people.

I myself am a connoisseur of anime but not a fanatic. Incidentally, in my neighborhood, many are fanatical about anime music. Of course, I thank my nephew who is still in his 20s, so they are updating new songs. From their help, I got input to choose which songs are famous," said Avip.

"I myself have a different taste. But after discussing with them, we finally decided on 25 well-known songs. Because we also don't want to bring songs that people don't know about. Because it is held at the end of the year, when it comes to holiday time, we also want to provide entertainment for the audience," he continued.

An Anime Symphony also presented performances from Pepita Salim, Farman Purnama, Stefani Yang, Batavia Madrigal Singer (BMS), and The Resonanz Children Choir (TRCC).

Pepita, who is used to being on the classic music stage, admitted that she had a new experience during the process. The reason is, he has to sing Japanese songs, something that has never been done before.

"The challenge is because here singing in Japanese. This is the first time singing in Japanese, and I am not trained in Japanese," said Pepita.

"If classic concerts usually sing in English, French, Italian and German. Yes, because I'm used to learning other languages, fortunately I can find a way to learn Japanese," he continued.

Meanwhile, the songs that will be performed in An Anime Symphony include the work Studio Ghibli in the films The Boy and the Heron, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Amazing's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and Kiki's Delivery Service.

In addition, there is also Moonlight Densetsu from the Sailor Moon series, We Are! from the One Piece series, Detective Conan Main Theme from the Detective Conan series, Doraemon no Uta from the Doraemon series, and many others.