A piece I wrote for Bandung Philharmonic‘s first concert after 2,5 years of pandemic in which indoors live arts events were prohibited according to necessary public health regulations.
In an era of pandemic, global conflicts, economic pressures, and our escalating online consumption, are live music performances still relatable?
That is the question I ask myself everyday. No doubt many musicians ask themselves the same thing.
A wise lady reminded me that humans have been making music even before we learned to read and write. The Neanderthal flute, one of the oldest instruments currently known to archaeologists and historians, date back to between 40,000 – 60,000 years ago. Jiahu flutes date back 7,000 – 9,000 years ago, and Tutankhamun has trumpets in his tomb.
Human history is a history of sex, blood, power, and – among others – music. Rest assured music will always be a part of society, though how it’s created, distributed, and consumed might change at incredible speed. TikTok trending sounds (roughly 7 seconds each) will fall out of trend after a couple of weeks. The Instagram algorithm might suddenly push your reel to 100,000 viewers, while flopping your very next reel. A hype music video might sink to oblivion after the hype is over.
Bombarded with music from every possible platform, tonight we invite you, for a precious hour, to rest the noise of it all. Let your gadgets be silent while you listen to an acoustic offering in this amazing space. In the quiet of this sanctuary, let there be music.
Beautifuuly written.
Elegiac.
thank you ❤️