back again :)

Long time no see...
Miracles sometimes happen and although I had forgot my password here, one of my web browsers remembered it. Good browser, good good browser. :)))

So the latest news is that 2 days ago I got a ring (actually I borrowed it until the end of this year) - it's made of an elephant's tail hair and it is said it makes people have friendly attitude to the person, who wears it. Well, let's see. :)
It's origin is either Indonesia or Myanmar. Not sure (I forgot to ask). Amreta, do you know anything about these things? :)

What else... ekhem... not sure if I should express my dreams aloud. But I'm thinking of going to India for half a year. But first I need to find a sponsor. :D

A picture of mine attached, so that you don't forget me :P

What's Your True Talent?

The test was quite fun. Now I wonder if this true talent of mine contributes to my drawing and graphics...somehow yes I love creating layouts ;-)

To take the test, go to http://web.tickle.com/tests/talent/index_main.jsp

(thanks Caroline for the link ;-))

Anyway, this is my result:

Amreta, your true talent is spatial ability

Your ability to visualize objects in three-dimensional space gives you a unique view of the world. Because of this talent, you are much better than most people at imagining new designs including floor plans, page layouts, and three dimensional objects.

How do we know that's your true talent? While you were taking the test, we calculated your responses to each test question and rated your skills in 5 areas. You scored highest on spatial ability.

People like you are usually great when it comes to putting together assemble-it-yourself furniture or other household items — whether the items arrive with instructions or not. Your spatial skills also help you understand the finer points of how things work.

My graphic site reactivated

Yippiiii! My graphic site is reactivated today, and I couldn't wait to make an announcement on the front page that though "Amreta's Graphic Corner is still closed, it will be open again by the end of this month".

Today is undisputedly a very inspiring and happy day for me! =)

In case you forget the URL, it's here: www.amretasgraphics.com

Saturday is a happy orchestra day

I’m back to my old schedule – Saturday is ‘orchestra day’, and this time I started with a meeting at the University’s student hall. Miranti the orchestra’s chairman led the talk about last week’s audition, the orchestra received over 90 applications and now the committee had to make decisions. There’s something tricky about a non-professional orchestra like ours – sometimes we attend the rehearsals for the sake of the fun of meeting friends and playing music together, other matters come second. Except when preparing a concert, we have no such ‘professional pressure’ because playing in the University orchestra is very much of a hobby. That’s why we need to have members with high self motivation to develop their musical skills themselves.

Unfortunately before the meeting was resumed, some of us, the alumni, had to excuse ourselves and head for a rehearsal with the amateur chamber music ensemble. This time we practiced Pergolesi’s Concertino No. 3, very very tricky. There are at least 4 voices for the violins only and most often we ended up laughing for being confused by the ‘conversations’ of the intstruments. Phew, we’ve got homework!


The meeting


Yusuf and Marcel


Popi and Fanny


Tika and Andi

all pictures were taken from my seat ;-)

”I’m so happy I can’t stop playing!”

I couldn’t help myself from smiling when reading the phrase above on the envelope of Pirastro violin string, a Wondertone Solo, which came as a bonus when purchasing the latest edition of The Strad. While leafing the magazine, I noticed the same ‘motto’, this one is more colorful, on the Pirastro ad, just next to the editorial page.

“I’m so happy I can’t stop playing!”

And last night suddenly this saying felt so true. I was so happy with my new violin strings, I was so happy with the etudes books I just bought, Sixty studies for the violin by Wohlfahrt and school of mechanism for the violin by Dancla (I’ll be practicing with the new members of the violin section...), I was so happy with the new Strad magazine (and its bonus!) and I was so happy with practicing some passages from J.S. Bach’s partitas for violin solo (after so longtime that the book was kept in the shelf) and a compilation of Swedish folk music, 12 låtar, that, I think, I just played and played and when I stopped, it was already past midnight! Of course I felt bad afterward that I played the violin with full force at that hour, but at least, thankfully, none of my neighbors (nor my housemates) banged on the door and protested ;-) *pheewww*

Earlier in the evening, Fina and I went look for new shelf for my ‘homeless’ books. But we couldn’t find a nice shelf so we went around the shopping mall and as a result I ‘found’ the etudes books by Wohlfahrt and Dancla, and the latest edition of The Strad (as you have read above - and apparently “I’m so happy I can’t stop playing!” was the ultimate result of this unexpected shopping).

That evening was also our third round of eating out in restaurants, after a bit tired of street food... We ate Indonesian food, rice with three kinds of side dishes: tempeh with chilly and lemon basil, water spinach cooked in shrimp paste marinate, and bean sprouts with chilly and salted fish. For the drinks, I loved ginger with palm sugar, and Fina ordered a pot of tea, served traditionally.



Fina and the food



Just another self prortrait...from playing the violin till late

New voice...

I rushed to the music store earlier this evening - all I wanted was an A-string for my violin, and I didn't care about the brand, since I understood that the stores run out of Dominant strings from Thomastik-Infeld.

As it turned out, it was my lucky day! The lady at the music store greeted me with a big smile, announcing that they had stacks of Thomastic-Infeld strings by now, all in their new packaging! Wow! It was an exciting surprise!

Last night I went online to www.thomastik-infeld.com and read some reviews about the strings. They have a new line of violin strings, Infeld, and it sounds really good...rather tempting, as it is mentioned on the website that the Infeld red-set (which was available at the store) would produce a rather dark sound on the majority of violins. Why not give it a try? Didn't I always want my violin to have a 'kicking' and rather 'masculine' voice?

Somehow I didn't hesitate and bought one set of Infeld the red set. Finally my violin's got new strings! I got goose-bumps once the strings were set and I tried to play my violin...it did have different voice, just like what was described on the website, it's darker voice. It seems like my violin loves these strings better than the Dominant ones :-) Another thing that's new for me was the gold-plated E-string...never played with a gilded string before, it gives a funny but very pleasant feeling...:-)


My violin's new strings
(Wolfgang, they are Austrian...;-))

Tales from the backstage

Well, though the title above is 'tales', there's actually no story this time, I just want to share some pictures I took at the University orchestra's concert on 9 September, as you might already familiar yourself with this orchestra after reading my previous entries ;-) As usual, 'backstage moment' is actually my favorite. So here are some pictures:


Yes, we always try to relax before walking into the limelight...


Miranti and her cello


The three trumpets


The three bassoons (this is a very rare sight! I'm so glad I caught this picture!)


See, I'm not a very good photographer :-( this is the best picture I managed to take of the concert (camera light was not allowed)


Miranti and me, after the concert

Violin without (A) string

Just yesterday I posted a new entry about my come-back to the University orchestra. And today already I ‘lost’ one of my violin strings – the A string – and this is a little bit frustrating (no, I’m not exaggerating) since these last few weeks here in Jakarta we can’t find the kind of strings we’re fanatic of – the Dominant from Thomastic-Infeld. My stand-mate Tika also had the same problem and she told me about this last Saturday. Maybe I worried too much that now even my violin doesn’t behave.

And meet my violin, my wonderful companion since 1988, when finally my teacher succeeded to convince my father that I was ‘serious’ and needed a much better violin than the one I had at that time (a factory-made Chinese violin).


My violin, without the A-string

We got it, in a very bad condition, from somebody my teacher knew, so soon after it went to a major restoration (and my father had to pay a fortune for that...but he never regretted it, I swear!). Why my teacher fell for that violin though it was completely out of shape when he found it, was the wood, and some ‘traces’ of the original hand works details that were still visible, he just felt that it was ‘a good violin’. Somehow, despite the fortune my father had spent, the condition just couldn’t be 100% restored. It seemed like the previous owner had done something with the body of the violin, probably bad vernissage or something, that the voice doesn’t really ‘kicks’. I only realized it ten years after when I enrolled for the music school in 1998, and my teacher wasn’t happy with my violin at all. So it went to another major restoration, this time is more expensive than the first one, and the luthier told me everything he found out about my violin – some very painful truths and even my teacher recommended me to get a new violin, but after all what we had spent for the restorations I just can’t afford to get a new violin, yet. Maybe someday. But with the fact that I’m not studying in the music school anymore, nor playing with a professional orchestra right now, I don’t know if I still want to buy a new violin. There are lots of things I have in mind, such as traveling, or even to have a state-of-the-art computer ;-) And here’s the hardest part: for better or worse, this violin has been with me for 18 years now, has been my wonderful best friend in my ups-and-downs, the one I carried everywhere like a baby, one of the important things through which my life is enriched with (especially) friends, joy, laughter, wisdom, and lessons. I just can’t give it up.

Some facts about my violin:
• Its faded label reads ‘Franz Steinberg’ Leipzig 1876• It’s been through several restorations, you can see some restored cracks in the body
• I bought most of its accessories in Stockholm when I visited Sweden in 2002
• From all the accessories, I am most proud of the Flesch-style chin-rest that I finally found in a music store in Stockholm – after years of desperately looking for one
• My violin ‘gets along’ very well with its French bow, acquired in Stockholm with the help of my great friend and violinist Joakim. My very good friend Betty, who was at that time visiting her fiancé (now husband)’s family in Sweden that end of year 2000, went to Stockholm and got the bow from Joakim, carried it with her with extra care to Jakarta, and, like a fairy god-mother, showed-up at my place handing the bow exactly on New Year’s Eve!

The University Orchestra...I'm back!

Today, taking part in auditioning new members of the University of Indonesia Symphony Orchestra Mahawaditra marked my come-back to this orchestra, after being absent for quite awhile.

Anyway, when I have to talk about me, I can't avoid talking about this orchestra, my almost-whole-life during my student years at the University of Indonesia...long time ago...oh, my.

Suddenly I became nostalgic, recalling my first year with the orchestra in 1992, and my first concert in 1993. I was as excited and full of hope as these new members. Somehow I realised I practically grew-up with this orchestra, together with the same friends, some of them continue playing in a spin-off chamber music ensemble.

The 'network' is often broadened. For example, Miranti, the present chairman of the orchestra, together with other 'juniors of mine' were very much involved in the volunteering works I coordinated for the Swedish Ship Götheborg's stopover in Jakarta a few months ago. You may hear of Miranti more often soon since she, Fina and I are planning to see the magnificent ship again in Singapore in New Year for 2 weeks.

In turn I will be more involved again in the orchestra's activities - most possibly mentoring the new members in the violin section. I'm really looking forward to this. And I will be playing again in the spin-off ensemble - together with other alumnies. The group's called the Amateur Chamber Music Ensemble, presently led by one of my best friends Marcel, our former assistant conductor, who plays the clarinet in the orchestra, who's also my piano accompanist for 11 years, since 1995. I have never wanted to change accompanist - not only because Marcel has incredible talent for music and the piano but there were times where I felt uncomfortable to play the violin in duet with other pianist! When I was still in school, I had to beg my teacher to let me bring my own accompanist to the exams. As well as for the graduation concert! Somehow I always succeeded ;-)

Here are some pictures from the very casual audition:


Miranti watching Rio (on the piano) and Ivan (with the notes) giving a hearing test


The test: theory of music by our violinist and photographer Adi


The interview


I (taking note) teamed up with Miranti (on the piano)


Marcel conducting the ensemble




On the terrace of the student hall, facing the garden, that's where the ensemble rehearsed


Me, looking at my friends rehearse


The cello section preparing for the orchestra rehearsal


Another typical warm-up before the rehearsal, practicing the 'tricky passages' together