Surabaya (25/1). For two days from January 23-24th, 2015, 67 choir-leaders attended the first New Apostolic Church “National Chorale Workshop” in Surabaya. The participants came from various districts in Indonesia and also from Malaysia and the Philippines and all were very excited following every session presented by Mr. Tommyanto Kandisaputra, a choral maestro who has many international awards and much experience. Some topics were presented such as “beautiful singing”, “voice building“, “chorale artistic“, and “rehearsal technique“.
After received these interesting topics, the participants were also asked to directly implement what they have learned. This workshop also presented Surabaya congregation choir and Eliata Choir as a choir model. Eliata choir is an interdenominational Christian choir group with much experience, national and international.
On Sunday, a collaboration concert between Surabaya congregation and Eliata Choir was held. For one and a half hour they presented pieces from popular composers like Moses Hogan as well as folksongs and christmas songs and as highlight the “Coronation Anthems” from G. F. Handel. As a final song, workshop participants joined the choir in a rendition of Handel’s “Hallelujah”.
Music in New Apostolic Church Indonesia
Music is an inseparable part in every divine services of the New Apostolic Church. In Indonesia, there are many congregations still using the angklung instrument, a music instrument made of bamboo, to accompany divine services. An angklung group from Bandung even participated in International Church Convention (ICC), Munich, last year. Choirs, both children and adult, also make the divine services more beautiful. In recent years, many congregations in Indonesia have started lessons for orchestra. Through the Workgroup Music, the New Apostolic Church Indonesia organizes various music and choir seminars with the purpose to obtain a better music quality in order to support the work of God in Indonesia.