Peace Tour Day 1

We arrived in Jakarta safely yesterday, after a long but enjoyable flight. We celebrated Aryo's birthday in the evening with a family dinner with his mother and aunt Linda. It was Nathan's and my first Indonesian food, and we can't wait to eat more of it.

Our first full day of the Peace Tour began with a press conference with the Indonesian media. They seemed very interested in our project and we hope we'll get some good press (and the post-conference dim sum was delicious and plentiful, too).

In the afternoon we met our hosts at Yayasan Musik Internasional, the pre-college conservatory that has organized our big Asian debut concert at Erasmus Huis next Friday. We also had our first practice session, and despite jet lag we're still in good form.

We also stopped by Jakarta Conservatory of Musik to meet the dean and the staff and make arrangements for our master class there on Tuesday. We just finished eating the leftover dim sum and will head to bed early to rest up for the exciting and busy days ahead!

Swara Sonora takes care of business during a quiet moment.

Hong Kong!

The trio has safely arrived at HGK! We are going to enjoy a nice breakfast and then it is on to Jakarta.




Make sure that you all tune into KUAT tomorrow (Thursday July 30th) at 6:30 PM and Midnight to see us on the Arizona Illustrated Program! We will be featured at the end of the show!

--Oh yea,it is Aryo's birthday today. Happy Birthday Aryo'

--Post From My iPhone

On our way!

We are at the Tucson International airport about to begin the first leg of our long journey to Indonesia. I am taking advantage of the last free wi fi we will have for a while to write a quick blog. We are pretty darn excited to be en route. We will write again from Jakarta!


-- Post From My iPhone

First Contribution

The Swara Sonora Trio is all set to handover our first contribution to UNICEF. Thursday we arrive in Jakarta. Our first contribution will be $1,500!

Special thanks goes out to all of you who have contributed! We leave today, and all the proceeds from our Indonesian tour will go directly to UNICEF, so if you can, come out and see us!

It's also not too late to donate online. Visit our website for details.

Less then 72 hours until departure!

View of the Hong Kong Airport

The Swara Sonora Trio is making its final preparations! One last rehearsal, transferring money, shopping, packing, and saying farewell to friends and family here in Tucson.

Personally, I am vary excited to see the airport in Hong Kong. It is a major feat of modern engineering, built in the sea from what used to be two small islands. I watched a program on the process, and I can't wait to see it in person! I hope I will be alert enough to take it all in after a 14 hour flight! From there it's on to Jakarta, where our adventure begins!

Concert Photos

Thanks to Kathryn's mother for sending me these photos from out concert last week!

Ready to Go!

We leave for Indonesia one week from today. I can't quite believe it. Before our concert last weekend, Nathan went shopping for a pair of antique cymbals like the ones Ananda Sukarlan calls for in the second song of "Love and Variations." In the past we've borrowed from the University, but we needed our own set to take on tour. Now that the trio owns our own cymbals, I feel like we're official!

The cymbals aren't the only thing we needed for tour. Visas have been secured, immunizations given, and lots of details worked out (which the huge help of Aryo's mother working for us back in Indonesia). Now about all we have to do is pack lightly and hit the road! We'll be blogging as much as possible from our hotels in Indonesia, so please keep up with us and our adventures.

Below is our tour itinerary. Read more about our Peace Tour, and follow links to our various sponsor organizations, on the Peace Tour page of our website.

Swara Sonora's Peace Tour Itinerary:

Friday, July 31
Press conference, Jakarta

Tuesday, August 4, 12:00 p.m.
Master class at Jakarta Conservatory of Music

Wednesday, August 5
Master class at University of Pelita Harapan Conservatory of Music

Friday, August 5, 7:00 p.m.
Swara Sonora's International debut:
Concert at Erasmus Huis, Jakarta
sponsored by Yayasan Music Internasional

Monday, August 10, 7:00 p.m.
Concert at Institut Seni Indonesia, Jogjakarta

Tuesday, August 11, 9:00 a.m.
Master classs at Institut Seni Indonesia

Wednesday, August 12
Press conference, Surabaya

Thursday, August 13
Radio interview, Bali Paradise FM Radio

Friday, August 14, 7:00 p.m.
Concert at Sanur Beach Hotel, Bali
sponsored by Rotary Club of Bali Taman

Tuesday, August 18
Concert with Surabaya Symphony Orchestra, Shang-Ri-La Hotel

Wednesday, August 19, 7:00 p.m.
Master class at Surabaya Symphony Orchestra

Successful Recital!

Thank you everyone who attend our recital yesterday!!! It was very successful and we had a great time. Special thanks to Lindabeth and the St. Andrew's Bach Society for having us on their series.

I don't have any pictures from the concert, but I will post them as soon as I get my hands on them. However, one of our sponsors (and Kathryn's mom!) posted a photo on the Canelo Hills blog. Be sure to pay them a visit!

Until I get the photos from the concert, here are some photos from the dinner we had afterwords at Guadalajara Grill.

The whole party!














Swara Sonora Trio














Kathryn with Emily and Allison (who both traveled a long way to see and hear us! Thank you guys!)














Nathan and his dad















Aryo with our favorite patron!

More Press!

Well, today is the day! At 3:00 at Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church we will perform our last concert before we fly to Indonesia! It is part of the St. Andrew's Bach Society Concert Series. Hope to see everyone there!

Here are links to some more press about the concert:

Tucson Weekly

Daily Star 'Accent'

Thanks goes out to the local media for their support!

Dress Rehearsal and Press

First of all, everyone in the trio sends its condolences to everyone affected by the bombings in Jakarta. Our plans have not changed and we are excited about our tour!


First order of business: Special thanks to Cathalena Burch and Greg Ryan from the Arizona Daily Star for the great feature in today's paper. Be sure to check it out online, if you haven't already.

Second: We headed over to Grace St. Paul's this afternoon for our dress rehearsal. The church is a beautiful space to sing in, and the only thing missing was an audience. Yes, I mean you! This Sunday (July 19th) at 3:00 PM. Come enjoy the music, it will be nice and cool! (see a map at bottom of the post.)
In the meantime, here are a few photos of the dress rehearsal.

Kathryn and our awesome page turner, Christopher


Aryo at the Keyboard


The Swara Sonora Trio


Here's the map:

View Larger Map
Grace St. Paul

New Photos!

The Swara Sonora Trio is excited to present our new promo photos! We had a great time at the photo shoot, and then spent the morning sorting through the photos. Below are a couple of shots we chose.




So you want to see them all? Just wait, you will! Special thanks to Ingvi Kallen for taking the time to help us out!

Also, be sure to check the Arizona Daily Star (the printed version if you live in Tucson, or the online version if you live elsewhere). We will be featured, and there will hopefully be a couple more photos in the paper.

Things to do

Actually I've been in Tucson and traveling to nearby places such as Phoenix and Nogales.

Too much focus in different things, not just the trio materials but my concertos and solo recital schedules for the entire year. It's going to be a very busy year, but fun!! Trying to plan for Swara Sonora's upcoming things for the entire year, up until Summer 2010.

I'm attaching some pictures of ISI Yogyakarta's new hall (basically the Yogyakarta Conservatory). The newly built hall is just stunning, beautiful, and can hold 800 + people in it. We will perform there on August 10th, 2009, and then give a masterclass the following morning August 11th at the same hall / venue.

The final countdown!

Well, it is 22 days until we board the plane in Tucson! Then it's on to Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and finally Jarkarta! I don't know about my trio-mates, but I am very excited! However, there is a lot of travel to be done before that happens! Kathryn must travel back from the Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene, OR, where she is currently performing.

I am currently in St. Louis, where I am visiting friends and family and working diligently on my document for my Doctorate. I have also been fortunate to see many wonderful performances while I have been away from Tucson. I saw the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra perform Mahler's 8th Symphony, three productions at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and two productions at the Muny here in St. Louis. I will also stop by Central City Opera on my way back to Tucson.

Aryo has been in Tucson, but his focus has been on Indonesia, finalizing travel plans with the help of his wonderful mother.

When we are all finally back in Tucson, we will go to work putting the polishing touches for our July 19th concert on the St. Andrews Bach Society Concert Series. Hope we see you all there!