Twenty young musicians from the Illawarra will travel to Bali in July for a series of concerts aimed at celebrating and further cementing the relationship between Australia and Indonesia.
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To mark 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations, Wollongong Conservatorium of Music's BlueScope Youth Orchestra will perform at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, a school for children with disability, a safari park, and with the Voice of Bali Children's Choir at Ubud Royal Palace.
The relationship between the youth orchestra and Indonesia stretches back to 2005, when the outfit performed in a concert at the Sultan's Palace in Yogyakarta that was broadcast to over 60 million people and helped raise $65,000 for orphans of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
Dr Rob Goodfellow was involved in that first tour and has again volunteered to help this year, alongside Peter O'Neill.
He said some of those students helped back in 2005 were now leaders in their community and had never forgotten that kindness.
The youth orchestra returned to Indonesia in 2023.
For Dr Goodfellow, such "cultural diplomacy" made the world safer than outlaying money on defence, because "when you make friends and you maintain these contacts and you grow together, that really does create human security".
This was especially important for Australia given Indonesia was its neighbour, he said.
Cellist Alice Van, 18, will be embarking on her first trip to Bali and says she has heard a lot about the 2005 concert.
"It's amazing to think that around 60 million people watched it on Indonesian national TV and that it was repeated by again because so many people enjoyed seeing young Indonesians and Australians performing together," Alice said.
Fellow cellist Maeve Bradbury said she had missed out on last year's tour but heard amazing things about the Indonesian children the orchestra members met.
"This will also be a chance to perform together and make friends like the orchestra did last year," the 17-year-old said.
The former conductor of the youth orchestra, Nigel Edwards, will accompany the tour as a volunteer, assisting its new conductor Tanya Phillips.
It is hoped that a piece of music he wrote specifically for the 75th anniversary, called Maju terus dengan persahabatan or 'Go forward in friendship', will be performed during the tour.
The composition contains elements of both the Australian and Indonesian national anthems.
It is for this reason that it needs to be cleared by the Australian and Indonesian governments before it can be performed, but Dr Goodfellow was hopeful that the positive response from the Australian government would be echoed by Indonesia.
The members of the orchestra, along with accompanying parents and carers, are paying all their own travel costs associated with the tour.
But the orchestra is trying to raise another $10,000 to cover other costs, including the Voice of Bali Children's Choir, venue hire and meals for the students at the school, and have established a GoFundMe online fundraising page to assist.
"We are depending on GoFundMe now to get us over the line... We appreciate any amount, small or large," Dr Goodfellow said.
"Anyone who just wants to make our world a safer, kinder place, they're very welcome to contribute and we really appreciate it."
The fundraiser can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/bluescope-youth-orchestra-goodwill-tour-of-bali-2024.
Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
