Ministry organizes Indonesia Traditional Music Festival

The Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry organizes the Indonesia Traditional Music Festival (FMTI) 2021 aimed at strengthening the ecosystem of Indonesia’s traditional music.

“The goal of this music festival is to spark the people’s love for the nation’s identity,” Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim noted here on Tuesday.

The FMTI in Toba Lake starts from August 21, 2021, until the event’s climax on October 26, 2021. It is held at three locations that became Super Priority Destinations as per President Joko Widodo’s directive, he stated.

These three locations are Toba Lake in North Sumatra, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, and Tidore in North Maluku, with the theme of “Sacred Music,” he clarified.

This traditional music festival becomes the ministry’s contribution to developing the ecosystem of traditional music and building the younger generation’s love for their cultural identity, Makarim added.

“Traditional music is part of our identity that we should always develop, so that our future generation would not forget its cultural roots,” he affirmed.

He deemed that the spirit of enthusiasts in developing their respective regions’ traditional music will support efforts to advance Indonesia’s culture.

FMTI in Toba Lake has selected 12 Toba traditional music composers that will actualize their works in the form of a video clip, online festival, and music recording to be streamed on the digital platform.

The FMTI in Toba Lake starts from August 21, 2021, until the event’s climax on October 26, 2021.

In addition, FMTI in Labuan Bajo has only begun its selection for the top 10 East Nusa Tenggara composers, whose works will be arranged and recorded in the form of a video documentary and song.

They will also attend the “Flabomora Sound Party” music festival and seminar. The Labuan Bajo FMTI 2021 will begin on October 19, 2021, and will be held until November 14, 2021.

Meanwhile, FMTI in Tidore Island will be held in November 2021 in the form of a traditional music show in four of North Maluku’s sultanates that will also be recorded.

According to the Ministry’s Culture Director General Hilmar Farid, despite the fact that the event is held at three different locations, FMTI is still a symphony that enlivens the spirit of Indonesia’s traditional music.

Beyond protecting and developing traditional art, the support for traditional music is expected to be able to build cultural narration and tourism for Indonesia’s priority destinations, he affirmed.

“By collaborating with various cultural organizations and the community, we also want to improve the capacity of human resources in the traditional sector where the FMTI is held,” Farid remarked.

Source: Antara News