On Friday, 13th May 2018, Prof. Andy Clay McGraw, Associate Professor of Music from School of Arts & Sciences, University of Richmond fulfill the invitation from Forum of Professors of ITB to give a seminar entitled “Empirical Analysis of Cello-Drumming in Langgam Jawa Keroncong” at Balai Pertemuan Ilmiah ITB.

Andy McGraw explained about Kroncong, especially the cello from technology and science point of view. His love for Indonesian traditional songs began since him joining a Balinese gamelan ensemble.

Andy McGraw began pursuing cello-playing in Solo, and that makes him love kroncong even more and bring him to form Keroncong Rumput band in Virginia. Andy said that kroncong is about ‘roso’ (fellings). Together with the vocalist, Hannah Standiford who received scholarship to study at Indonesia Institute of the Arts Surakarta, Orkes Keroncong Rumput performed several langgam Jawa kroncong beautifully.

Besides original langgam Jawa kroncong, Orkes Keroncong Rumput also performed country music whose arrangement is modified to Kroncong. According to Hannah, singing kroncong is a pleasure, especially when seeing the enthusiasm from Indonesian spectators.

Hannah said that some challenges are faced when playing kroncong, especially when the lyric is in Javanese. But she always tries to look for the meaning of each song she sings so that she can sing it well.

Established on May 2015, Orkes Keroncong Rumput often fulfill invitations such as from Indonesian Embassy in USA, cafes, clubs, universities, or even relatives.

Besides performing live, Keroncong Rumput also recorded several songs and upload it on their online website. Hannah hopes that Orkes Keroncong Rumput will get the chance to hold a tour to several cities in Indonesia.

Reporter: Bernadetha Maria