On the meeting, 38 ITB students bid their goodbye before going to Italy. They also asked for good wishes from the rector to participate on the competition. “Rector advised that during our participation we have to keep calm, do not panic, and be optimistic. We go there to bring fame to Indonesia and ITB. By participating in the competition, we become ambassadors of cultural promotion to further rise the fame of ITB,” Tifany said.

This international tour is a part of ITB Cultural Tour 2018. Besides Italy, they will also hold a concert in Austria. This cultural tour is held regularly once a year with the aim to introduce Indonesian culture as well as to improve the quality of PSM choir.

“The competition participated will be choir competition. It is an international competition and we will compete with other choir teams from other counties and hold cultural concert. We will depart on 17 July,” said the Head of ITB Cultural Tour 2018, Timorthy Pranata.

In order to participate on the competition, the team has made preparation since August 2017 by forming a specific committee. Since they bring a mission to introduce Indonesian culture, they will perform traditional folk songs while wearing traditional clothes.

“Traditional folk songs must be performed together with the dance that show Indonesian traditional dances. The songs come from Sumatera, Bali, Nusa Tenggara and Papua. For the clothes, women team members will wear Banyuwangi traditional clothes, and the men will wear Bali traditional clothes,” Timorthy said. He hopes that by participating in the competition, PSM ITB can get the best result, as well as bring fame to Indonesia and ITB on international level.

“Foreigners probably recognize Indonesia, but only for Bali or Jakarta. We want to show other countries that Indonesian culture is not only Bali’s but also thousands more languages, traditions, cultures, and ethnicities,” He concluded.

Reporter : Adi Permana