Learning to give

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Learning to give

In December 2010, BBJ members raised Rp 250,000 (US$28) from their meagre resources to help fund a Christmas party for children living in a remote village on Nias, one of the poorest islands in Indonesia.

There was no band practice scheduled, but as I walked towards BBJ's rehearsal room I noticed that it was full. Dispensing with the chairs, BBJ members lounged on the risers as one of their number sat on the floor counting money scattered on the floor. It mostly consisted of dirty crumpled notes in small denominations - the sort of thing regularly exchanged in the poorer back streets of Indonesia's cities.

In recent years, as increasing numbers of band members have left the Boys Home and taken jobs in Medan, I have grown used to seeing these young men take the initiative regarding band matters. Older members have also been increasingly active in helping each other find accommodation and jobs - something I hardly expected when I first formed the band back in 1987.

But collecting money was something new. "It is for Nias," bandmaster Danias Karosekali told me.

BBJ members had heard that former BBJ trombone player Yudhykana Laia (Yudhy) wanted to organise a party for the children who attended Sunday school at a remote village in southern Nias where he lived with his relatives. Lying 125km off the west coast of Sumatra, Nias is a rugged island about the size of Bali. Known for its poverty, and largely ignored by the rest of the world - including policymakers in Jakarta - it suffered a devastating earthquake in March 2005. The money was to go to Lawa-Lawa Luo village, about 65km south of Gunungsitoli, the administrative capital.

What I didn't expect was that Danias would double that.

"Whatever the amount is, I will double it," I told band members. And so I did. But what I didn't expect was that Danias would double that. Danias, who recently obtained a degree in accounting from a local university after years of part-time study, has always been especially generous in helping less fortunate band members. So, all in all, the children at Lawa-Lawa village received Rp one million (US$110) from BBJ.

The report BBJ members later received from Yudhykana revealed that the children ate Christmas cake for the first time ever! About 100 children were expected, but more came with their parents without invitation, thus putting a strain on available resources. "But we had to welcome them," Yudhy said. The children were given four kinds of snacks, as well as books and pencils (needed for school). There were also special prizes for those who could answer a simple Bible question. And special gifts for regular attendance at Sunday School.

"I tried to give everyone a present, but there was not enough," he said. "I promised to give them a present when we start Sunday School next week.". No prizes for figuring out where the money for that came from. Yudhy has a generous heart too.

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Many people believe that musicians are more moody and prone to suicide than other professionals, and that - as a result - a greater percentage of them end their lives in mental institutions or are fated to live emotionally tempestuous lives. Musicians are also commonly suspected of being over sensitive to criticism, having delusions of grandeur and other neurotic traits.

The statistics fail to bear this out, although it is possible to find enough examples to make the case in front of those unfamiliar with Western musical history. Like actors, politicians and others obliged to face the public on a regular basis, musicians probably have their fair share of emotional problems. However, such problems do not constitute evidence of neuroticism.

Musicians probably have their fair share of emotional problems.

Beethoven was known for his moodiness, but this was probably closely related to his growing frustration as he began to go deaf. Among the famous composers, only Schumann and MacDowell ended up in mental institutions. Musicians probably have no more suicidal impulses than the rest of the population. But should a prominent musician decide to take his life, it is likely to get a good deal of publicity.

Perhaps the most morbid suicide was planned by the pianist Alexander Kelberine, who arranged his last concert programme to consist only of works dealing with death. He then went home and took an overdose of sleeping pills. Schumann jumped into the Rhine, only to be rescued by a fisherman. Rezso Seress composed Gloomy Sunday, a work that was once banned in Europe because it triggered a wave of suicides by young people on Sundays. Seress himself committed suicide by jumping out of a window. The vast majority of musicians, however, die of causes that reflect the state of medical knowledge in the particular historical period in which they live.

Some musicians certainly had sad lives. Mozart, perhaps the greatest of the composers in the Classical Period of music, died a pauper. The pianist Chopin, a Polish nationalist and tormented lover, was terrified of large audiences. He died of tuberculosis when he was 39. Bizet, a French composer who died when he was 36, was beset by crises of self-confidence and emotional upheaval. Unlike Chopin, his works only achieved widespread recognition after his death.

Wagner had the emotional maturity of a spoilt child.

George Gershwin only had a short life, but it was a good one. He died of a brain tumor when he was 39 after a rags to riches story that made him one of the most well known composers of popular music in the United States.

Others lived long and had much success, despite treating others abominably, including many of their friends. Wagner considered himself a genius as a playwright, poet, stage director, and philosopher as well as a composer, and was not shy about letting others know it! Although not particularly handsome, his personal magnetism was such that he had numerous affairs, usually with married women, despite the fact that he was married himself. His biographers describe him as having the emotional maturity of a spoilt child, complete with tantrums if he could not get his way. He died at the age of 70, widely acclaimed as one of the greatest composers of his time.

The pianist Franz Liszt's dashing good looks enabled him to have numerous affairs with many woman. He died of pneumonia at the age of 75. Contrast this with the fate of Schubert, who was short, fat, bespectacled and naturally shy. He died of syphilis at the age of 31 after his friends encouraged him to visit a brothel. Those who knew him well described him as having a warm and friendly nature. Somehow, it doesn't sound fair.

The life of J.S. Bach must have been very boring.

The majority of musicians now and in the past lead fairly quiet lives. Edward Elgar, a largely self-taught musician, rose from humble origins to become the first English composer in 200 years to gain international acclaim. He had a stable marriage, and was regarded by many as a typical English gentleman. He died at the age of 77. Sergei Rachmaninov, the Russian composer, also had a good life despite being out of step with his country's politics and music. He died at the age of 70.

The life of J.S. Bach must have been the most boring of all. He spent almost his entire life in the same small region of Germany where he was born. And nobody took much notice of him either. It was not until about 80 years after his death that his works attracted the attention they deserved.

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