Sing Along

A joyful heart is truly life’s key goal, as a group of society’s good friends prove by singing together. Edith Emeralda writes

All about friendship and fun from the AW and Gagah singing groups

drizzling rain usually brings about an air of melancholy, and yet one Thursday night, dancing tunes rang out with the lively singing of melodies from all around the world, such as “Love of My Life” and “Kopi Dangdut”, to name but a few.

Deddy Kusuma, Tusyana Suryadi, Albert Halim, Rina Salim, and Rudi Akili were just some of Jakarta’s crème de la crème spotted in the crowd and on stage. “Just like art, singing brings people together—especially with that fun factor when you’re accompanied by a live band,” said Deddy, “Music is the language that binds us as friends even though we might come from different backgrounds.”

Joined together from the Ami Wilianto Group, shortened as AW, and the Gagah singing group, the members gather for weekly practices accompanied by a six-man band on a small raised stage, complete with delicious snacks and drinks to fuel it all. Turns are then rotated for solos, duos, trios, or even quartets to perform one or two of their favourite songs, and the rest will usually join in to sing, to clap, and sometimes to dance. “They are all busy people, but each one sets some time aside to come to practice week after week,” said Hans Huang, who sings and emcees for the group.

With everyone in the group living their life to the fullest, the happy virus also spread to their wives, like Jane Kusuma, who have taken to dancing while their husbands sing. Rudi, on the other hand, takes singing lessons outside to perform better at rock and roll or blues, with Queen and The Rolling Stones listed among his favourite bands. “Now that I have more time to spend outside business, I can enjoy this hobby to make others also happy,” he said.

For Deddy, who has always listened to a wide variety of music from classical to pop, rock, and many others, he discovered Elvis, with hits such as “It’s Now or Never” and “One Night”, or Cliff Richard, with songs like “Vision”, which matches his vocal range nicely. He sang some of these songs during the AW Group’s very first concert last year at a theatre in Hong Kong’s North Point in front of around a thousand people—all of the members’ friends and families from Indonesia and abroad who came to support them.

As semi-professionals, these ladies and gents often perform at society functions that include weddings, birthdays, Christmas parties, art gatherings, and the recent 18th Tatler Ball—something almost unheard of at the groups’ beginnings.

Hans first helped encourage them to be confident in their singing before teaching the members how to control their voices on the stage or creating a charismatic presence. “Today, the members almost have no stage fright and some even don’t want to come down from the stage,” he added with a laugh, a sentiment shared by Rudi and Deddy. “Everyone who loves to sing is welcome to have fun, because singing leads to a healthier life as one exercises the lungs and the heart.”

“Everyone who loves to sing is welcome to have fun, because singing leads to a healthier life as one exercises the lungs and the heart.”