REPERTOIRE
belief. For Arvin, music in any genre is actually a means of cultivating character and developing tolerance for those who embrace it. In introducing Christian sacred compositions, Arvin never forces members to participate if they raise objections. In conceptualizing the texts of the sacred music he selects, Arvin always stands on the side of aesthetics and pedagogy. As a Muslim, Arvin has an advantage of introducing sacred music to his Muslim choir members without seeming suspicious and therefore he can have a more open discussion with them. Athitya, who is Catholic, is very fortunate because she has never experienced any objection, either from choir members or their parents. Neither has the Gadjah Mada University administration ever objected to its student choir singing sacred music. In teaching the choir about the messages of the sacred songs to
Gadjah Mada Choir
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be sung, Athitya tries to use universal terms or analogies. She hopes that by providing a general explanation, each choir member will have nearly the same understanding of the song and not become fixated upon the context of Christian worship. Like Arvin, Athitya always invites choir members to perceive the sacred music they perform as a piece of art that is universal in nature, not something belonging to any particular religion. She invites members to look at the aesthetic aspects of each work of art rather than fixating on texts that are often associated with a particular religion. Like Arvin, Athitya does not force members to sing sacred songs if doing so makes them feel uncomfortable. As a Muslim, Andri has no objection at all to singing at a wedding service or worship service in a church. She feels that spiritual songs from any religion convey a positive message. This is also conveyed to choir members with diverse religious backgrounds so that they can see and comprehend the beauty contained in the sacred music composition without disturbing their beliefs. For Andri, faith is an individual matter between each person and his or her God. In contrast to Arvin and Athitya, whilst directing the choir of SMP Negeri 2 Semarang (commonly referred to as the Espero Choir), Andri has faced resistance from both the school and parents of choir members for presenting sacred music pieces, even though some members of the choir do not mind. In fact, ever since Andri was first hired as the youth choir director, she has always stressed that the tradition of choral singing itself is part of Christian culture and so it is certainly possible for the Espero Choir to sing sacred choral music compositions. For her, art is related to the horizontal dimension, which governs human to human relationships, or, as she puts it, “how to touch people’s hearts with music�. Religion, on the