(04.06.2009) The visitors of the three additional concerts staged by the Exaudia Choir have donated a total of more than EUR 1,300 Euro for the Theological College in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra/Indonesia.
After its performance at the 32nd German Protestant Church Convention in Bremen, the Exaudia Choir from Indonesia staged three further concerts in Kierspe, Wuppertal and Mönchengladbach in the past week, which is called “Exaudi” in the church year. The hosts of the concerts in Germany were, in addition to the United Evangelical Mission (UEM), the Archive and Museum Foundation of the UEM, as well as the local parishes and the Evangelical Church of Westphalia.
The 35 singers directed by Gordon Tambunan come from Jakarta and have become well-known far beyond Indonesia and also in Europe through regular performances, which include various appearances on TV, performances at church events as well as, meanwhile already three times, the music programme at the national Christmas party in Jakarta, which is regularly attended by the President of Indonesia.
The Theological College of the Christian Protestant Toba-Batak Church (HKBP) on Sumatra was spun off in 1978 from the Nommensen University which had already been founded in 1954. Meanwhile, the college is attended by more than 400 students preparing for ministry. The HKBP, to which the singers of the Exaudia Choir belong, is one of the member churches of UEM and the largest Protestant church in Southeast Asia.
The college is named after Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen, a missionary of the former Rhenish Mission Society, which is the predecessor of UEM. Nommensen worked at Sumatra from 1861 until his death in 1918 and is still considered to be one of the most important missionaries working in Indonesia. The concerts were staged on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of Nommensen’s birthday on 6 February 2009.
