{"id":1087,"date":"2025-07-18T14:50:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T14:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/?page_id=1087"},"modified":"2025-07-20T13:50:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T13:50:05","slug":"profile-mataniari","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/?page_id=1087","title":{"rendered":"Profile Mataniari"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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MATANIARI <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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(Toba Batak Music and Dance Ensamble)<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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MATANIARI, a music group formed by Rithaony Hutajulu and Niesya Ridhania Harahap, focuses on the Toba Batak traditional dance and music performance: g<\/em>ondang <\/em>s<\/em>abangunan<\/em>, g<\/em>ondang <\/em>h<\/em>asapi<\/em>, and u<\/em>ning-uningan<\/em> Opera Batak. MATANIARI involves maestros from Batak Toba musicians, one of them is Marsius Sitohang who was born and raised in Batak music culture in particular Opera Batak tradition. Because of this virtuosic music playing,\u00a0 Marsius Sitohang is wellknown by a popular name, \u201cThe King of Flute\u201d. Marsius Sitohang has been involved in many music performance exhibitions in Indonesia and abroads since 1987, some of them were in Holland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Japan, USA, Australia and others.<\/p>

As a music group, MATANIARI is functionally keeping Toba Batak traditional music roots in the form of stage performances. However, more than the tradition, MATANIARI sometimes also involves in the form of experimental works.\u00a0 For instance, they involved in the ethnographic movie project \u201cRangsa Ni Tonun: A Fim about teh Sacred Batak Textiles\u201d\u00a0 (by Sandra Niessen-MJA Nashir 2013), where in this film they revitalized a type of weaving song that has long gone. In 2013,\u00a0 the group had been involved in collosal choral drama project titled \u201cThe Story of Buku Ende: Hyms from the Batakland,\u201d which taken from the traditional choral book of Batak Christians, \u201cBuku Ende.\u201d \u201cThe Story of Buku Ende\u201d had been performed in Medan (2013), Bandung (2014) and Jakarta (2015).<\/p>

MATANIARI had performed in several places in Indonesia and abroad, such as \u201cAsian Composers League,\u201d Yogyakarta 1999, \u201c\u201cMillenia Art\u201d Tirtagangga, Bali 1999, Sharq Taronalari Festival, Samarkhand Uzbekistan 2001, North Sumatra Traditional Music an Dance in Guangzhou, China 2001, North Sumatra Traditional Music and Dance in\u00a0 Singapore 2002, dan Asian Composer League and International Puppet Festival, New Zealand, 2007,\u00a0 Frankfurt Book Fair, Germany 2015, Europalia 2017, Mataniari-Vinculos Project in Asturias Spain 2017, Toba Caldera World Music Festival (2018, 2019 & 2022), and \u201cMerayakan Keberagaman\u201d\u00a0 concert that was held by The Faculty of Culture in University of North Sumatra (2023).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Vital Successor<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Niesya Ridhania Harahap<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The passing of Irwansyah Harahap left a void, but the legacy and spirit of Mataniari continue to burn bright. The torch has now been firmly passed to his daughter, Niesya Ridhania Harahap. As the child of Irwansyah and Rita, Niesya is a talent who grew up immersed in the world of ethnic music and Batak culture.<\/p>

Niesya is not merely “continuing” the legacy; she has become an essential figure in Mataniari\u2019s modern era. With her captivating vocals and graceful dance movements, Niesya not only carries on Mataniari\u2019s performances but also infuses them with fresh energy and perspective. Her presence on stage ensures that Mataniari’s music remains relevant and engaging for younger generations.<\/p>

Beyond Mataniari, Niesya\u2019s artistic journey extends far and wide. She is a multifaceted artist who is also an active member of the world music ensemble Suarasama<\/strong>, based in Medan and internationally acclaimed. Through her work with Mataniari and Suarasama, Niesya has brought the cultural richness of Medan to prestigious international stages such as the Frankfurt Book Fair<\/strong> in Germany, Europalia Festival<\/strong> in Belgium, and the Beyond Europalia tour<\/strong> in Spain.<\/p>

In addition, Niesya has a flourishing solo career as a singer-songwriter. She has released singles that blend pop, orchestral, and jazz styles, and has even transformed poetry into song lyrics \u2014 including \u201cAku Melihat Indonesia\u201d<\/em> (from Ir. Soekarno) and \u201cHujan Bulan Juni\u201d<\/em> (from Sapardi Djoko Damono). With a Master\u2019s degree in Psychology from the University of Indonesia, Niesya exemplifies how artistic talent can harmoniously coexist with intellectual depth.<\/p>

Thanks to the strong foundation laid by Irwansyah and Rita Harahap, Mataniari continues to shine \u2014 now driven forward by the dedication and talent of Niesya Ridhania Harahap. Together, they stand as living proof that music is a timeless cultural bridge, preserving tradition while continuously innovating and inspiring the world from the heart of Medan.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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MATANIARI (Toba Batak Music and Dance Ensamble) MATANIARI, a music group formed by Rithaony Hutajulu and Niesya Ridhania Harahap, focuses on the Toba Batak traditional dance and music performance: gondang sabangunan, gondang hasapi, and uning-uningan Opera Batak. MATANIARI involves maestros from Batak Toba musicians, one of them is Marsius Sitohang who was born and raised […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1087","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"fedoraziy@gmail.com","author_link":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/?author=1"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"MATANIARI (Toba Batak Music and Dance Ensamble) MATANIARI, a music group formed by Rithaony Hutajulu and Niesya Ridhania Harahap, focuses on the Toba Batak traditional dance and music performance: gondang sabangunan, gondang hasapi, and uning-uningan Opera Batak. MATANIARI involves maestros from Batak Toba musicians, one of them is Marsius Sitohang who was born and raised…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1087"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1261,"href":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1087\/revisions\/1261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mataniari.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}