Gamelan Cahaya Asri is Lawrence University’s Balinese gamelan, directed by master Balinese musician and teacher I Dewa Ketut Alit Adnyana. The term ‘gamelan’ refers to large ensembles of metallophones, gongs, drums, and bamboo flutes from Indonesia. Studying and performing gamelan music offers a unique and highly interactive cross-cultural and artistic learning experience.
I Dewa Ketut Alit Adnyana, director of Gamelan Cahaya Asri
Gamelan Cahaya Asri Spring Concert 2011
New Instruments – Our set of gamelan gong kebyar instruments were commissioned from a highly sought-after gamelan maker in Bali in 2010, and arrived on campus in March, 2011. The metal is forged bronze, and the frames are hand-carved out of jackfruit wood. The front panels each feature a different scene from the Hindu epic story Ramayana.
Lawrence's new gongs in a blessing ceremony in Bali before shipment to campus
Student Gamelan - Lawrence students may enroll in this group as “MURP 171: Balinese Gamelan Music” each term. The rehearsal schedule (two 1.5 hour sessions per week) is determined each term. There is no experience required. Please visit our Facebook page for information about upcoming events!
Gamelan Cahaya Asri students performing in Warch Campus Center
Community Gamelan - This multi-generational ensemble is open to the public and rehearses Saturdays from 4-6pm in Lucinda’s in Colman Hall. As of September 2011, participants can register through the Lawrence Academy of Music. If you are interested in joining, please contact Sonja Downing.
Director
- I Dewa Ketut Alit Adnyana
Director of the Gamelan Ensemble
I Dewa Ketut Alit Adnyana is an internationally esteemed performer and teacher of Balinese instrumental music. At Lawrence, he teaches traditional and contemporary Balinese music repertoire and directs Lawrence’s own Gamelan Cahaya Asri. Before coming to Lawrence, he was the Guest Music Director of Gamelan Sekar Jaya in Berkeley, CA, and an Artist-in-Residence at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Dewa graduated from the Conservatory of Indonesian Musical Arts (SMKI) in 1999, though is primarily trained in the local performing arts of his village of Pengosekan, Bali. He is a founding member of Gamelan Çudamani, one of the premiere gamelan troupes from Bali, and has toured multiple times with Çudamani to the U.S., Canada, Japan, Italy, and Greece. Their recent tours of the productions “Odalan Bali” and “Bamboo to Bronze” won acclaim from critics across North America.
Dedicated to the continuation of traditional Balinese music education, Dewa has been one of the core teachers of Çudamani’s educational programs for children in Pengosekan. He has played a critical part in supporting the development of the Çudamani Girls’ Gamelan, one of the only ensembles of its kind to offer young girls in Bali the opportunity to learn gamelan music. He also founded a young boys’ gamelan ensemble at Çudamani in 2006. Dewa teaches at the Çudamani Summer Institute for Music and Dance in Bali, and has had private students from the U.S., Canada, Japan, and the U.K. since 2000. Dewa is sought after for his clear and systematic teaching methods. Since 1998, he has been invited to teach gong kebyar, angklung, and gamelan semarandana repertoire to men’s, women’s, and children’s gamelans across southern Bali in preparation for their performances at temple ceremonies and festival competitions.
Contact by e-mail: idewa.k.adnyana@lawrence.edu
