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Spring Gamelan ConcertSunday, May 11, 2008 • 6:00 p.m.Hyde Park Union Church Joko Sutrisno, Guest Artistic Director Suggested Admission: $10 Adults / $5 Students |
| Join us for an exciting progam of traditional and contemporary Javanese gamelan music, including the premiere performance of an original composition by one of our own performers. We will once again be under the artistic direction of Joko Sutrisno, who joins us all the way from Minneapolis. Our program will also feature two traditional dances performed by guest artist Tri Sutrisno. | |
Performance Ensemble |
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The Performance Ensemble meets at
Hyde Park Union Church
on most Tuesday evenings from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
You are welcome to join us if you have previously studied Javanese gamelan music or dance.
There is typically modest class fee. If you have not previously studied Javanese gamelan music and would like to learn, a beginning class will be offered in the fall; details will be posted here. For more information, please contact info@chicagogamelan.org. |
Recent Events
Gamelan Concert and Workshop Saturday, April 19, 2008 DePaul Concert Hall 800 W. Belden Avenue, Chicago with Joko Sutrisno, Guest Artistic Director |
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Performers from Friends of the Gamelan and the University of Chicago presented an hour-long
concert under the direction of Joko Sutrisno, who joined us all the way from Minneapolis.
At the workshop following the concert, several DePaul students learned to play a simple
gamelan piece on our venerable and well-loved traveling iron gamelan.
Finally, we all raised our voices as Joko taught us the famous Balinese "Monkey Chant."
Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this a memorable afternoon for all!
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Wayang Kulit
With guest artists Joko Sutrisno and Midiyanto
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Wayang Kulit is an Indonesian art form in which two-dimensional painted leather puppets
are made to cast shadows onto a screen lit from behind.
The flat puppets of wayang kulit are beautifully gilded and painted,
and in any single show there may be dozens of them representing gods, kings, warriors, hermits, ogres, and clowns.
All are manipulated by one puppeteer, who sits behind the screen and supplies voices for all the different characters.
Javanese wayang kulit is accompanied by gamelan,
traditional Indonesian music which
incorporates an ensemble of "hammered" metal percussion, drums, strings, bamboo flutes, and vocals.
On the program is the story of Bima and Dewa Ruci which comes from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Mahabharata has been adapted over centuries to the Indonesian context. While the stories are essentially old and predictable to the audience, a significant part of what the puppeteer does is to adapt them creatively to political and cultural events happening in the present day. Sponsored by: University of Chicago Department of Music, Arts Planning Council, Friends of the Gamelan, Inc., Hyde Park Union Church, and Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, Chicago. |
Flag-Raising Ceremony at Daley Plaza
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Paul Tobin Memorial Tuesday, May 15, 2007 Hyde Park Union Church |
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Sadly, our friend and founding member of the Friends of the Gamelan, Paul Tobin, passed away recently.
His tireless dedication to the ensemble and kind spirit were remembered
as we gathered to share his music and stories of his life.
Soft gamelan music in the gadon tradition set the appropriate mood. |
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Friends of the Gamelan were pleased to support Indonesian Performing Arts Chicago (iPAC) in its Indonesian Night, a cavalcade of Indonesian culture, music, and dance. The program included central Javanese gamelan directed by Joko Sutrisno and performed by The Indonesian Performing Arts Association of Minnesota and Friends of the Gamelan. The music of Bali was expertly rendered by Gamelan Mitra Kusuma, joining us all the way from Washington, D.C. Finally, the angklung bamboo orchestra of western Java was presented by a group of dedicated enthusiasts from Lomira, Wisconsin. |
Friends of the Gamelan performed for an enthusiastic audience at the grand reopening of the Chicago History Museum alongside Native American dancers and performers representing Mexico, Ireland, and Japan. |
Gamelan Workshop
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Wayang Kulit
at the
Chicago Cultural Center
Sunday, June 25, 2006, 3:00 p.m.Friends of the Gamelan
welcomed celebrated dhalang
Purbo Asmoro
from Surakarta to Chicago
in a performance of brilliant
shadow-puppet theater
in the beautiful
Preston Bradley Hall
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An Evening of Javanese Music and Dance Sunday, April 30, 2006 6:00 p.m. Hyde Park Union Church 5600 S. Woodlawn Ave. University of Chicago Central Javanese Ensemble and Friends of the Gamelan with guest artists Maria Mendonça Katharina Anggraeni Wisnu Meier |
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Saturday, February 25, 2006 Asian American Coalition of Chicago 23rd Annual Celebration: "Unity in Diversity" |
| Photo Album | This year's annual celebration was hosted by the Indonesian-American community and featured Indonesian food and culture, including a performance by Friends of the Gamelan. |
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Mid-Winter Concert Saturday, February 11, 2006 3:00 p.m. Hyde Park Union Church 5600 S. Woodlawn Ave. Free admission (Donations gladly accepted) An informal performance and workshop in our new venue. |
Open House
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After several years at Rockefeller Chapel on the University of Chicago campus, we have relocated just a few blocks away to Hyde Park Union Church. Our annual open house was a wonderful opportunity to introduce our supporters to our new rehearsal space. Attendees enjoyed an informal presentation of central Javanese music and learned to play two simple pieces. We were happy to see many of them again at the beginning class! |
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Saturday, September 3, 2005 |
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Saturday, August 27, 2005 |
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Saturday, June 11, 2005 |
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Sunday, June 19, 2005 |
Saturday, May 7, 2005 | |
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We performed for the Opening Program of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month in the Pritzker Auditorium at the Harold Washington Library. We were joined by guest artist I Gusti Ngurah Kertayuda, who performed the traditional Topeng Klana dance accompanied by live gamelan music. |
Sunday, January 23, 2005
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A small ensemble performed a program of soft, gadon-style music at The Renaissance Society on the campus of the University of Chicago. The performance was in association with an art exhibition entitled The Here and Now. We found ourselves in a minimalist, all-white setting both indoors and outdoors, as Mother Nature had arranged for us to move the gamelan instruments through a snowstorm. |
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| Thanks to all who contributed to the success of our concert on February 20, 2005. Read all about "Java Jive" in the University of Chicago Magazine. Concertgoers donated almost $500 to the Indonesian Disaster Relief Fund. |
For technical inquiries regarding the web site,
please contact boffin@chicagogamelan.org.