IDA BAGUS MADE WIDNYANA

MUSICIAN | COMPOSER

Born in the village of Tulikup, Gus De is an accomplished performer, respected teacher, and innovative composer of Balinese gamelan music. A graduate of Institut Seni Indonesia Denpasar, he earned the conservatory’s “Best Performance” award for his 2004 graduation composition “Trimbat.” Gus De has been a member of Bali’s internationally acclaimed gamelan Çudamani since its formation in 1997. He has toured Japan, the U.S., the Netherlands, and Canada with Çudamani, and the group has performed and recorded several of his compositions. In addition to his continued performance and teaching at Çudamani, Gus De has been Artist-in-Residence with Gamelan Sekar Jaya (CA, 2010–2011), and is active as a consultant and teacher for many village gamelan in Bali. Committed to keeping traditional arts alive among Balinese youth, Gus De founded a teenager’s gamelan ensemble in his home village in 2005. Since then he has developed a second group in the village, devoted to teaching even younger children to play gamelan: under his guidance, these groups have been invited to perform at the annual Bali Arts Festival, the famous island-wide festival of Balinese music and culture.