Our Mission
Gamelan Dharma Swara, under the direction of master Balinese artists, studies and performs traditional and new works for Balinese gamelan ensemble. Through performance and education, we bring Balinese gamelan to the widest audience and participant base possible, and we endeavor to perform with spirit, dedication and gratitude.
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Upcoming Events
Issue Project Room, Brooklyn NY - May 17, 2008, 8 pm
An Evening of Indonesian and Indonesian-Inspired Music and Dance in
Brooklyn Featuring Matthew Welch's Blarvuster, Andrew McGraw, Shahzad
Ismaily and Gamelan Dharma Swara.
$15 for the entire evening: 8-9:30 PM.
8-8:45 PM: Matthew Welch's Blarvuster
Labyrinthine and florid melodies streaming over alien funk counterpoint make the ecstatic music of Blarvuster, the brainchild of critically acclaimed bagpiper/composer Matthew Welch. Inspired equally by Celtic lines and South East Asian ensemble textures as well as avant-garde rock and minimalism, Blarvuster's line-up of some of the brightest young stars in the New York experimental scene ardently evoke a seamless hybrid of musical languages that issues forth its own fictional tradition. "The Brooklyn-based composer leaps vast geographical distances, imagining statistically implausible musical melting pots that sound utterly natural...a composer possessed of both rich imagination and the skill to bring his fancies to life." - TimeOut NY
8:45-9:30 PM: Andy McGraw and Shahzad Ismaily (Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog, Two Foot Yard, etc etc etc etc etc etc) team up again with American and Balinese musicians from Dharma Swara, the gamelan in residence at the Indonesian Consulate for an evening of experimental gongs, rare, sacred and contemporary seven-tone gamelan and Indonesian-inspired duets for vibes and electronics. This will be an evening of spinning, rolling, dragged, and artificially stimulated gongs, wavering overtones and racous (musical) beatings alongside some of the most intricately designed gamelan music and dance--the repertoire of the gamelan semara pegulingan: the Music of the Lovegod, originally composed to entertain the rajas in their amorous exploits.
Featuring Indonesian master musicians and dancers.
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Past Events
Japan Society, New York – March 21, 2008, 7:30 pm Tzadik Label Music Series III: Ikue Mori - Celebrating 30 years of Life, Love & Music in NYC (event website)
Yale University, New Haven, CT - March 1, 2008 Gamelan Dharma Swara was featured at the Yale Southeast Asia Studies Council's Annual Spring Festival (more information and photos)
Gamelan Dharma Swara in Concert, Winter, 2007
December 8 & 9, 2007, Saturday 8 pm & Sunday 2 pm
Indonesian Consulate, 5 East 68th Street (between Madison and Fifth), Manhattan
Gamelan Dharma Swara presented our annual winter weekend concert of traditional Balinese music and dance with special guest Balinese master artist I Gusti Putu Sudarta.
Gamelan Dharma Swara: Rwa Bhineda - The Sacred Balance
On February 17, 2007 at Symphony Space Gamelan Dharma Swara presented the spectacular clash between the gruesome Rangda and the Barong protector dragon, illuminating the Balinese use of music, dance, and drama to negotiate harmony between dark and light forces in the universe. With featured guest artistic director I Wayan Dibia.
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