Gamelan Sekar Jaya

Friday, July 30th at the Berkeley Art Museum
2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA - Gallery B
Doors & Ambient Sounds at 6pm/ Performance at 7:30pm

BAM/PFA

$5 admission/Free for BAM/PFA members, and UCB students, faculty, and staff. Show your ticket for a same-day BAM screening or gallery visit and get in free.

Oakland-based Gamelan Sekar Jaya and the Berkeley Art Museum invite you to a special evening performance of traditional Balinese music and dance. Led by two world-renowned Balinese artists - the brilliant composer I Dewa Putu Berata and the gracefully talented dancer Ni Ketut Sri Laksmi -- Gamelan Sekar Jaya will present two different musical styles from Bali, Indonesia.

The performance will open with an intimate performance of G'nder Wayang music, traditionally heard accompanying shadow puppet theater, and used for special Balinese ceremonies. G'nder Wayang music plays with interlocking, complex melodies, and is one of the most ancient forms of music that exists today in Bali.

The shimmering melodies of the Angklung ensemble will follow, accompanying the refined movement of traditional Balinese dance. Angklung ensembles are ubiquitous in Bali and maintain a repertoire of traditional instrumental works for use in the temple. Their sweet-toned sonority is an integral part of the ceremonial atmosphere. The music often accompanies spiritual rituals such as cremations, and the music conjures overpowering feelings of melancholy sweetness.

The evening will open with a rare listening experience of a reel-to-reel recording of an a cappella mix of the Beach Boy's seminal album Pet Sounds.This evening is part of a special crossover project between BAM/PFA's Matrix and L@te programs curated by artist in-residence David Wilson.

About David Wilson