Please join Gamelan Sekar Jaya for Composing Conversations, an online presentation and live Q&A with GSJ’s Spring 2021 Remote Teaching Fellow, Ida Bagus Made Widnyana, affectionately known as Pak Gusde.
The presentation begins at 7:00pm Pacific Time on Wednesday, June 16.
In this public presentation, Pak Gusde will speak about his award-winning composition Trimbat, which earned him the coveted Best Performer in Graduation from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in 2004. In conversation with GSJ General Manager and ethnomusicologist Dr. Gillian Irwin, Pak Gusde will share his compositional process, thoughts on music notation, and current work. The presentation will also feature a statement from Dr. Andy McGraw, friend and collaborator of Pak Gusde.
Following the recorded presentation (shared with subtitles), Pak Gusde will converse with attendees in a live Q&A session.
After you submit the registration form, you will receive the Zoom link on the day of the event.
Donations made to Gamelan Sekar Jaya support our continuing programs to foster artistic exchange between Bali and the United States through artistic residencies, workshops, performances, and the creation of innovative works for music and dance.
About Ida Bagus Made Widnyana:
Ida Bagus Made Widnyana is a virtuosic young composer, performer, and teacher, and is considered one of Bali’s ‘rising stars’. A graduate of Composition from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) in Denpasar, he’s won awards such as the Composer and Performer Award from GEOKS Art Space, Best Performer in Graduation from ISI, and the Composer Award from the Festival of Arts, Indonesia. Widnyana is in high demand throughout Bali and abroad for his exceptional skills in composition, leadership, and musical performance. Many of his compositions have been featured in the gong kebyar competition at the Bali Arts Festival (PKB) in Denpasar. Widnyana has taught internationally at University of California at Berkeley, University of Richmond, Juilliard, Holy Cross University, and performed abroad for Body Music Festival, World Sacred Music Festival, Festival TongTong in Holland, Expo Aichi Japan, Martha’s Vineyard, and Festival Halla in South Korea.
About Andy McGraw:
Andy McGraw received his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University in 2005. Dr. McGraw has published several articles and a monograph (on Oxford) concerning traditional and experimental music in Southeast Asia and has written articles on jazz, music in American jails and Cuban music. He is an active performer and directs a Balinese gamelan orchestra for the Richmond community.
About the interviewer:
Gillian Irwin earned her PhD in Ethnomusicology from UC Davis in 2020, completing her dissertation on the influence of government-defined notions of good character on music classrooms in Yogyakarta, Central Java. During her fieldwork, Gillian developed a love for ethnographic research that she now brings to the nonprofit sector in her work with Gamelan Sekar Jaya, where she oversees fundraising initiatives, grant writing, program activities, production management, communications, and volunteer coordination.
