Brilio.net/en - It is common to see Indonesian people, especially the Javanese, play instruments of a gamelan (traditional ensemble music). But seeing people outside of Indonesia, especially when they are non-Indonesians playing the instruments; now thats definitely a rare sight. One such group of people belong to Sari Raras, a US based gamelan group.
Established in 1988 and initiated by Ben Brinner, the Chief of Department of Music at the university, the word Sari means essence, while Raras means melody. And it is the essence of melody that the group aims to convey to listeners through their gamelan performances.
A fun fact to note is that gamelan performances at the University have actually been in existence since 1972. The performances have taken backseat in the past due to the lack of tutors who understood the music. Today, this is no longer the case and people have begun to learn from Javanese gamelan tutorials.
One of Berkeleys top tutors is Ki Midiyanto, a puppeteer entrusted to teach Gamelan. With 15 years as a teacher, he believes that the students at Berkeley value the musical art even more than peers here in Indonesia. As long as I teach, they are more sporting and serious than people in our nation. I do not intend to say this, but it is the fact. They are truly interested and serious to learn our nations arts, he said in a phone conversation to brilio.net/en, Tuesday (25/8).
He also added that there were many gamelan players of Sari Raras who could speak Bahasa Indonesia. Head of the group, Peter Garellick, is one of the most fluent speakers.
Sari Raras often performs in Indonesia, especially in Yogyakarta, where culture is more prominent. The group recently performed a play titled Hanoman Duta, in an event held by the citys tourist office.
The students interest in Indonesian culture doesnt just stop at Gamelan Believe it or not, these students also excel in singing Javanese songs. Three of the group in particular: Maegan ODonahue, Jessika Kenney and Susan Walton, are fluent in singing Gending Jawa (a song accompanied by gamelan instruments), and theyve been a part of the group for a long time. Another student, Ashley Morris, a Kenong player, has been with the team for 8 years.
With his enthusiastic team of students, puppeteer and teacher Ki Midiyanto hopes that this Javanese-rooted cultural art will not only grow, but will also withstand the test of time. Of course, the active participation of younger generations will guarantee some form of a boost. I just want to say that hopefully, these diverse forms of art and culture will not fade. I wish that the younger generations will not forget it, seeing as some of them are not interested in Indonesias original cultures, especially Javanese culture, he said.