Gong Beats: Gamelan Recital

Gong Beats: Gamelan Recital

Thursday 3 October 2019 Adam Concert Room, NZ School of Music Students of this year’s PERF250 undergraduate class in Javanese gamelan presented their final recital, directed by Budi S. Putra, with guest appearances from Gamelan Padhang Moncar and Gamelan Taniwha Jaya. PERF250 Students with Budi Putra Gamelan Padhang Moncar Gamelan Taniwha Jaya Programme: Ladrang Sumarah pelog nyamat (PERF250) This traditional piece is in ladrang form which is usually performed at a slow tempo, and is often used to welcome guests or to begin a concert. Lancaran Pambuka slendro manyuro (PERF250) Lancaran Lumaris slendro manyuro (PERF250) These traditional gamelan pieces are often used to accompany shadow puppets. Lancaran is a formal structure of at least two gong cycles, each divided into 4 bars of four notes each. It is one of the shorter Javanese structures and is usually played lancar (at a fast tempo). PERF250 Performers: Jac Boothe, Lorenz Romuel Arabelo, Kenny Childs, Morgan Smith, Imogen Moore, Ellen Travis, Ferg Fry, Kylie White, Samuel McMillan, Julian Mittmann, Emma Bernard, Maxwell Stone, Soyam Dean, Phoebe Caldeiro, Mia Kelly, Arturo Lopez, Kauru Sawada Hujan Mas (Gamelan Taniwha Jaya) This Balinese piece in the gong kebyar style is of unclear origin but most likely originated in the early to mid 20th century in Kedis Kaja, North Bali, before spreading to a group in Ubud popular for its tourist performances, Gunung Sari. It is now a favourite among Balinese gamelan groups outside Bali. GTJ Performers: Gareth Farr, Rupert Snook, Mike Jones, Svenda Strom, Jo Hilder, Sophie James, Bo Yang, Josh Hyslop, Peter Ingram, Ijaan Yudana, Anita Tan, Clare Tattersall, Jean Arnold, Amber Madriaga, Budi...
Pyramid Power Festival

Pyramid Power Festival

Jeff Henderson and gamelan Saturday 4 May 2019, 5pm The Third Eye, 30 Arthur Street, Wellington $10 Saxophonist extraordinaire, Jeff Henderson and members of Gamelan Wellington created experimental music from a graphic score devised by Jeff - part of the Pyramid Power Festival, festival of adventurous music organised by the good people of the Pyramid Club....
Balinese Baleganjur @ BATS Theatre 30th Birthday

Balinese Baleganjur @ BATS Theatre 30th Birthday

Saturday 6 April 2019 A baleganjur parade kicked off the BATStravaganza! - a spectacular variety show to  celebrate 30 years of BATS Theatre. The show highlighted some of the best bits in theatre, dance, comedy and music from the last 30 years at Bat’s. Members of Gamelan Taniwha Jaya were led by Gareth Farr, a longtime member of the BATS whānau dating back to his first Bat’s show HAMMER AND GONGS back in the early 90s, which also featured baleganjur. At the BATStravaganza, Gareth and members of Gamelan Taniwha Jaya paraded from Bat’s Theatre along to the Embassy Theatre where the event began at 8pm....
Night Hub 2019

Night Hub 2019

Friday 22 March 2019, 6pm Victoria University of Wellington, The Hub Many months in the planning, our Night Hub concert became a special opportunity for people to come together, as it fell on Friday 22 March, a week after the horrific attacks on Al Noor mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre, in Christchurch, 15 March 2019. Ustad Agam Jaya welcomed the audience with an Islamic do’a prayer, which was followed by speeches of condolence and support from Dr Megan Collins (our manager), Professor Sally-Jane Norman (director of the New Zealand School of Music) and Ibu Adek Triana Yudhaswari  (Indonesia’s cultural attache here in NZ). The Indonesian Ambassador Mr. Tantowi Yahya was in Christchurch, supporting victims of the shootings. The concert began with Umbul Donga, which included a macapat poem sung by music director Budi Putra. This called for all evil to be banished from our performance space. It was paired with lampu obor (torchlight) ritual based choreography from our guest artist, dancer Sri Mulyani, of Mulyojoyo dance group, Surabaya, Indonesia. This haunting and poignant beginning gave way to the excitement of dance and gamelan, the audience mesmerised by the sounds and textures of both gamelan. Sri Mulyani danced again with the Balinese gamelan, lead by Rupert Snook, the gorgeous Cendrawasih bird of paradise dance. The audience were invited to try the instruments at the end of the concert and many in the crowd did. The performance featured Gamelan Taniwha Jaya (Bali) and Gamelan Padhang Moncar (Java), the Indonesian Chorus, Megan Collins on rabab Pasisia (West Sumatra, Minangkabau) and Tristan Carter on violin. Read Jenifer Shennan’s erudite review of the concert here. Gallery (photos by Stephen Gibbs...
Improv with ‘From Scratch’

Improv with ‘From Scratch’

City Art Gallery, Wellington Saturday 16 February 2019 Gamelan Taniwha Jaya members, Gareth Farr, Rupert Snook and Jo Hilder, joined From Scratch, with their unique invented instruments, for 20 minutes as part of a day-long performance in collaboration with a travelling roster of local guest musicians. Here’s a sample of what...