Playing traditional gamelan the American style

Playing traditional gamelan the American style

By I Kadek Suartaya

UBUD, Bali (JP): The villagers in Ubud, Bali, were dazed by a
group of Americans playing gamelan and dancing deftly to the tune
of this traditional musical instrument.

These Americans, brimming with self-confidence, recently
performed a number of traditional Balinese songs and dances
during a show which also featured some of the best music troupes
in the area. The group from the U.S. mesmerized the audience
packed into Bale Banjar Pengosekan community hall that evening.

The next day the group appeared at the International Gamelan
Exhibition in Denpasar, and since then they have been touring
Bali playing traditional Balinese gamelan music and performing
Balinese dances.

Their itinerary includes Peliatan in Gianyar regency, Menyali
village on the northern part of the island and Ngis village on
the easternmost tip of Bali, which will be the last stop of their
tour of the Island of Gods. Many Balinese have been pleasantly
surprised watching these "tourists" skillfully perform
traditional Balinese gamelan music and dances.

Who are these strange "tourists"? They are Americans with many
years of experience performing traditional Balinese gamelan music
and dances. The members of this traditional Balinese art troupe,
which was set up in 1979 with the name Sekar Jaya, hail from
California. The group regularly rehearse in a ground-floor room
of a house located in El Cerrito, near San Francisco. They call
this room bale banjar, taken from the name given to places in
Bali that are used for similar activities.

This group is led by Wayne Vitale, a composer who has devoted
many years of his life to Balinese gamelan music.

As a gamelan music troupe, Sekar Jaya is quite well-reputed,
particularly in the state of California. There are quite a few
Americans who have been disappointed upon learning their
applications for the group were rejected.

"Members of the group have to pay voluntary contribution fees.
If you have no money, well, you are exempted from this
obligation. If you are rich, you are expected to pay more, of
course," said Vitale.

The members of the group are of diverse professional
backgrounds: computer experts, mechanical engineers, joiners,
automobile workshop owners, teachers and musicians.

Since its inception, the group has moved its headquarters and
rehearsal site four times. Their present rehearsal location also
serves as the group's office. "This is the safest place for us.
When we had our rehearsal site downtown, we used to have a row
with our neighbors," said Vitale, who has headed the group since
1986.

Sekar Jaya regularly invites traditional Balinese gamelan
music and dance teachers from Bali. Also, a number of the members
have been to Bali to study under the island's gamelan and dance
doyens.

The Balinese gamelan and dance teachers invited to the United
States by the group include I Wayan Suweca, I Nyoman Windha and I
Wayan Rai.

Vitale said the group was currently in Bali to demonstrate its
skills not only to its teachers, but also to the Balinese. They
hope their performances are well-received and they also invite
constructive criticism. "Words pale before the happiness we enjoy
when our audience can give a good response to our performance."

The group's style and presence during their performances are
indeed deserving of admiration, and the group is comparable to
the best such groups in Bali. What is unusual about the American
group is that unlike groups in Bali, they have an equal number of
male and female members.

The female gamelan players are as dexterous as their male
counterparts, and a number of important instruments, including
the ugal, trompong and rebab, are played only by the female
members of the group.

The group plays Gong Kebyar, a kind of traditional music which
enjoys great popularity in Bali and is found in every banjar, a
Balinese term for village.

What is interesting is that during their performances, the
members of Sekar Jaya do not play only one instrument. They move
in circle, playing kendang, then playing the flute and then the
cengceng.

It is very rare in Bali for gamelan players to move swiftly
from one instrument to another during a single performance. While
Balinese gamelan players are adept at playing a variety of
instruments, they usually remain in one place from the beginning
of a performance to the end.

This raises the question of whether Sekar Jaya's method of
playing gamelan music is a reflection of a democratic culture.

Gamelan music, which is the essence and symbol of the
harmonious blending of culture, has been interpreted by this
group in a subjective and concrete manner as something
individualistic in a collective nuance. Democratic individual
aspirations -- moving in a circle playing a variety of
instruments -- are accorded their place, but the philosophy of
togetherness, which is the very substance of gamelan, has been
made the foundation on which art and organizational activities
are based.