Holy Cross Balinese Gamelan Orchestra to Hold Concert Directed by Distinguished Visiting Artist

WORCESTER, Mass. – The College of the Holy Cross departments of theatre and music will present a concert of their famed Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Gita Sari, under the directorship of visiting fellow in Balinese performing arts, I Made Bandem, on Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. in Brooks Concert Hall. This concert marks Bandem’s debut as a visiting fellow at Holy Cross. These semi-annual concerts, free and open to the public, are routinely standing room only and provide for a thrilling evening of Balinese music and dance.

Gamelan Gita Sari was founded in 1999. Gita Sari translates as “the essence of song.” The company is composed entirely of students and faculty from the College. The group performs on its Gong Kebyar gamelan, built for Holy Cross in 1998 by master Balinese craftsman Pande Made Sukerta. Following a blessing ceremony in Mengwitani, the gamelan was shipped to Massachusetts, where a second ceremony was conducted in July 1999. This coincided with Holy Cross being awarded a Henry Luce Foundation Grant to fund a Balinese scholar-artist-in-residence for four years.

Gamelan Gita Sari has performed at Brown University, Wesleyan University, for the New Hampshire Humanities Council, and for the conference Continuities and Change: A Celebration of Balinese Music, Theatre and Dance at Holy Cross, as well as holding two concerts a year at Holy Cross. Members of the ensemble have played and danced at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Bard College. Bandem of the Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) is the third appointment, following the distinguished artists, Desak Made Suarti Laksmi and I Wayan Dibia in the exchange program established eight years ago.

Bandem is one of the most well-known figures in Bali’s art world today.  After graduating from a conservatory in Bali, he won a scholarship to become one of the first Balinese dancers to study in the U.S. He earned his M.A. in dance from the University of California in Los Angeles, and in 1980 he earned his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Upon his return to Bali, Bandem became the director of the Indonesian College of the Arts in Denpasar, a position he held for 16 years. Last year he was promoted to the position of recktor of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) of Jogyakarta, the oldest art institute in Indonesia. Throughout his career, Bandem has been involved with numerous committees on art and culture in Bali. He is the founder and director of Cipta Budaya Foundation, and was a member of the Indonesian House Assembly from 1988 until 1998. Bandem was also a member of the Art Consortium of the Indonesian Education and Culture Department, from 1988 to the present time.

Bandem, a renowned scholar, has published many articles and books concerning music, dance, and art in general. As an artist he has performed throughout the world. He has led many performing groups to different world expositions, including those in Vancouver, Brisbane, and Sevilla. In 1982 Bandem founded a performing group known as Dharma Shanti and started its first tour in Japan for the anniversary of Japan Foundation. He was chosen to be the artistic director for many colossal performances for PATA conferences, WTO Meetings and several other international conferences. In 1994 Bandem received an International Music Council Award from UNESCO for his efforts in the preservation and development of art in Bali, and in 1995 he received the Dharma Kusuma, the highest honor the Government of Bali can bestow.