Gamelan refers to large ensembles of mostly bronze percussion instruments, and to the most prominent traditional music from Indonesia. Gamelan’s presence at Cornell offers a window into a truly majestic musical form as well as an entry to the study of the fourth most populous nation in the world.
Artist in Residence, Spring 2024:
Gondrong Gunarto
Indonesian musician Gondrong Gunarto has cemented a reputation for deftly infusing elements of gamelan and other traditional Indonesian musics into a wide range of contemporary forms, including pop songs, dance accompaniment, and concert productions. The son of a shadow puppet master, Gondrong grew up steeped in the traditional performing arts. He pursued “outsider” music while receiving formal training in gamelan, first at the performing arts high school in Surakarta, Central Java, and then at Institute of Indonesian Arts, Surakarta, where he subsequently earned a masters degree in creative arts. Gondrong has collaborated with some of the leading choreographers and playwrights in Indonesia’s performing arts scene, but is equally dedicated to supporting his peers and younger artists through the concert series Bukan Musik Biasa (Not Ordinary Music) and the arts center Rumah Banjarsari.
Gondrong comes to Cornell to teach the new course MUSIC 2130 Collaborative Creativity, and to work with the gamelan/indie rock fusion band Twin Court. To hear Gondrong’s music, see his YouTube Channel, and check out his collaboration with singer/composer Susheela Raman on the critically acclaimed album Ghost Gamelan.
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Read more about gamelan at Cornell.